Behind them stood five silent demons from Kain’s personal forces. One of them had greeted Selma with a familiar smile, but she hadn’t recognized Thomren before Kain called him by name. They were all here for her protection in case things went bad.

“So? What is it?” The Governor looked irritably to her mate, drumming a clawed hand against the desk's mahogany surface. “I am not letting you into the arena before I know exactly what’s going to happen.”

With a shrug, Kain turned the bag he was carrying in his right hand upside-down and shook it. Naharan’s decapitated head landed on the thick carpet with a thunk.

The Governor stared at the head as if fascinated by the fluids slowly seeping into the fibers. When he finally lifted his fiery eyes to Kain again, there was apprehension behind his gaze.

“So… you’re planning a coup?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask why?”

Kain glanced down at the head by his feet. “He ambushed me and gave me to the queen to breed, all so he could steal my mate. I saw no other option.”

The Governor’s eyebrows rose incrementally. “That sounds… unlikely. Your mate is lovely, to be sure—” He nodded at Selma as if paying her a compliment before continuing. “—but no sane man would commit the highest form of treason, even for a Pure Breeder. Do you have any proof to support these allegations?”

“Selma.”

Her name on Kain’s lips sounded less like a lover’s caress than she was accustomed to and more like the command of someone who was used to being obeyed. She stepped forward nonetheless, glancing up at her mate before looking at the Governor.

“Would you please show His Excellency the object you claimed when you defeated the queen?” Kain said.

He was stretching the truth a bit here—she hadn’t taken anything after more or less accidentally killing the queen. She had promptly passed out, leaving Kain and his family to get them out of there, but she’d been told that claiming ownership of the Stone of Power would more firmly secure her position—even if she had no idea how to use it, or even what its significance was.

Fumbling a little, she pulled the smooth rock out of her pocket and held it out. It fit perfectly in her palm and shone with a dark light that pulsed warmly against her skin.

The Governor gasped and jumped to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor behind him. “How…? How did you get that?”

“The queen was using it to control my mate and his family. She said it was a gift from the Prince in exchange for helping him capture Kain and myself. I killed her and was told it now rightfully belongs to me.” She closed her hand around it and pushed it back into her pocket.