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Talon twirled the bloody knife around his fingers as he leaned against the cold, damp wall of the dungeons beneath Levea. The short blade swung back and forth while frustration coursed through his veins.

Mate.

The word tasted like bitter poison on his tongue and left his heart aching.

He should be more grateful. He was grateful. Without that male, Arianna and their entire company of warriors would have died before help arrived.

But that knowledge didn’t ease the pain.

When he’d left, Talon knew Avalon intended to execute The Demon, but he’d also anticipated Arianna’s intervention. He just hadn’t counted on the creature staying or him returning to find—Talon slammed his fist against the wall, bruising his already injured hand. She’d run into his arms, not The Demon’s. Talon had thought if he found the male responsible for her mother’s death . . .

Talon shook his head. But he hadn’t. He’d just found another lead that was proving to be a dead end.

Talon and his second, Aiden, had been trying to break the male for a week, and the shadow weaver had given them absolutely nothing.

Talon glanced up to watch Aiden land another blow across the male’s jaw. Blood and spittle flew from the male’s mouth, along with a tooth that clattered across the stone.

Talon had never been one for prisoners. They were messy and took time, but his predecessors had always told Talon he’d learn their value eventually. Right now, the only thing he’d learned was their annoyance.

Aiden landed another blow and Talon finally pushed off from the wall. “That’s enough.” His second stepped back and shook out his fist. After the vile comment their prisoner had made about Aiden’s mother, he couldn’t blame the male’s brutality. Part of him welcomed it, especially when their captive was protecting a murderer.

Lillian had been such a gentle creature. Innocent. Likely the only one among them who could be called such. He wished he’d been old enough to protect her back then. Perhaps he could have scented The Demon’s presence before the creature whisked her away. He knew The Demon hadn’t delivered the killing blow, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t at fault.

After that fateful night, Avalon had more than doubled the security around his daughters, and their High Lord had remained vigilant ever since.

Talon had never quite understood how Lillian and Avalon had worked out. They’d been polar opposites, but mates were mates.

Talon’s jaw ticked as Arianna’s face flashed through his mind. He bit the inside of his cheek. He knew full well what that bond meant. No one else mattered anymore, not in the way he wanted to matter. Any thoughts or desires he carried for his childhood friend—Talon shook his head and prowled into the cell.

He flipped the knife in his hand. “This would go over a lot easier if you just gave us a location.”

The male spit at Talon’s boots, splattering them with saliva and blood. “As I told your friend, I don’t know anything.”

The lie burnt the inside of Talon’s nostrils. They’d been close. He knew it now. If he’d led his warriors just a little further into those caverns, Talon knew he would have found the male responsible for Lillian’s death.

“Your lies piss me off.”

The male scoffed. “As if I care.”

Talon slammed his fist into the male’s jaw. “You will. One way or another, you will break.”

The male slid his tongue across his split lip. “Why don’t you take these shackles off and we’ll see who breaks?”

Talon stared at him. Maybe it was stupid, but he was too pissed off to care. These people had attacked his city, killed his comrades, stolen his High Lady, and erased her from the world.

Talon jerked his head toward Aiden. “Remove his cuffs.”

His second looked ready to protest, but stopped as Talon shot him a look. He shrugged and grabbed the keys.

Aiden had been patient with him. Patient as Talon prowled around training until his body ached and paced the compound all hours of the night. Avalon had been all over him since his return. He’d commanded Talon to remove The Demon from the city, kill him if he was able. Talon had refused. He’d screamed at him to get their forces organized, account for how they’d been infiltrated. Talon hadn’t succeeded. And his High Lord had demanded what use a prisoner could possibly be, to which Talon still didn’t have an answer.

A failure at every turn.

One latch fell to the floor followed by the other. Aiden took a step back, eyeing the prisoner.

“You’re going to re—” Talon’s boot collided with the male’s face, sending him sprawling across the damp floor. Talon grabbed a handful of the male’s hair and covered his arm in a sheet of ice when shadows crawled across the male’s skin.

Talon slammed the male’s head into the side wall. Again, and again, and again, spluttering those shadows each time his head collided with the stone. The male raised an arm to shield his face and pulled his legs beneath him. He drew his fist back and landed a blow to Talon’s gut, but the raging snarl that ripped from Talon’s throat had the male’s face paling.