Page 135 of Journey to the Elderoak
“Liar,” said Quinn before she kicked him in the jaw.
Casimir whipped his head to her.
“Oops,” she said as she lifted a shoulder.
“We won’t get answers if he’s unconscious,” he said.
The soldier groaned.
“See? He’s fine,” she said.
The daemon eyed the three of them before stopping on Casimir and grinning. “I was there, you know. When your bitch of a princess was being tortured. When The Scourge pressed the hot poker against her flesh. I heard her screams and smelled her fear. Heard her begging for death as she was whipped. It was delicious.”
Barely a moment to think it through, Casimir lunged and slit his throat, black blood spurting from the wound. The daemon soldier went silent, body twitching as he died.
“What the fuck, Cas?” said Raine. “I have that nasty creature’s blood all over me now.”
He stood and wiped the dagger on his pants. “He was getting on my nerves.”
“We won’t get answers if he’s unconscious,” Quinn mocked him. “We won’t get answers if he’s dead either.” She strode out of the cell mumbling to herself about men and their impulsiveness.
They shut the door behind them and left. As they walked down the corridor, they ran into Thorne who eyed them with disgust at the black blood covering their uniforms.
“What is that smell?” he asked.
Quinn crossed her arms. “Daemon blood. Cas killed him too quickly before we could get much out of him.”
“You didn’t find anything out?”
“Just that he was there to kill her,” said Raine.
“They need her blood to open more portals. Why kill her?” Thorne responded.
“My guess,” said Quinn, “is she’s better off dead to them if they’re unable to capture her again. If she’s alive and not in their clutches, she’s a huge threat since she’s the only one who can defeat her. Especially now that she’s fae.”
“And they’ve already tried and failed taking her back how many times now? Three?” said Raine.
“Four,” Casimir answered.
“You’ve counted?” asked Raine.
“Of course I have. The hounds back at camp when we first met her; the snakes and soldiers at the tavern; Corvus; the attack on the ships. They’ve come after her four fucking times.”
“How did he get into the castle? I thought your security plans were impenetrable,” asked Thorne.
“They were,” Quinn replied.
“Which means…” Raine said.
“We may have a traitor in our midst,” Thorne whispered under his breath.
39
Voices spoke from far away. Just out of reach. Everything was muffled and dark. Cold.
So…so…cold.
A door closed. Silence.
