Kiss of the Betrayer (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) Read Online Free

hollow steps thumped against the wooden pier, closing the distance between her and Rell. “Are you surprised?”
    Jade looked over her shoulder at the demon. Rell’s yellow eyes peered through the dark. Her sister was petite, like she had been as a human, but as a demon she had a temper to rival any titan.
    “No.” She shook her head. “Nothing he does surprises me anymore.” Her gaze scanned the dock area, making sure no late night tavern-goers stumbled close to her hiding spot behind a stack of crates. “Why are you here? You might be seen.”
    “Never fear, little sister. I’m very careful.” The demon folded her leathery green wings behind her and reclined against a wooden box. “Besides, it’s safer here than near Vile.”
    “Why?” Jade turned back to the ship, irritated by the demon’s intrusion. Her sister demanded so much of her attention. At times, it seemed her whole purpose in life was to serve Rell.
    “He’s angry—very angry.”
    Jade shuddered at the thought of the Demon King. She’d seen him once when she was eight years old. Though Rell had ordered her never to leave the hot pool cavern where they hid in the Shadow World, curiosity had gotten the better of her. One day, when her sister had left to hunt for food, Jade had crept from the cave and down the forbidden corridor to the Bane hive. Heavy footsteps had thundered along the passage, giving her a few panicked seconds warning of a demon’s approach. She’d slipped into a narrow gap in the rock wall and backed into the shadows. Even today that memory made her blood run cold.
    From Rell’s description, she’d recognized the Demon King immediately. Vile had stopped, halted by another demon’s call. His massive body had filled her view, his webbed wings soaring beyond her sight. At first she’d thought his blue skin was marbled with black. But then he’d turned, exposing his wide chest to her, and she realized the marbling was an intricate pattern of symbols she didn’t recognize.
    After Vile’s footfalls had faded, she’d rushed from her hiding place. Too afraid the king or another demon would find her, she’d sprinted back to her cavern. Never again did she venture beyond the hot pools where she felt safe and never did she confess her disobedience to Rell.
    She pulled herself from her childhood memory. “Why is Vile angry?”
    “The Blackwell Bringer. It seems he’s a full-blood, in possession of all his Shield powers.”
    Jade spun to face her sister. “What happened?”
    Rell laughed. “Oh, Jade. You should have seen him. He was glorious, shifting in a blink of an eye to a dragon, breathing fire and all.”
    “Shhh.” Jade put her finger to her lip but recognized the dreamy expression flittering across Rell’s face. Even as a human, her sister had been prone to dramatics. “Somebody will hear you.”
    “The way he wrapped his body around the woman.” Rell wound her arms around her torso, heedless of Jade’s warning. “Protecting her.”
    Dread pulled at Jade. “What woman?”
    “The female Bringer. The woman you pretended to be friends with.”
    The desire to contradict her sister’s assumption that her friendship with Ravyn was a ruse nearly slipped out, but she bit her tongue. Let Rell believe what she wanted. It made no difference. In the end, the only important thing was keeping her sister rooted in the land of the living. Each time Rell spoke of love or their childhood, she seemed almost human again.
    “His face.” Rell’s yellow eyes swirled with green. “You should have seen his expression when he thought the Bringer woman was dead.” She curled her talons into a fist and placed it against her heart. “Such love. Such anguish.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I could almost taste it.”
    “Ravyn was hurt?” A pang of concern shot through Jade.
    “Not hurt—dead.”
    Jade shook her head. “But I saw her tonight. She looked unharmed.”
    “Really?” The dreamy look melted from Rell’s