The more he spoke, the more my heart sank. As a draken, Wren should be naturally immune to most human diseases, but poison was a different story. And this stupid, naïve, little boy didn’t know enough to help her. My hands balled into fists, the only outward sign of frustration I gave. How did I know he didn’t poison her?

“If you’re responsible for—”

“I flayed the demon responsible alive, and her own venom did the rest. He’s currently on display on the gates, should you care to see for yourself.”

I huffed, begrudgingly impressed. “Bring her here so I can help her. Or Lyoness. As you can see, I’m busy doing your job.”

My tone left no room for argument. Thad stilled, meeting my gaze head on. I could barely see him in the darkness, the only light a soft glow emanating from both our blood magicks.

“It’s more complicated than that. I can’t just let her escape. It will thwart my plans.”

I growled. “Fuck your plans. Give me back my mate.”

We stood toe to toe with each other, neither backing down. “Try to order me and see what happens. Just try me. Now, tell me how to heal her so she doesn’t die.”

My fangs bared, my patience at its end. “Bring her here and I’ll heal her myself. Refuse and I’ll kill you.”

Thad had the audacity to snort at me. “You kill me, and she never leaves that fortress alive. She’s chained with white magick imbued into her collar and cuffs. Without me, she has no way out, and without knowing exactly where she is, you have no way in.”

My lips curled over my fangs, and I resisted the urge to put a dent in his pretty face. We’d been searching for weeks for this little shit, and he’d been hiding away with my mate this entire time. It didn’t matter if I didn’t know her precise whereabouts, I would tear the entire mountain apart.

“I could go on about how frantically the rebels have been searching for you, but you don’t seem to care. Frankly, neither do I. I’ll ask you one more time. Take me to Wren.”

Thad’s eyes narrowed. “You know I can’t do that.”

Instead of throttling him, I did one of Ronan’s breathing exercises.“Right. Because of your plans. What are they?”

Thad glared at me, and I growled back.

“Force the drink down her throat if it’s as bad as you claim. Did you forget what I told you? Even if it loses effectiveness over time, it will still help.”

Thad shook his head. “She won’t drink anything I give her while she’s like this.”

I smirked. Good for Wren for not trusting him.

“It’s not going to be so damn funny when she dies of dehydration!”

I lost my patience and tackled him with my bare hands. I flattened him to the marble floor and half-expected to be set upon by his magicks again. Instead, Thad fought me back with only his fists. We tussled like a couple of angry schoolboys on the ornate balcony, using each other to punch out our frustration and helplessness. I almost broke his jaw, and he managed to give me a black eye. We didn’t stop until I looked down, noticing the blood on the balcony. That would be hard to explain to the servants. I paused, then stood and held out a hand. Thad sneered and ignored it, pulling himself up.