Page 47 of The Demon’s Collar (The Bard’s Demon #1)

Another day, seeing Aelith’s quiet fury leveled at Austvix so directly might have been pleasurable. But just now, it concerned me.

The golden hue of Austvix’s already thin patience darkened by several degrees at the sound of his sisters’ names.

Pax, who’d been sleeping in the corner, stood, stretched, and padded over to sit at his feet.

I watched the feline with trepidation. It was a relatively small creature, but I’d witnessed the damage it could do on more than one occasion.

“I’m sure Eroithiel will be flattered to hear how deeply she’s drawn you all in,” Austvix said. “But that is what she’s done. That’s what we do. We are godsent. Our wiles—our charm—it’s all part of that. We are alluring?—”

“Humble, too,” I said.

Austvix rounded on me, eyes blazing. “It’s not a joke, demon.”

“It’s a little bit of a joke,” I muttered.

He turned to his human audience in frustration.

“The Temple Mother prophesied that the seventh sibling would be my end—unless I got to her first. Has knowing her for the space of one expedition won you all so thoroughly that you’ve changed sides?

Do you forget our purpose here? Am I looking at the seed of the seventh faction in my war room? ”

That hit the mark.

Immediately, conflicting emotions plagued the room.

Not a single person present would willingly betray Austvix.

Not even for Ero. Well— I would, if I had any control over the matter.

But I didn’t need to share that. I wasn’t here because I believed in Austvix’s righteous mandate.

I was here because he was my path back to power.

“You did get to her first,” Tavish said, taking advantage of the beat of silence. “She’s here, and no harm came to you. The Temple Mother spoke to her, too—and she’s been chasing a mirage ever since. My lord, if you would just talk to her…”

Austvix sighed heavily.

“She would fight for you, if you gave her a chance,” Brü added.

“She already has,” Nigel pointed out.

“She’s nice,” Hammond said, pounding his meaty fist against the bench for emphasis.

Austvix’s desire to tell us all to get the hell out peaked. And then his eyes landed on me again—this time, with a dawning realization. I didn’t actually fit in this group. A group that was determined to keep alive someone who he knew I had specific and strong reasons to want dead.

I saw his intentions shift a moment before he spoke. I was about to become his scapegoat. And to my surprise, he was going to out himself in the process. Not what I’d planned—but I would have to adjust.

Austvix tilted his head, ignoring everyone else in the room, holding my gaze.

Just as I’d suspected, his defenses were up.

Like Aelith, Austvix longed for the morally righteous path.

Unlike her, he was willing to use morally questionable means—such as making deals with demons—if he thought doing so would increase his odds of achieving his ends.

“I haven’t heard from you, B?k,” he said coolly. “Are you here to argue for my sister as well?”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

I might as well have drawn a weapon. His suspicion sharpened acutely.

“You think I should reconsider her execution?” he asked with an uptick in his tone. It was obviously a leading question. We both knew where it was going.

“I do,” I said, perfectly willing to play my part.

“And where would that leave me?” he demanded with an acidic gotcha in his tone. “Waiting to spend eternity with my soul splintered in your hellchamber?”

No part of my senses managed to evade Aelith’s fresh spike of rage. I’d purposely left out this detail when I explained the situation. Only Austvix and I and the Temple Mother who’d overseen our contract knew about it. We were the only ones who needed to.

Everyone stared at us.

“Rewrite the contract,” I said evenly. “Take her out of it. ”

Austvix glowered. More certain than ever that this was a coup, though he couldn’t quite figure out how. But I’d already fractured his soul for collateral. Of course he didn’t expect me to give up something for nothing now.

“Why?” he demanded.

“Because I’m not going to be the reason you hurt her,” I said.

My voice rose in volume without my explicit consent.

“Because you’ve granted everyone from a Hell-fled demon to a hideous water elemental safe haven.

Because Ero has spent her whole life looking for her family, and this is a pretty perverse twist—even from the perspective of someone whose existence was designed for torment. ”

Silence hung in the air for one long beat.

“He’s in love with her,” Aelith said. She sounded perplexed, as if just putting that together for herself.

Austvix and I both shot her disgusted looks. Although technically, I suppose she was being helpful.

Brü, Hammond, and Nigel looked away. Tavish might have too. He was suddenly imperceptible.

The thing about Lord Austvix was, he wasn’t a typical human. He was reasonable. But some dilemmas, even reason couldn’t fix. Although my inner beast purred at the flavor of his turmoil, the uncomfortable strings in my chest tightened—because I wasn’t sure we were winning this battle.

“Thank you all,” Lord Austvix said, his tone painstakingly formal and freshly removed. “You may go now.”

No one moved. Except for Hammond, who stood. But he sat back down when he noticed everyone else’s stony expressions.

Austvix nodded the nod of a man on the unpopular side of an argument. The nod of a man who had resigned himself to selecting the best of two terrible options in the face of a mob who would tear him apart either way. The trouble was, I didn’t know which option he’d chosen.

“I’m going to have a word with my demon,” he said pointedly to the others. “And then I will speak with my sister. You can all consider your concerns heard. Do not question me again.”

This time, everyone stood. Except for Hammond, who stood only after looking around to assure himself that everyone else had.

They all filed out. Their sideways glances at the uncertain outcome mirrored my discomfort.

Lord Austvix sagged when the door shut. Absent the others, I more clearly tasted the heavy burden he grappled with. It wasn’t just about Ero. The losses to our party, the threat of battles to come, the murky sense that the Fates were toying with us—all tugged at him. Death by a thousand cuts.

“Tell me how you found her,” he said. “Just the important parts.”

So, I told him. I told him about the moment I first saw her.

The pathetic band of fringe Huntress factionites, and the way she’d hidden herself among them with that iridescent magic and a weapon I knew didn’t belong.

I told him of the slaughter, of hearing her accent, of my fear that letting her slip away would be detrimental.

That explained the collar. I told him about the ambush, the Huntress’s clever play, Ero’s song, my resulting madness, and eventually the siphon.

I skipped a few things. The fucking, mostly. It seemed prudent to skip that. Luckily, he hadn’t bid me ?tell him everything.

By the time I finished, Lord Austvix existed somewhere far away mentally. He did that sometimes. His flavor hollowed, like icemelt in an empty drink.

“I see,” was all he said. And then, coming somewhat back to himself, he met my eyes. “You will not speak to Eroithiel again, B?k. However this goes— that will not happen.”

Just like that, my little group’s half victory turned to ash in my mouth.

The order was not brotherly concern for the bard.

That much was clear. Austvix’s fear that I would still find a way to use her to outplay him—the way he’d been so certain I had when he saw that collar on her throat—remained palpable.

She was his foretold end. I was the choice he tortured himself for making every night.

Of course he expected his own downfall to involve me.

“You’re dismissed,” Austvix said.

The fragments of protest died on my tongue.

I left.