With that, he dragged Juliette from the cell. She had just enough time to glance back before they hit the stairs. The last thing she saw was Maraveet pointing at her pocket and mouthing something that looked like use it.

Juliette’s numb brain took longer than necessary to register that. Her fingers slipped into the pocket of her coat and curled around the makeshift weapon she’d tucked away. It wasn’t exactly as though she’d forgotten the thing, but they hadn’t let her take her coat when she’d gone up earlier. Possibly to make their assault appear more authentic without a bulky jacket getting in the way. But they didn’t tell her to leave it behind now and she clung to the weapon with all her might. Carefully, she tucked the flat end up her sleeve for better access.

Cyril sat in the same place he had been from the very first day, small and almost doll-like in his perfection. He wore a peach colored suit with a white shirt and white shoes. His pale hair was combed back, leaving those unfathomable blue eyes dominating his face like clear pools on white, sandy beaches. He watched her approach with the faint outline of a grin turning up the corner of his mouth.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Juliette said nothing as she was shoved forward to stand in the center of the room. The other men sat in chairs on either side of her, making her feel surrounded and cornered.

Plan your attack and make sure you don’t miss. Plan your attack and make sure you don’t miss.

Maraveet’s words echoed in her ear, drowning out the words Cyril was speaking. His mouth continued to move and Juliette had to force herself to listen.

“Well?”

Juliette swallowed. “Sorry?”

A mild flicker of irritation shone across his porcelain face. “I asked, what you thought of the videos.”

The very mention of them made her insides roil, but she answered, “You haven’t asked for anything and you haven’t given any clues as to where we are even though you keep asking Killian to find you. So they are pointless if you’re trying to get what you want.”

Someone shifted in their seat. The wood groaned under their weight, but no one spoke.

“Clever,” Cyril murmured. “But I’m already getting what I want and I honestly couldn’t care less if he finds us or not.”

Juliette frowned. “I don’t understand. Then why are you doing this?”

“Because he took something very valuable from me years ago and I tend to hold a grudge.”

Her frown deepened. “Years ago? You can’t possibly be old enough—”

“I’m twenty three, but I’m told I look much younger. It comes in handy when dealing with certain people. They always mistake the appearance of youth for stupidity.”

“Okay, but why haven’t you asked for whatever Killian took back? Just tell me what it is and I’ll—”

“Unfortunately, that isn’t how it works.” He rose fluidly with the faintest whisper of silk. His feet barely made a sound as he started around her and headed for the bar. No one else moved, except Juliette, who turned to watch him. “My asking won’t give me quite the same satisfaction and I have waited too long for this moment to squander what little enjoyment I can garner from his misery.”

“It must be horrible holding such bitterness towards a single person,” Juliette muttered, no doubt a very bad idea, but he laughed.

“It has been.” He drummed nimble fingers on the table while he contemplated the rest of his words carefully. “For ten years I’ve waited and plotted and bided my time for this moment, the moment when I would finally have the Scarlet Wolf at my mercy.” He snorted and shook his head slowly. “I honestly never believed it would happen. Years I’ve watched while women paraded through his bed, one after another and nothing. I was just beginning to wonder if I needed to put him out of his misery and be done with it when the most remarkable thing happened.” Blue eyes glimmered like sunlight off clear waters as they lifted and fixed on her. “You.” He left his place at the bar and wandered back to her. “You, my beautiful Juliette, walked into his life and all that was missing was the heavens opening up and the angels singing the hallelujah chorus. Granted in the beginning I thought that you would be like all the others, just another whore to be cast aside, but then I saw it. I saw the way he looked at you. The way he touched you. I saw it all right there and it was like Christmas. You brought the beast to his knees and tamed him. You made him love you. You weakened him and left him completely open and vulnerable.”

You make me weak and weak men die. Killian’s final words to her echoed between her ears. They rebounded off every bone until it was ringing throughout her entire body in ripples of truth and guilt.

“Thanks to you, he will now know what it feels like to lose something so incredibly precious that the very thought of living another day without it is unbearable. He will know genuine pain as his entire world is ripped apart. I have dreamt of this moment for ten years and you helped make it happen.”

He was practically panting, practically glowing. Happiness radiated soft pink blossoms in his cheeks and danced behind the enormous smile stretching his face. His delight in Killian’s misery made her stomach hurt. It made her anger prickle and she had to resist the urge to punch her weapon straight into those wide eyes.

“You’re crazy if you think I’ll ever help you hurt Killian,” she whispered instead.

Straight, white teeth flashed in an almost Cheshire cat smile. “Oh, but you already have. Those videos you’ve been kind enough to help us make, what did you think they were for? My personal amusement? I’m fairly certain he’s beside himself watching that last one, wondering just what we’re doing to you right now. It will eat him up alive. It will destroy him. By the time I am through, Killian McClary will be on his knees, begging me to end his suffering.”

The hatred turning his features demonic was terrifying. It twisted his perfect features into something evil and frightening. It was as though his hatred could manifest itself in human form and it was a terrible sight to behold.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked again. “What has he done that was so horrible it justifies kidnapping and murder?”

He turned away from her slowly and made his way back to the bar. He drew down a crystal tumbler and set it on the table with a resounding crack. A bottle of whiskey was brought out and placed next to it. The amber liquid sloshed in its confines, reminding her of liquid honey.

“I’ve got my reasons and believe me, they are quite justified.”

Ice cubes struck the bottom of the glass with a rattling clink and was drowned by whiskey. The bottle was set aside. The cap twisted back into place. He raised the drink. Light lanced off the rim as he brought it to his lips.

“If you let me talk to him, I am sure I can get back whatever was taken,” she urged. “I know he will. Please, you don’t have to hurt anyone.”

“Have you ever heard the story of Tantalus?”

The question threw her. It was said so unexpectedly that for a moment, she could only stare at him in confusion.

“I’m sorry?”

Drink in hand, Cyril made his way back to the sofa. He sat with flawless grace, folding one leg over the other and observing her over the rim of his drink.

“Tantalus,” he repeated like saying it a second time might help jog her memory.

Juliette shook her head. “No, who—?”

“Tantalus betrayed the Gods by divulging their secrets and stealing from them. But the worst betrayal was the day he killed his son Pelops and cooked him in a meal, which he served to the Gods. They of course knew and didn’t eat it, except Demeter who accidentally ate a part of Pelops’ shoulder. But as punishment, they cast Tantalus into the deepest part of Tartarus where he was to remain in the middle of a large lake with an apple branch dangling just over his head. He would stay there forever, unable to eat, despite the apples and unable to drink, despite an entire lake at his feet. All because of one little betrayal. It’s a powerful and horrible tool that can destroy everything.”