Dark Lord (9 page)

The look in his eyes seemed to promise her that she would regret
pushing the issue with him.
“This will be the end of it and you will have to stop pursuing this line of questioning.
If you do not, you will pay a price.
This harassment has to end.”

She knew she could not agree to his demand.
She had a job to do and would do it regardless.
“You do not make the rules here.”

He stared into her eyes and his own eyes flashed red.
“You will stop asking questions about alien hybrids.
You will not ask for more private meetings to discuss your concerns.
Do you understand and agree to this?”

She was caught in his red gaze and it seemed to penetrate her brain.
She could feel him in her head, taking over her thoughts.
She didn’t want to agree to any of his suggestions and she wanted to tell him to go to hell, but she couldn’t form the words.
Instead, t
he wrong words came out of her mouth.
“I understand and I agree.”
After speaking the words, she felt the overwhelming urge to
believe
the words.
She had to agree with anything he suggested.
He was dominant, much stronger than her and of a race more powerful than her own.
Her survival depended on recognizing the wisdom of submitting to him, the more dominant species.
In the long ago past, the hybrids had asserted their
control of the human population and made them their slaves.
They would do so again
–
soon.
It was coming and they all knew it
.

“Very good,”
Dev
replied.
“Tell me what you know about the
Countess
.”

She couldn’t betray any confidences and maintain her advisor status.
She was not a traitor to her kind
.
He could assert his dominance over her and even use torture and she would not give up critical knowledge.
She felt him tug at her mind hard and once more, words fell out of her mouth without heed.
“She’s wretched and everyone hates her, except for Valor
and
Harlotta
.
The rest of us
cannot admit
to our hatred
or she’ll have us all killed.”

“Who ordered the attack on Pembroke?”

This she could not say; it would be an unforgiveable breach.
“Nefertiti ordered the keep burned to hurt Amalie’s chances of being Chancellor.”

“Who assisted the Countess in the endeavor?”

She couldn’t control her mouth or her words.
Still she tried, but his power over her was too strong.
“
Harlotta
, Valor, and some members of our eunuch army.
I was present as well.
I didn’t wish to be, but I didn’t stop it from happening.”

“Who are her Roman friends?”

She
paused in thought.
This information was unknown to her
.
“I don’t know.
She doesn’t share that
material
with me.”

“Who would know that information?”

“Audra and
Harlotta
.”
She felt him release his hold on her mind
and her thoughts became more clear and controllable.
She was consumed with panic and rage as she stared into his hybrid
eyes
.
Despite all her previous statements about his dangerous hybrid abilities, she had not known that he could be that formidable.
She
thought she was exaggerating things in her mind to give her a believable excuse to remove him from Avenal.
At that time, his real danger to her lay in his ability to arouse her jealousy and lust.
Now she realized that he was actually a legitimate threat, a creature
who
could easily make her his slave.
She couldn’t allow him to ever gain the upper hand in the household.
“You bastard.
How dare you question me on the
Countess
’s private business?
You made me betray confidences.”

Chapter
6
:
Control

Dev
ereux
was amazed that it
had
worked, that he could get someone to reveal information to him
against
his or her
will
.
Perhaps it would not be such a bad thing to embrace his hybrid side.
Unfortunately, it would not be as useful if the target was aware of his actions.
“Should I perform another demonstration for you?”

She looked at him nervously.
“I’m afraid that I will have to go to the
Countess
about this.
People need to be forewarned.”

He
gave her a warning look
.
If necessary, he would silence her.
He couldn’t afford for others to voice suspicions regarding his parentage and he had no intention of revealing his hybrid identity
.
“Do not try it.
The
Countess
will not believe you and I am not going to admit to it.
How do you know that you didn’t just leak the information on your own?
You cannot prove
I had anything to do with it.
I but asked you some questions and you answered.
Besides, I told you not to discuss the alien hybrids.”

“That part didn’t work for you then
.
”
She gave a nervous laugh and crossed her arms as if to shield herself from his view
.
“You tried to command me and failed.
Perhaps you should try again; maybe this time it will work.”

She would regret making such an offer to him, as she was a
convenient
guinea pig
with which he could utilize to sharpen his emerging hybrid skills.
He wouldn’t waste the opportunity.
He
stared into her eyes again
with an intensity of focus
.
“You will not discuss alien hybrids and you will not discuss me at all with the
Countess
.”
He debated whether to try more. He could compel her to speak, but could he compel other actions as well?
It was worth exploring.
“
Will you do whatever I ask of you, regardless of your own personal wishes?”

“Yes.”

He was curious as to how this thing worked.
“Why would you obey me?”

Her expression was flat.
“I recognize your dominance and I have no wish to challenge it.”

She recognized his dominance
.
The very statement was so anti-
Flourdan
that it caught him by surprise.
He didn’t even possess full hybrid DNA, and since he had had no training in the use of his abilities, he
was employing his skills in a haphazard manner.
If he was this effective with him not knowing what he was doing, what would it be like once he acquired complete mastery?
He wondered how long she would “recognize his dominance.”
When the effects wore off, she would be incensed, especially when she realized she had uttered such
outrageous
words.
“
You will cease challenging me in the future, since you recognize my dominance.
Can you manage to do that?”

“Yes.”

It couldn’t be that easy for him to gain control of her.
“For how long?”

“I don’t know.”

He had a gut feeling that the effects would be temporary.
He would need to test the duration in case he ever had
need
to use it in any life threatening situations.
“I want you to continue to obey me.
You will throw all of the possessions that you carry on your person out the window.”
He was surprised when she slid her advisor’s robe
off her body,
but he made no move to stop her.
He had not expected her to take his words so literally.
He had thought she would empty out her pockets and throw some trinkets outside, but he supposed that her garments were technically included as her possessions.
He barely had time to take note of her
undergarment
before she removed that as well
.
She wasn’t wearing anything else.
The sight of her nude body left him stunned for a minute.
This wasn’t wise and
things could quickly get out of control
.
She turned around and walked toward the window with her clothes in her hands.
He should have stopped her before she
reached her destination,
but he didn’t.
He watched her as she cast her clothing outside, absorbed by the sight of her
perfectly shaped
naked bottom.
She turned around and walked back toward him, giving him an unrestricted view of her full round breasts, flat stomach, and curvy hips.
He took special note of the area between her legs, which looked warm and inviting.
He watched her eyes, knowing that she would soon lose that glassy expression and would be furious with him.
He was supposed to be proving he was not dangerous to her, that he was not a threat.
This latest demonstration was doing the opposite.
He was violating her, and although it was interesting to know that he could assert such control of a person, he would have to deal with her knowing of his capabilities.
She would respond in anger
and try to gain the upper hand, which could put him at risk if she revealed her knowledge of him.
If necessary, he would be forced to silence her by intimidation and fear.
He didn’t want her to be afraid of him and he regretted exposing himself to her to such a degree that he had to worry about her silence.
He didn’t have to wait long before awareness dawned in her clear blue eyes.