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engaged with a Yathuri. The look in his eyes told me in all of two seconds that there would be hell to pay for this jaunt. I had given him and the Council the proverbial finger. Would he cast me out and take me before the Council? A part of me hoped he would. Then I would at least be shod of him and good riddance.
    I directed my gaze back to the two Ferontes who approached.
    With no time left to consider the consequences, I jumped with my long blade, bringing the blade against the Feronte’s neck, and watched its head tumble to the ground. The second Feronte died before it could unleash a screech in my direction.
    With the added help from Cade’s men, the remaining demons were exterminated with ease. Hands grappled me and yanked me from behind. Cade hauled me from the victory we had achieved here.
    “You bitch.” He snarled, shoving me toward the building. Any opportunities for a civilized conversation evaporated the moment he put his hands on me.
    Sheathing my blade, I fought like a cat about to be dunked in a bucket full of water, focusing all my wrath, all my indignity on him. How could he think he could bully me like this, and in front of our squads? It didn’t matter that I had been relieved of command, my men still respected me. I had been needed in this fight. I sucker-punched him with a right uppercut, and he responded in kind. It was no wonder I would never willingly submit my body to him. His left fist clipped my jaw, not really intending to hurt me, just stun me. It pissed me off more. I was not known for being level-headed, but his blatant mockery of my skills and feinting an actual rebuttal to my assault was like tossing a lit match on a powder keg. Any common sense in my body fled, and I went for his jugular. I pounded on his chest and beat him back.
    If he was surprised by the brutality of my assault, his gaze never faltered. His only aim was to secure the prize he’d won by order of the Council. I wanted a knock-down, drag-out fight, until the last one was still standing, and he gave me the neutered version.
    Sadistic fucker .
    I lunged forward with a kick that had brought down hulking demon brutes. Confidence bloomed that this parry would bring the smug bastard to his knees.
    It did.
    Except, then Cade withdrew from his pocket a small black device, no more than three inches long, and jabbed it against my exposed flesh through a tear in my pants. Volts of electricity sizzled and flashed throughout my body. It felt like thousands of nails being jammed into every inch of my body. I could focus on nothing but the searing, mind-numbing agony. The demon carcasses diminished, and I viewed the scene before me in a haze. Jaw clenched, I struggled against the anguish. My hands balled into fists as I collapsed on the ground.
    Son of a bitch had Tasered me.
    While my body trembled from the remaining electricity sizzling in my system, he hoisted me up, tossing me over his shoulder. His lengthy strides removed me from my men. And I could do nothing but clasp him more firmly as he spirited me away.

Chapter Five
    Prison cells at the Compound were not much different than regular rooms. The only structural differences were the bars across the door and the dirt floor, but other than that, they were rather cozy. The dank walls held the stench of the Thames below, never quite losing that musty, stale scent.
    It had been twelve hours since Cade and my father had locked me in here. Twelve hours since I had last spied my squad leaders as they were led away in handcuffs. Twelve hours for the Council to decide my fate, yet again.
    Being trapped was worse in my mind than a sentence to the Desert. At least in the Desert, a body withstood a chance, slim as it might be, for survival. In here, locked in, all a person could do was await their fate, instead of fighting to change it.
    I licked my parched lips for what must be the hundredth time. They had long since cracked, and in the corner I tasted dried blood. I had bit the inside of