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he didn’t understand, but he was fairly certain she’d cussed him up and down and called him every version of stupid in the French dictionary.
    Slade glanced out the door and noticed the demon was gone. He hadn’t even heard him leave. It’d only be a matter of time before Votar came down here.
    She growled. The menacing sound hit him hard in the chest, and there went that rumbling again deep inside him. What was that? It sounded like distant thunder, and his stomach always cramped after, like he was going to be sick.
    Or like a vision was trying to come through.
    The cuffs rattled, and she grunted. “If only I had my Mavets.”
    Slade whipped around. “Your—”
    The door swung open, and Votar palmed the bars as the door bounced back at him. Too bad it hadn’t smacked him in the face. That would have been sweet.
    “Where is it?” Votar stormed Slade and wrapped his hand around his throat.
    “What?” He clawed at the demon’s wrist, knowing full well what he was asking about.
    Votar threw Slade across the room. He hit the brick wall with a thud and flopped to the ground, but pushed up right away. “Jinx said you stabbed him with a Mavet. Where is it and how did you touch it?”
    Slade glanced at Halena. She was staring at him, eyes wide.
    Votar curled his fingers around Slade’s throat and ripped the sleeve off his shirt. “You’re not marked. How are you touching the Mavet?”
    “Marked?” Slade asked best he could through the noose around his neck.
    “The Ahavah. It surfaces on the Gatekeeper’s human Mate. That’s the only explanation for how you can touch it.” He rubbed his hand along Slade’s shoulder. “Nothing.”
    “He’s not my fucking Mate,” Halena said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Never.”
    “My Oracles suggest otherwise, but there’s no Mark. Well, none yet . Now where is the dagger?”
    He pinned Slade against the brick wall with one hand and used the other to grope along Slade’s sides, then around back.
    “Ah!” Votar pushed off him, holding his smoking hand. Flesh sizzled on his fingers, and a slew of curses gushed out of his tight-lipped mouth.
    Slade pulled the dagger from his waistline and held it up. “I hear that’s painful.”
    “Don’t you get any ideas or I’ll kill Addie, Slade.” Votar pointed at him. “I won’t hesitate to slice her up in pieces until she’s not even recognizable through dental records. You hear me?”
    “You can’t. We have a contract. My soul for hers. So don’t fucking go near her!” Slade pointed the weapon at Votar, working hard to keep the trembling to a minimum.
    “If you weren’t the One, I’d slit your throat.”
    “The One, huh? What’s that mean?” At least that explained why Slade was still alive. Votar needed him for something.
    The veins along Votar’s forehead pulsed, and his eyes narrowed, but the prick didn’t say anything more. Slade had never seen him more angry. Plus, Votar’s hand was oozing, and two of his fingers were nothing but bones sticking up.
    That alone gave Slade hope. If this Mavet was so powerful, maybe Lena could use it to get free and go protect Addie. But why would she do anything for him? He’d betrayed her.
    Then again, when he’d told her why, the hard, tense edge to her face softened—a fraction.
    Maybe, just maybe…
    …
    “You’ve got a Mavet?” Halena twisted against her restraints. “Give it to me.”
    Slade stepped toward her, then stopped and glanced at the door. “You said this might help free you?”
    “Yes. Give it to me before he gets back with reinforcements.”
    “Do you know why I can touch it?”
    “You shouldn’t be able to. Not unless we—mate.” And that wasn’t going to happen. “Come on, hurry.”
    Stepping closer, Slade cupped his shoulder. “Ahavah Mark. That’s a tattoo of some sort that surfaces on a human, identifies them as a Gatekeeper Mate.”
    “Look. I promise I won’t kill you if you help me out of here. Give—”
    “Tell me,