Free Damien by Jacquelyn Frank Page A

shortcomings of my sex. Terribly unfair, really, how the men got all the goodies in our species. However, since I broke away from that hypocritical culture, I have found the way to unlock those abilities within myself. So let us save a good deal of time here and take my word for granted, hmm?”
    “Bitch,” Syreena croaked.
    “I can see how you would think that, too,” Ruth said, still using that affable tone as she reached to turn her captive onto her back so they could see one another. “But actually, you only have your sister to blame for this. She should have never taken that heartless murderer to her bed. Royal Consort, indeed! At least she had the sense not to make him King. Can you imagine?” Ruth’s disgust was obvious, as was her hatred for Elijah. “But soon they will have an heir, making you rather obsolete, Princess, so truly it is best I use you to my benefit now while you still have some value left.”
    Ruth paused to reach out and sift her fingers through Syreena’s dual-colored hair. The strands cringed, pulling back and slithering away from between her fingers. But it was easy enough for her to grab another handful of it, twisting it once around her hand to keep it from escaping again.
    “Are you and your sister psychically connected? We never could figure out if that was the case between your people. You always had an uncanny way of moving in perfect concert in battle. No? That is too bad. I had hoped she would be able to experience some of this.”
    Ruth fisted her hand and pulled back hard.
    Syreena’s hair tore out of her scalp, flinging blood in a wide spray as it traveled through the arc of Ruth’s powerful ripping motion. It was as if Ruth had just amputated a hand or foot from Syreena. Certainly, the blood loss and the pain were comparable. The Princess screamed, her feet kicking against the floor as her entire body convulsed. She catapulted into motion, using all her remaining strength to scrabble across the uneven floor and into her original corner. Once there, she huddled into herself, shaking with pain and sudden terror like an abused animal. She couldn’t even see Ruth because of the wash of blood pouring over her eyes and face.
    Ruth contemplated the hank of gray hair in her hand with a smile.
    “This is going to be fun.”
     
    Tracking someone who had seemingly winked out of existence would be impossible for the inexperienced hunter. For the experienced hunter it would be intensely difficult. For Damien, it was a matter of having lived a very long life as a hunter who chased prey every single night. It had taught him how to track just about every sort of quarry there was, provided he had encountered it at some point and was familiar with its instincts and tactics.
    For the moment, he was relieved that there was a trail at all. Whether or not the Princess would be alive at the other end would be something he would worry about when the time came. Hope came with the fact that there was a certain tension to this trail, indicating that someone had dragged Syreena against her will likely the entire distance.
    He did not delude himself about how Syreena had been taken captive. The scent of a Demon lay parallel to every part of her path, and there was only one who would be so crazed as to attempt such a transgression on the royal’s own territory.
    Ruth.
    Psychotic Demon bitch , he thought venomously.
    She and her daughter Mary had single-handedly caused more pain and death for the Demon community in the past year than he would have thought possible. Now that Mary was dead, accidentally killed by her mother’s own hand as Ruth had attempted to slay Elijah, there was no telling what she had in store for Syreena. And Damien had known the notoriously peaceful Queen Siena long enough to know that even for one as strong and practical in the ways of the world as she was, she would be hard-pressed to overcome such a personal, monstrous act and be able to maintain her peaceful ethics. How that