Severn leaned back, trailing fingers below his chin. “Though to be fair, I doubt your mother was even aware of who stood over her while you were conceived. They rarely are.”

Thad’s body quivered in anger, and Severn dismissed him to address me. “Did you know his secret? Perhaps not, since you are a young creature. Your draken king should have certainly scented it. What a fool he was to keep the knowledge hidden.”

I spit a wad of blood at his feet, and Severn slapped me. I fell on my side, and Thad roared. He broke free of the shadow demons and lunged towards me. Severn’s eyes narrowed in interest as more vampyres and demons rushed to contain him. I raised a blood-encrusted eyebrow—it took six before they had him under control. Severn continued only when Thad was unable to move. I wanted to yell at him that I had no idea, to not listen, because Severn was likely baiting him. It was all I could do to keep breathing in and out in a steady rhythm, my nerves still twitching in aftershocks.

The shadow demons dropped Thad and he fell, no strength left to catch himself. His wound still bled, his face pale and his brow covered in sweat. He was going to die if someone didn’t intercede, and I knew his death would hurt our cause tremendously. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. It had nothing to do with the pain in my chest or the tightness in my heart.

“Heal him.”

I jerked, surprised at Severn’s clipped order. One of the shadow demons disappeared, then reappeared with a human prisoner in his arms. The man was filthier than I was and immediately began pleading for his life. “Please! Don’t, I—”

The shadow demon broke his arm, the snapping sound was one I would hear in my nightmares for years to come. The man screamed, and I knew immediately what was going to happen. White magick relied on pain, on fear, Benedict had said. They were going to use this man’s agony to save Thad’s life. I made myself watch as the shadow demon methodically worked down the man’s arm, snapping his forearm, his wrist, then individual fingers. The demon moved to the other arm, ignoring the man’s frantic sobs. The man finally passed out from the pain halfway through the second arm, and Severn waved his fingers lazily. The shadow demon snapped the man’s neck, and he fell dead to the floor. White energy coalesced into the demon’s hand as he drew it from the dead body. With a grunt he punched it down into Thad’s chest, who screamed and went limp.

Screams. Too many screams. When would they stop?

Severn looked at me and said, “We have to keep one of our best assets in good health.”

An asset? Did they plan to turn Thad to their side? They hardly had to do that . . . if they just killed him, the human resistance would likely scatter. It would be difficult to unite the Cantradian humans without a figurehead. Severn tilted his head to the side, amused at my perplexed expression.