Not that she wanted to test Kirigan’s mental stability by talking about love and gods.

Thankfully he didn’t seem to be expecting an answer, and his gaze remained thoughtful and distant rather than burning into hers as it had when he was determined to force her to speak.

“Yes, well, whatever it is, musing about it won’t help us get Kain. Let’s just focus on bringing him back—he chose to claim a mate, so he can also deal with her unstable power,” Kesh interrupted. He’d folded both arms over his chest, looking like he was more than ready to pawn her and her unexpected issue off on his brother at the first opportunity. Apparently this demon Lord had had enough of babysitting a wayward Breeder.

“But on the contrary, my son.” Kirigan’s mouth quirked lightly at one corner, lending his expression a wicked slant. “This is exactly what we need to focus on to get Kain back. A Breeder capable of killing our kind? The females will never see it coming, and it will lend us the element of surprise we need in order to overpower them.”

“Absolutely not!” Kesh’s scowl dropped in favor of pure outrage, and in the next moment, he shoved her behind his back. “I am not taking her into the middle of the queen’s territory! Kain left her for me to protect, not you, and there is no way I’m risking her life on such a folly!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, she’s not exactly a helpless little darling. Do you have a better plan?”

“She is untrained. We have no guarantee she’ll be able to call on her power at will, not to mention what will happen to whatever men we bring with us. The second something scares her, they’ll likely abandon their positions to protect her, risking the entire fucking operation. It’s not going to happen, and I don’t care how bloody you beat me—I’d rather risk your wrath than have to live with the knowledge that I caused a Breeder’s death!”

The last sentence hung in the air between them like a solid entity in the room. Selma winced, desperately praying that the harsh words didn’t cause Kirigan to go over the deep end.

But when he spoke, his voice was quiet and controlled.

“If you learned anything from your mother’s death, it should have been that no one can force these creatures to bend to our urge to possess them. Not in the long run. Now do yourself a favor and ask the little one what she wants to do.”

“It doesn’t matter what she wants,” he hissed, though his voice had lost some of its power. “She’s my responsibility.”