He clenched his teeth against the pain. “Mistress.”

“Come forward.”

The voice rang through the air like a massive bell, sending his feet moving forward. “I am your servant,” he muttered, shuddering beneath the force of her coercion.

He was a puppet.

A weak, spineless puppet.

“Yes, you are.” To emphasize his defeatist thoughts, the Dark Lord ran a mocking glance down his naked body before reaching out to wrap her fingers around his neck. “Pretty, pretty leech. What shall we do first?”

“You promised to return my mate.”

Nails sliced into his flesh as the flickering lion’s head briefly merged with the pretty female face. “You are so eager to join your mate?”

Gaius shuddered. He had no desire to be around when that hovering specter joined its power with the Dark Lord.

“Yes.”

“No.” A petulant expression settled on the deity’s pretty features. She didn’t like that Gaius wasn’t eager to play the devoted worshipper. “Not yet.”

“What do you want from me?” he managed to choke out.

There was a long pause, as if his captor was inwardly weighing the pleasure of ripping out his throat against her mysterious need of him.

At last he was shoved away and the Dark Lord smoothed a hand down her robe, turning it to a pale shade of peach. The color emphasized the absurd innocence of her youthful appearance even as the strange shadow loomed behind her in a silent threat.

“For now, you will offer me your military expertise.”

Gaius blinked. His military expertise? Was this yet another trick?

“You intend to lead an army into battle?” he demanded.

The female smiled with cruel anticipation. “No, but I do intend to release my hordes on the world.”

Gaius stilled, his mind racing. It wasn’t that he gave a damn what happened once the Dark Lord unleashed her minions. Hadn’t he turned his back on the world that had allowed the brutal death of his beloved mate? No, of course he didn’t care. But after being deceived and manipulated by this evil bitch, he wasn’t opposed to witnessing her downfall.

Or even helping it along.

“You don’t need a general to release hordes,” he pointed out in cautious tones.

She shrugged. “I want to be certain they are released where they can cause the most harm. The sooner they deal with my enemies, the sooner I can make my return.”

“Why wait?” Gaius lifted his brows. “Surely you want the satisfaction of personally destroying those who stood in your path?”

“It would certainly be pleasurable to witness the slaughter,” the Dark Lord admitted, “but I’m not foolish enough to take the risk.” The blue eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And as my devoted worshipper, I’m disappointed you would not be more concerned for my safety.”

“Safety?” Gaius pretended confusion. “Aren’t you omnipotent now that you’ve become the Gemini?”

Something that might have been frustration rippled over the delicate features. “My powers are still . . . fluid.”

Gaius’s gaze shifted to the flickering outline of the beast. “I don’t understand. Didn’t the transformation work?”

Crimson fire consumed the blue eyes as the Dark Lord’s power wrapped around Gaius with a punishing grip.

“Focus your energy on finding the quickest path to victory, Gaius, unless you desire to find out firsthand the extent of my transformation.”

Styx’s lair in Chicago

Cassie had a fuzzy impression of being led into an enormous dining room with wood-paneled walls and then being seated at a table long enough to accommodate an entire clan of ogres. She ate what was put in front of her and answered the endless stream of questions without being conscious of the words leaving her lips.

Distantly, she was aware when Regan was abruptly called from the room, her cell phone pressed to her ear and servants scurrying around her as she barked out a series of orders. And then again when she returned to the room to whisper in Harley’s ear. There was even a part of her mind that understood something had happened, no doubt something to do with the Dark Lord, but she could concentrate on nothing but the thought of Caine and the relentlessly slow passing of minutes.

How long had Salvatore been with him?

She glanced toward the clock on the ornately carved sideboard. Two hours? Three? Surely long enough for the king to have discovered whether or not his powers were enough to return Caine to his humanity?

At last reaching the end of her patience, Cassie was at the point of demanding that her sisters take her to Caine when the scent of approaching Were had her rising to her feet and turning toward the door.

Her heart sank at the sight of Salvatore’s weary expression as he beckoned for his mate to join him.

“Excuse me,” Harley murmured, pausing to give Cassie a sympathetic hug before hurrying across the room.

Cassie took a step forward. “What’s happened?”

“We’ll speak later, Cassandra,” Salvatore promised, wrapping his arm around Harley’s shoulders and tugging her into the hallway.

“Wait.”

She was heading toward the door when Regan abruptly stepped in her path, grasping her shoulders with a grip that warned she wasn’t going to let Cassie pass. Not without a fight.

“Cassandra, I’m sure he’ll come speak with you when he’s ready.”

Cassie’s brows snapped together. Logically, she didn’t doubt that her sister was simply attempting to help. The two female Weres had fussed and fluttered about her with an obvious devotion.

But at the moment Cassie was in no mood to be logical. Nothing was going to keep her from finding Caine. Not even the love of a sister.

Meeting Regan’s wary gaze, Cassie dismissed her instinctive urge to simply thrust her sister out of her way. Even if she could match her sister’s strength, something that wasn’t at all certain, she wouldn’t get out of the room before Regan could have half a dozen servants running to help her.

No. If she wanted to be with Caine, she would have to get rid of her family first.

Which meant managing to tell a convincing lie.

She used her heavy sigh to her advantage, allowing her shoulders to wilt and her head to lower, as if in resignation. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“Cassandra, it really is for the best—” Regan’s reassuring words were abruptly interrupted by the buzz of her cell phone. Releasing her grip on Cassie, she pulled the phone from her pocket to read the name flashing across the screen. “Shoot.”

“What is it?”

“Jagr, just returned,” Regan said, speaking of her mate. “I need to update him.”

Ah. Saved by the bell. Or rather the buzzer. Cassie, however, was careful to keep her expression resigned. “Go, Regan. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you certain?” Her sister bit her bottom lip in a gesture that was endearingly similar to Cassie’s own habit. “I hate to leave you on your own.”

Cassie refused to acknowledge the stab of guilt as she managed a stiff smile. “Don’t worry. I’m dead on my feet,” she assured Regan. “I think I’ll try to get a little sleep.”

The phone buzzed again and Regan gave a grudging nod. “There are plenty of empty bedrooms upstairs. Take one that you want.” She headed slowly toward the door, clearly torn between her duty to her mate and her newly discovered sister. “You’ll come find me if you need me?”

“Yes, of course.”

Watching her sister disappear through the door, Cassie forced herself to count to one hundred. Only when she was certain Regan wasn’t going to pop back into the room did she make her way to the marble hallway and slip silently through the shadows.

She didn’t like the feeling she was sneaking behind her sisters’ backs, but what choice had they given her? All right, maybe they thought they were protecting her, but they didn’t understand. She had to be with Caine. It was a ruthless, driving force that was making her stomach clench and a cold sweat break out on her skin.

He needed her.

She knew it to the very depths of her soul.

Tracing Salvatore’s scent, she followed it to a narrow staircase that led down to the basement level. Her foot was on the top step when she heard the sound of Salvatore’s voice coming from the ceiling.

What the heck?

She glanced up, at last spotting the vent hidden in the ceiling.

Obviously, the king and Harley were in a room above her, unaware that their conversation could be overheard.

“So there’s no hope?” Harley was softly demanding.

“I’m afraid not,” Salvatore said, unaware his bleak words were slicing through Cassie with a savage pain. “He’s too far gone.”

Harley made a sound of distress. “What if we call for a witch? If the spell could be removed, then maybe you could reach him.”

She heard Salvatore heave a harsh sigh. “There’s nothing left of the spell.”

Cassie frowned as Harley asked the question that was on her own lips.