“Screw you!” Darcy spat.
Excoria hid her smile. She would have enjoyed telling Ekon that, but didn’t have the courage. When Ekon took a menacing step toward the impure, she grabbed his arm.
“Leave her. She’s not worth your time.”
He took a deep breath. “You’re right. Nivla will be here soon.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Nivla? Will the exchange take place so soon?” Her stomach curled. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. She knew he would come sooner or later, but she preferred later. Much later.
“There’s been a change of plans.” He looked at her with all the innocence of a rattlesnake. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“No, I guess you forgot.”
There was a whirring outside. Dread filled Excoria. Nivla was here. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what was about to happen.
Ekon went to meet his father after the craft landed. Excoria hurried in his wake. The craft’s door was opening. Three high warriors came out first. Then Nivla appeared, standing at the threshold. She was pretty sure he did it for effect. She rolled her eyes, then quickly bowed her head.
“Ekon, you have been successful?”
“Yes, Father.”
“I didn’t doubt you would be. After all, you’re my son.” His forehead wrinkled. “Why are you dressed like this?”
“I’m in costume, Father. So I could blend in at the party.”
“Very wise.” His lip curled in disdain when his gaze moved to Excoria.
She raised her chin. Could she help it if this was all she had to wear? She’d asked for funds and had only been laughed at.
They breezed past her without a word. She fumed silently as she followed.
“This is the impure?” Nivla asked as he glanced in Darcy’s direction.
“Yes.”
He stared at her for a long time. Excoria knew exactly what was on his mind. The slit up Darcy’s dress had ripped and most of her legs were exposed. Nivla licked his lips as if he would like to join the impure inside her cage, but then he must have decided he didn’t have time. He turned to the other cage.
“Ah, Prince Surlock.” He clapped his son on the back. “You have done well, my son.”
Excoria cleared her throat. Really, did he actually think his imbecile son had done everything by himself? Not hardly, and she wasn’t about to let Ekon steal all the glory.
“Excoria, did you want something?” Nivla asked.
“I helped,” she whined. That hadn’t come out like she had planned. “I mean to say that I was the one who kept an eye on Prince Surlock, and I lured the girl here.”
“You mean the impure?” He scoffed. “I wouldn’t think she would be a problem.”
“Well, she wasn’t.”
“Then it’s settled. We’re taking the prince to Rovertia to make the exchange for our Great Leader. You will stay here and dispose of the impure.”
“And then what?”
He waved his hand as though she was a bothersome gnat buzzing around his face. “Then you will continue as before, hunting other impures.”
“But—”
Nivla squared his shoulders while his son smirked. “You have a problem with my orders?”
She bowed her head, placing the back of her hand against her forehead. “No, Great Leader.”
“Good.” He turned to his men. “Load the prince on the craft. It’s time we leave.”
They were none too gentle with the prince as they carried him to the craft. Excoria stepped outside and watched them take off. There went her dreams of riches. They wouldn’t even bother to mention her part in the prince’s capture. All of the credit for this mission would go to Nivla and his son. She was nothing to them, so nothing in the way of wealth or honors would come her way.
She picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could at the departing craft. Not that it would even come close to its mark, but it made her feel a little better. If there was any way she could get revenge, she would!
Now she had to dispose of the impure. And worse, she still hadn’t eaten, and she was starving.
She stomped back inside the warehouse. The woman eyed her warily.
“I have to kill you,” Excoria told her. “If I don’t, someone else will. Then they would come after me.” She shrugged. “You know how it is.”
Excoria opened the door and stepped inside. The girl tried to move away, but the drug hadn’t worn off completely. Excoria knew from experience it would leave her incapacitated for several more hours. Excoria wasn’t sure if that made her job more difficult or not. She hated watching the impures struggle as they attempted to escape. They were like worms on the floor, wiggling and squirming.
She really, really hated this part.
“I can’t die,” Darcy said, her voice bleak with denial.
“Everyone has to die,” Excoria said. “It’s a fact of life. You’ll just be leaving a little sooner than you’d planned.”
“But I haven’t lived my dream,” she murmured.
Excoria knew she shouldn’t engage in conversation with the impure, but she was curious. She knew about dreams and what it felt like to have them crumble at your feet.
“What was your dream?” she asked.
“I wanted to work as a private investigator.”
Excoria snorted. “That’s it? You wanted a job? Why didn’t you just do it?”
“Because I lacked the courage.”
“Think about it this way: You won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
CHAPTER 24
Surlock opened his eyes and blinked, trying to clear the fog that shrouded his thoughts. Where was he? His gaze moved about the enclosure. He was in a cage. It was small. Barely enough room for him to lie on his side and even then, he had to curl his legs.
But why? He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. He finally grabbed the bars and pulled himself up. It took all his strength. His mind was foggy, and it was difficult to concentrate.
Then it hit him. The party. Darcy. Looking for her. Some woman pretending to be her. He’d been shot with something that had knocked him out.
The breath went out of him, and if he hadn’t been holding on to the bars, he would have gone to the floor. Where was Darcy? He looked around, but didn’t see her.
“Darcy!”
A few moments later a door whooshed open and a man stepped inside. He was short and fat, with a large nose. “I see our captive is awake,” the man said.
“Where’s Darcy?”
“Dead, by now. I had her killed,” he said as if she had been nothing.
Everything around Surlock stopped moving. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the bars. The weakness he’d felt threatened to topple him. Darcy was dead? He closed his eyes tight against the pain that ripped through him. By the gods, not Darcy.
Surlock glared at the man and saw pleasure flit across his face.
“You lie!” Surlock said.
“Lie? No, I haven’t lied.” He shook his head. “Why do you look so shocked? She was an impure. I’m a rogue. Second in command,” he puffed out his chest. “I’m Nivla, and rogues kill impures.” He brushed at his coat sleeve.
“No, she can’t be dead.”
“Please tell me that you didn’t care for her,” he sneered. “But of course you did. Your brothers have mated with impures. They might as well have wallowed in sewage. Symtarian blood should never mix with other races.”
Surlock reached through the bars of the cage, growling. Nivla stepped back, fear on his face. Then he relaxed and smiled.
If Surlock could’ve gotten a few inches closer, he would have strangled the life out of this man. He was a lunatic with his talk of impures. What was that supposed to mean?
“Ah, yes, I see it in your eyes. You really don’t remember who you are.” He laughed. “This is quite amusing. I wish I could keep you around longer. What fun I would have.”
Surlock stretched his arm farther, but it was still not far enough to reach Nivla. He looked at the bars as if he would rip them out.
“The cage is quite strong. You can’t escape,” Nivla told him with a cocky smirk.