Chapter Nine

Tanitha did not believe for a second that she was safe.

She remained where she was, not truly believing that the demon lord had left until the warm glow from the elemental lights began to slowly illuminate the room. The hall was exactly as it had been before, with no sign that he'd been there at all. She might have thought that the whole encounter was a product of her strained nerves except for the strange warmth that still tingled on her skin where he'd touched her.

She clasped her hands together at her waist, taking a steadying breath. She'd experienced such a rush of heat in her blood and of energy dancing over her skin when he'd touched her, as if that slight brush of skin, that brief moment of contact, had been the long-awaited touch of a lover. Why had her body responded like that? She couldn't even see him, by the One. He'd had a strong, commanding voice, true, and his hands had been strong and steady, with the callouses of a swordsman and the muscled forearms to match, but… surely that wasn't enough to have elicited that kind of desire in her own body?

Tanitha pulled her arms tight around herself beneath the shawl with a shiver. There were all manner of tales told about the Shadowborn City's demonic overlords, many of them nonsense, but their strength in elemental magic was well-known. Soul was one of the primal elements— every child knew that— and it could be that he was gifted in that area, able to create a resonance between his desires and those of others around him. Of course, that implied that a demon found her desirable, which was not at all comforting. Even less comforting was the thought that, if he'd pressed his advantage in that moment, she wasn't certain it would have even occurred to her to resist.

She closed her eyes against that thought, focusing for a moment on her breathing, counting the seconds between the ebb and flow of each breath. She was being ridiculous and making excuses for herself. If he'd been magically manipulating her, he wouldn't have pulled away like he had. Whatever response she'd had, it was hers alone, much as she hated to admit it.

Slowly, she looked around, scanning the room once more. After confirming that she was indeed alone, she sank back down into the chair. Her body might have decided to be foolish, but her mind didn't have to do the same. She needed to evaluate this situation calmly.

Human, more often than not , he'd said of himself. As if trying to reassure her. She supposed she should appreciate that, but it was difficult to feel anything but apprehension and confusion on that point. Why was a demon the least bit concerned about her comfort or her mental state? In fact, why even trouble with her fate at all? His explanation— that he didn't think she deserved to die— was scanty at best. This had to be some kind of game, some kind of ruse, but she didn't understand it at all.

Think, she ordered herself. What do you know about him, and what can you guess?

In the category of things that she knew… only his nature, and what it meant. A demon, both physically and magically very strong, at least compared to her. But what about compared to other demons? Who was she dealing with?

She thought back to the conversation. He claimed he'd been ordered to kill her, and she didn't have reason to doubt it— Ivathi Yarun had certainly been under orders to send her as a sacrifice, so that part of the chain of events seemed… plausible, she supposed, if also painful and grossly unjust.

She closed her eyes against a prickle of tears. The betrayal hadn't been his fault, she knew. Not really. Everyone knew the gods asked hard things of their worshippers. But knowing that someone she'd trusted, the nearest person to a father that she'd ever had, would obey such an order and do nothing to help her… the thought of that made her chest so tight that it hurt to breathe.

She pulled her thoughts back from that trail, from the depths she knew it would lead her to. She'd have to swim through the hurt of it sooner or later, but right now, she was secluded in a remote area with a demon of unknown intentions. Right now, she needed to work through what she might be able to deduce about him.

All right, then. He'd been ordered to kill her. That was the only thing he'd said that she thought she could take at face value, but it was loaded with implications. She leaned against the table, still feeling unsteady. No one of true significance could be ordered to do anything, so he was probably a mid- to low-ranking demon, minor nobility. The fact that there was no way she could have come to the attention of someone in the higher ranks supported that theory. So… somehow, she'd offended or insulted or otherwise annoyed someone of middling rank, who had then ordered him to kill her?

It was the best string of events she could pull together with the knowledge she had. It was incomplete, but at least it made sense. If he truly had spared her out of sympathy— she still wasn't fully convinced on that point, but she could operate from it for now— he wasn't overly concerned about the repercussions if his lapse was discovered. She couldn't imagine rescuing her had been a matter of significant risk to him. There was no situation where a demon would think she was worth that.

And then there was the other matter. He'd told her he intended to find out the nature of the threat against her, but… that was a lie. It had to be. She couldn't imagine for a second that someone as powerful as a demon lord, even one of the lesser ones, could be commanded to murder someone without knowing who had given the order, if not the reason for it. He wasn't low enough in society that he had to accept orders without question. None of the demons were.

No, he knew more about what was going on than he was saying. And whether she believed that he meant her harm or not, that meant that she couldn't trust him. Not , she thought firmly, that there had been much risk of that to start with, the strange moment of attraction notwithstanding. Why rescue her and then refuse to explain the truth about why she had needed rescuing in the first place, though?

She didn't know, and she didn't have enough information to theorize further. All she knew was that she had enough information to be skeptical about his intentions. She glanced toward the pair of grand doors on the far side of the hall, the one she'd thought might lead outside. It had to be well past nightfall by then, but despite the fact that she'd been unconscious all day, she still felt drained and weak. Whether it was from her ordeal or from the strain of standing before a demon lord who could use darkness itself as a cloak, she didn't know, but whatever the cause, she was exhausted.

He'd said he'd be here in the evenings. If she could take that at face value, she'd have this place to herself in the day. She could rest through the night, and then explore this place, try to find more information. Perhaps she could even start working on a plan to escape.

The thought sent an uneasy ripple of anxiety through her. You're welcome to leave, if you trust your own protection over mine , he'd said. But did he truly mean that, or was she actually a prisoner? Would he be angry if she tried to leave? Would he punish her? She wasn't certain. There were so many things she didn't know.

She thought of Lithra, and her heart ached. Lithra could look out for herself, she knew. But she was a tenderhearted girl, and she shouldn't have to. More than that, she shouldn't have to endure losing the only family she'd ever had. Going through that would break her. It certainly would have broken Tanitha.

She closed her eyes for several seconds. Between herself and Lithra, her sister was in far less possible danger, so she didn't know why she was so determined to worry about her. Unless, she supposed, it was just her way of deflecting her own thoughts from her own situation, distracting herself from how utterly helpless she felt. In fact, that might well be what was behind thoughts of escape as well; it could easily be a manifestation of a desperate desire to be able to do something at a point when she felt more powerless than perhaps she ever had, even knowing how foolish it might be.

She gave herself a little shake. She couldn't let those feelings drive her. She had to be calm and rational about this. And yet, she truly couldn't countenance the thought of passively waiting for the truth of her host's intentions to emerge. She needed to at least find out if escape was even a possibility, and then she could assess if it was the best choice. She nodded to herself. It might feel unbearable, but waiting didn't mean that she was failing to take action if she observed and assessed all the while. Right now, that might be all she could do. But somehow, some way, she was going to find out the truth of what was happening to her.