Lucivar’s instant, razor-edged tension startled all of them.

What’s happening between them? Saetan wondered as Daemon and Lucivar just stared at each other. Seeing the sleepy look in Daemon’s eyes, he felt ice wrap around his spine.

“I don’t think the Lady understands the repercussions of her order,” Lucivar said carefully.

“Oh,” Daemon purred, “I think she understands them quite well. You just don’t agree with her. That’s not sufficient reason to disobey her.”

“Considering what you’ve done in other courts, you’re not exactly a model of obedience,” Lucivar said with a little heat.

“That’s irrelevant. We’re talking about you and this court. And I’m telling you, Yaslana, that you will not distress her with defiance or disobedience. If you do…” Daemon merely smiled.

Lucivar shuddered.

After Daemon glided out of the room, Saetan asked, “Is he bluffing?” He became uneasy when Lucivar just stared at the table. “Lucivar?”

“The Sadist doesn’t bluff,” Lucivar said roughly. “He doesn’t need to.” He strode out of the room.

“It would seem there’s nothing more to discuss,” Saetan said, rising from the table. A flick of a glance brought Andulvar, Prothvar, and Mephis to their feet.

Letting the other men precede him, he had almost shut the door when he heard Aaron say, “What do we really know about Daemon Sadi?”

He closed the door silently. When he turned toward the other men, he saw the same question in Andulvar’s eyes—and he was no longer sure he had an answer.

2 / Kaeleer

“What do we really know about Daemon Sadi?” Aaron said.

Karla let the murmurs of opinion and conversation become a wash of sound as she sank deeper into her own thoughts.

What did they really know about Daemon Sadi?

He was a Black-Jeweled Warlord Prince and a natural Black Widow—an explosively dangerous, beautiful-looking man.

He was the High Lord’s mirror, but not a perfect reflection.

He was a man who, for most of his life, had been chained in one way or another to Dorothea SaDiablo, Kaeleer’s enemy.