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

face. “How can this be? I saw her drive a blade into her heart and fall into death’s sleep.”
    “Well…” Jade crossed her arms again, trying to fit the conflicting information together. “She’s not dead.”
    “I’m beginning to understand.” Rell tapped her chin with a talon. “During one of Vile’s rants he let slip about an immortal weapon. It seems your Bringer friends have more surprises up their sleeves than we originally thought.”
    “How did Rhys find the Shadow World?” Jade asked. “Especially the entrance leading to the throne room. Isn’t that opening hidden unless you know where to look?”
    Rell gave her a fanged smile. “He had help.”
    Jade furrowed her brow. “What kind of help?”
    “Bane help.”
    “You?”
    Her sister laughed. “Hardly. No, the demon who helped Blackwell had a lot to lose.” She paused. “Or gain.”
    Jade thought for a second. What demon was brave enough to foil Vile’s plans? Only a few Bane came to mind. Most of the demons were minions and not capable of doing much beyond the bidding of their king.
    “Sha-hera?”
    Rell smirked. “No. Though that bitch definitely has designs on the throne.”
    “If not Sha-hera…” Jade trailed off. No, it’s not possible. The name barely topped a whisper. “Icarus?”
    A smile spread across her sister’s mouth, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling in the dark. “I daresay the good son is tired of being under his father’s thumb.”
    “I don’t believe it.”
    “I saw him. He didn’t know I was there. If he had, I wouldn’t be standing here now.” Rell crossed her arms and nodded. “But I saw him help the Bringer escape.”
    Vile was horrifying, but Icarus defied description. He was beautiful in an unworldly way. Where most demons were reprehensible, Icarus’s allure was intoxicating and deadly. Once, when Jade had been a teenager, she’d encountered Icarus. He’d come upon her as she bathed in the hot pools in the Shadow World. She’d thought he’d kill her, or at the very least steal her soul, but he’d only watched, crouched at the edge of the water, silent.
    How long he stayed, she couldn’t say. To her, the experience had lasted hours. The memory of that day still filled her with fear.
    “Much has happened since I left the ship,” Jade said. Her gaze leveled back on the glowing windows of the captain’s quarters. She thought about Luc. “And many things have stayed the same.”
    The demon tilted her head. “You sound disappointed. You’re not having doubts are you?” She laid a hand on Jade’s shoulder. “He must pay for what he has done to our family—for what he has brought upon me.”
    Jade wasn’t so sure anymore, but instead of voicing her opinion, she simply nodded, knowing it would be enough to placate Rell.
    A cry erupted from the ship. Jade pivoted and crept to the edge of the crates to peek around the corner. “I’m going to try to find out what is happening.”
    “Have a care, sister.”
    Jade looked over her shoulder and nodded. She needed to stay hidden because when she killed Luc, she wanted no connection to him. Without another word, she crouched and darted to a group of wooden barrels. When no shout of discovery went up, she raced to the gangway and tiptoed along it, silently easing onto the wooden deck.
    Low voices floated through the door of the captain’s cabin, but she couldn’t make out what they were discussing. What she needed was to see what was happening inside the cabin. Besides peering through the crack in the door, the window at the side of the ship was the only other option.
    She skirted piles of rope, barrels, and the large hole in the center of the deck, making sure to walk lightly and keep the clip of her heels quiet. From what she could tell, none of the ship’s crew was aboard. Though this was not unheard of, the fact still put her on alert. Shipping was a cutthroat business, and it was a foolish owner who left assets unguarded.
    Jade climbed onto