Velryn's smile widened into something genuinely pleased and utterly terrifying.
"EXCELLENT! Oh, this is going to be SO MUCH FUN!"
He clapped his hands together with childlike enthusiasm that didn't match the arsenal of blades strapped to his body or the darkness in his eyes or the casual way he'd just agreed to help orchestrate rape and torture.
"Here's what you need to know, Darius. My new friend."
The way he said 'friend' made Darius's blood run cold.
Because whatever Velryn was, whatever he wanted, friendship had nothing to do with it.
This was a transaction.
A partnership in monstrosity.
A pact sealed in anticipated suffering.
And Darius had just agreed to all of it.
For revenge.
For power.
For the satisfaction of seeing the blessed one broken the way she'd broken him.
