Page 210 of Problematic

Scarn’s eyes shifted to my restraints. “You believe standing near him helps you?”

“No.” Liv’s mouth curved. “I believe it pisses you off.”

“Third pin is stuck,” Kalon whispered behind me.

Of course it was.

Scarn lifted one hand. His guards raised their weapons. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I kill you. This was so worth the wait.”

Kalon worked faster. My nightmares rushed the silver and recoiled back into me. Liv’s aura rolled through the cell in a wave of pink heat. Two guards shifted on their feet. One lowered his gun a fraction. They blinked as if waking from a filthy dream.

Liv’s eyes flared pink with anger, and Scarn’s smile disappeared. His attention moved from Liv’s glowing eyes to the healed split in my lip then to the shadows gathering at my boots.

Understanding crossed his face.

“No,” he murmured.

Liv’s shoulders tightened.

Scarn stepped closer. “That wasn’t the mate bond.”

“Stay away from her,” I said.

His gaze never left Liv. “Pink eyes. Compulsion. Energy transfer.”

Something hungry entered his expression.

“Succubus.”

Liv’s fingers closed harder around the knife. “You say that as though you found a winning lottery ticket.”

Scarn studied her with fresh interest, stripping away every part of her that made her a person until only utility remained. “Your kind doesn’t merely feed. You take power and return it tenfold.”

Liv’s mouth opened.

Scarn smiled. “Draven didn’t tell you?”

“I told her what she needed to know.”

“You told her what kept her calm.” He faced Liv again. “One feeding could restore a wounded lord. With training, you could empty an enemy mage and pour his strength into an entire battalion. You could keep defensive wards running for weeks. You could make a weak bloodline strong enough to challenge one of the old clans.”

Liv’s face lost color. “So I’m a living power bank.”

“Crude,” Scarn said, “but accurate.”

The Hound strained beneath my skin.

“She isn’t a weapon.”

“All power becomes a weapon once someone understands its value.” His eyes moved over her again. “Do you understand what the southern clans would offer for your gifts? What every ruler in Valkyrie would pay to keep someone such as you beside their throne?”

“I don’t want a throne.”

Scarn gave a quiet laugh. “Your preference will matter less once they discover what you are.”

Rage moved through me hard enough to make the silver smoke and creak with the effort of holding me back.

The mate bond had already made her a target. This was worse. Liv wasn’t only valuable because she belonged to me. Her bloodline could change the balance between every city-state in Valkyrie.