Free Darkest Misery by Tracey Martin Page B

think.”
    More evidence of what? That I wasn’t a true satyr? I didn’t ask, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of my curiosity. He might mistake it for caring.
    So I wasn’t a normal satyr. So what? I wasn’t a normal human either, and as long as I knew why I wasn’t normal, putting a name to myself didn’t matter. It had once, but no more.
    We finished dinner with more uneasy conversation, and I wondered how much worse it would have been without the wine.
    When we got up, two humans did so with us. I hadn’t noticed them before because they’d been sitting at another table. They were lust addicts, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out whose. Claudius linked arms with the women, both of whom could have been—and quite possibly were—models. They were tall, leggy and dressed in what I could tell were very expensive but also very short dresses.
    â€œHe brought addicts?” I said under my breath to Lucen.
    â€œTravel isn’t easy on us. The bonds weaken over the distances, even for someone as powerful as Claudius.”
    â€œLovely. He could at least let them wear clothes that cover their asses.”
    Lucen shook his head at me, silently laughing.
    Sonya took off as we left the restaurant, and Dezzi stayed behind to continue talking with Claudius. With my bodyguards behind me, I left with Lucen and Devon, glad to get away.
    â€œSo what did you think of our benevolent Upper Council overlord?” Devon asked once we were well out of earshot.
    â€œDo you want honesty or diplomacy?”
    Lucen nudged me in the ribs. “I think the chance for diplomacy is well past, little siren.”
    â€œSo I blew that, huh?”
    Devon smirked. “He’s a right arse, isn’t he?”
    â€œArse?” I raised my eyebrows at him.
    â€œIt’s his accent.”
    I had to consider that for a moment before realizing Claudius did have an accent. I must have been so intent on taking in the rest of him that some of the details had gone completely over my head. “Arse, indeed. He called me a creature.”
    â€œDid you prefer when the goblins called you an abomination?” Lucen asked.
    â€œYes. Abomination gives me an edge. Creature makes me sound like a science experiment gone wrong. Which I suppose I am.”
    Devon looped an arm around one of mine. “I think you came out fine.”
    â€œSo do I.” Not to be outdone, Lucen took my other arm.
    The sidewalk wasn’t big enough for the three of us, but neither let go as we meandered down the street. Being so close to them both, feeling their power sliding over my skin, wreaked havoc on my nerves. I was warm all over again and growing hotter, my imagination teasing me with ideas.
    I pushed these thoughts away for later. “What did Claudius mean when he said I felt him? I did feel something, like he was planting his emotions in my head.”
    â€œVery old satyrs,” Lucen said, “far older than either of us, or even Dezzi, cannot just sense the emotions of humans. They can make their emotions felt.”
    â€œIt’s another way to influence people,” Devon said.
    I bit my lip, not liking the sound of this at all. “So they can stir lust in people, and other emotions? Peachy.”
    Lucen tightened his grip around my arm. “It’s one reason why the idea of the original furies being released is so deadly. Someone like Claudius would have nothing on them. According to legend, they inspired anger, obviously, but also bloodlust and sadism and everything evil you can imagine.”
    â€œOh, fabulous.”
    Finally, a thought that could kill any desire I’d been nursing for a threesome.

Chapter Nine
    According to Tom, Ingrid Blecher was the Brotherhood’s Big Boss in Boston. Although, being Tom, he called her something far more boring, like Director of Special Project Research. Title aside, the upshot meant that Ingrid was the person in