Grym leaned back against the basement wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes narrowed as he watched the man squirm in the chair in the middle of the room. Grym was standing in the dark as he watched the man. The man had been tied to a chair, his mouth gagged, sitting underneath a lone light orb.

Seeing the light orb made his heart squeeze. Whoever made that orb was a traitor to the Eclipse Sanctum.

The man looked small in the chair. His left eye was already closed and swollen. Purple bruises were already forming on his skin. It looked as if his father had already tried to get information out of him. The man's body was littered with cuts and bruises.

Grym pushed himself off of the wall and forced himself to move closer to the man. He stayed in the shadows momentarily, studying the man some more. He wanted to avoid asking this man for information. Grym knew that he would have to hurt the man to get the information his father wanted.

"Are you going to ask me questions or just stand there," the man sneered. The man's head picked up and looked straight at him.

Grym's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you able to see me?"

The man chuckled. "Yes, you fucking idiot."

Grym shook his head as he stepped into the orb light. "Are you from the Eclipse Sanctum?"

"You didn't ask your father anything about me?" the man chuckled again. "Yes," he sighed. "I'm from the Eclipse Sanctum, but I don't have the information that your father wants."

Grym's jaw ticked. His eyes moved over to the tray of knives and torture tools before returning to the man. "What information can you give me?"

The man leaned back in his chair. "A message for my Head Detective." The man's smile turned dark. "Rhivbus' army is coming for her." He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. I can smell her on you, and by how your body reacts to me talking about her, I guess she's your mate." He paused for a moment. "True, or did you take her by force, golden boy?"

Grym grabbed a sharp knife from the tray and stabbed the man's hand. "I'd watch your mouth," Grym growled as he sunk the blade deeper into the man's hand.

The man grimaced and cried out from the pain, but that cry turned into a laugh. "Rhivbus doesn't understand how, of all the men in the Eclipse Sanctum, she ended up with a golden boy like you." The man laughed harder. "What a waste. I bet you can't even please her the way that a woman like that needs to be pleased."

Grym took the knife out of the man's hand and sliced a deep cut into his chest. "Talk about my mate again, and I will end you." Grym brought the knife up to his throat and pushed it into the man's skin, just enough to draw a small amount of blood. "I can please her just fine. She screams my name every single night. The fates gave her to me, and I am not letting her go."

The eye that wasn't shut closed stared at him. "Rhivbus won't let someone from the Eclipse Sanctum go easily, golden boy."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have help," the man explained. "He will send his army for her. He knows where she's at. Rhivbus wants to bring her home and put an end to this fucking cult as much as she does."

"I want this cult to end," Grym growled. "They've taken the light from my woman away from her, and I want her to have it back."

The man studied his face. "You will have to prove to Rhivbus that you are worthy to be with her."

Grym leaned back slightly but continued to press the knife into the man's throat. "I am worthy to be with her."

The man shrugged his shoulders, causing him to wince. "It's not me you have to prove; it's Rhivbus." The man looked over at the basement stairs. "You have to kill me now. You know that, right?"

Grym sighed as he nodded his head. "Yes."

"Make sure that your mate knows what I told you."

"When will his army be here?"

The man shrugged again. "Rhivbus moves on his own time. No one knows what his timeline truly is. All that his people know is that he is extremely pissed off that one of his people was taken. He knows about her light and that it was taken away." He paused for a moment. "He knows about you." The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Just promise you'll make it quick."

Grym looked up at the orb momentarily before doing what the man said. He dug the knife deeper into the man's skin and pulled it across his neck, cutting the jugular. Grym stepped back as he watched the blood pool out of the man's neck and the light leave his eyes. He hated the gurgling sound coming out of the man and prayed it would stop soon. When it finally did, he placed the knife back on the tray and turned to the stairs leading up from the basement.

His hands clenched as he moved through the house and to his father's office. He knocked twice and waited for the right to go inside.

"Did he give you any information?" his father asked as Grym entered the office.

Grym shook his head. "He wouldn't budge," he lied. "I don't think he had the information to begin with."

"Waist of time," his father grumbled. He waved his hand at Grym as he returned his attention to the papers strewn around his desk. "Go back home and wait for my instructions. I'll find someone else soon."

Grym gave a tight nod as he rushed out of the office and house and mounted his horse. He sighed as he noticed three men follow him to his home. He hoped that what that man had told him was true and that Rhivbus was on his way to save Melione. He would ensure that he proved himself worthy of being her mate so he could follow her out of this hell hole.