Darkness Hunts (Dark Angels 4)

“Because I am not in your vicinity,” he answered. “This is little more than a communication sphere. It allows you and me to talk without interfering with the energy of the device within your heart.”

I snorted softly. So my father was once again ahead of the game when it came to the Raziq. “Where the hell are you, then?”

“It is unwise for you to know.” He paused. “I see you have been in Malin’s presence. She plays a dangerous game.”

“No more dangerous than you, apparently.”

“Ah, so she has outlined my intentions. Or what she knows of them.”

“She did. And I have to ask, why lie? Why say you wanted the keys destroyed when the opposite is true?”

“I thought a gentler approach might be wise.”

I snorted. Yeah, that whole throwing-me-around-the-bathroom episode could definitely be described as gentle. “So can the keys be destroyed? Or was that also a lie?”

“It is not a lie, but it is also not possible. Not unless you wish to destroy existence.”

Of course, I thought wearily. Why on earth I’d actually expected the destruction of the keys to be a simple thing with few repercussions, I have no idea.

“Why would destroying the keys destroy the gray fields and earth?”

“Because blood was used in their creation, and it now links the keys to the structure of the portals. Destroy the keys, and you will more than likely shatter the power of the portals.”

“How is this different from the sorcerer forcing the gates open or the Raziq wanting them closed?”

“In either event, the link shared between portals and keys is not altered or disrupted. But destroy them, and the portals—which are woven into the very fabric of existence—are endangered.”

Well, fuck. What was I supposed to do now? Let a dictator win? Or worse still, the Raziq or the dark sorcerer?

“Am I not the better option for humanity? At least the portals would still remain viable.”

Until he decided it was better for him that they weren’t. Whatever else my father might be, I very much doubted that he’d be a benevolent dictator.

But that was not an argument I was going to get into. “Malin did something to me, but I can’t tell you what. She erased the memory.”

“She more than likely sharpened the frequency of the device so that its call would be more instantaneous. That’s what I would have done in her place.”

“Maybe.” Maybe not. I wasn’t trusting an Aedh to do the expected, my father included.

“Nor should you.” He paused. “I see that you have had a parting of the way with the Aedh. That is unfortunate.”

It was, but why the hell would my father think that? Had I been right in my earlier suspicions? And did I really want to know just how much Lucian had played me for a fool?

No, I thought. But I asked all the same. “What Aedh are we talking about now?”

“You are not stupid, Risa. Please do not act like it.”

“Lucian.” God, I thought, had every single moment with him been filled with nothing more than lies and schemes?

“As you have partially guessed, he and I are adversaries.” There was cool amusement in his voice, and I wasn’t sure why. “But what you do not know is that once we were allies. In fact, he was my chrání—what you would call either a student or protégé.”

Shock coursed through me. “You and Lucian? Allies? Then why in the hell does he hate you so much?”

“Because I never intended to share domination. Once the keys were safely in the possession of my Razan, I betrayed him to make my own escape.”

He was the reason Lucian had been stripped of his powers. Fuck, the hate I’d seen had been aimed at me as much as the Raziq—not only because I was Hieu’s offspring, but because I’d also betrayed him by not using his sorceress’s ward.

“Then how did you get caught? Or was that another lie to get me to do your bidding?”