The door slammed closed before I could see what he was going to do next.
I used the walk to Adreona’s office to calm my racing heart.
When I was in front of her, I couldn’t show her an ounce of weakness, no matter what I was feeling right now.
I needed my strength for whatever Adreona had planned for me.
Luce would get Nol out, I couldn’t worry about them. She would get him out.
She’d come back for me another time, they all would.
By the time Nakul ushered me inside Adreona’s office, I was calm, my emotions in check. I locked everything up tight and exchanged them for rage.
There was a woman with Adreona today, one I had never seen before, standing at her side.
The female was small, almost a foot shorter than Adreona, her skin so pale it was practically translucent. Her dark hair and eyes made her appear even more translucent. There was something about her that sent alarm bells ringing in my head.
“Lennox,” Adreona drawled. “I’d like you to meet Keziq.”
Keziq smiled softly, but her dark eyes sent a shiver dancing down my spine. “Keziq is a witch,” she added.
“A witch? Why are you keeping me if you already had a witch?”And one that would cooperate.
“You’ve seen the journal, Lennox, that’s why.” Adreona shuffled a stack of papers. “Keziq, as powerful of a witch asshe is, has not seen the spell that will reverse vampires, so unfortunately, I still need you. I sought out Keziq after I realized your brother’s magic was of no use. She only recently started working with us.”
Keziq scoffed. “You can’t call that male a witch, his ability is pathetic. If it were up to me, he would have been killed for his disgrace as a witch. No matter what I did, I couldn’t help him harness his magic properly in a spell. No matter how much my magic made him scream.”
I held back a snarl. “Don’t you dare talk about my brother like that.”
Keziq brushed her onyx hair over her shoulder. “I can say what I want. It’s not like you can stop me.”
My nostrils flared, but I bit my tongue. If there was still a chance I could make it out of here, I didn’t want to waste it because I couldn’t hold my tongue.
“Anyways,” Adreona drawled. “As I mentioned, Keziq is a powerful witch, the magic she uses is unconventional but delicious. Which is what drew me to her. She created the spell that eliminates your magic while you’re in your cell.” Ichor magic, she had to be using Ichor magic if she was creating spells.Luce was right. “But that’s not why you’re here tonight, are you, Keziq?”
Keziq shook her head, her long black hair swaying with the motion.
“Keqiz has been doing some research for me, trying to help speed up the process of eliminating vampires. Trying to help speedyouup. She’s been studying the bodies of the vampires you’ve killed while trying to complete the spell, she’s been trying to see if she can figure out what went wrong.”
My stomach sank.
“And she’s found something interesting.” I swallowed. “Keziq, do you care to share your findings with Lennox?”
“Of course.” Keziq rounded the desk. “I found itfascinating that all of the bodies I scanned, their brains had turned to mush. Nothing but puddles left of them. And their hearts—it almost appeared that they had burst. I found it strange the spell would do such a thing. One time sure, a fluke. But over and over again…”
My stomach twisted.
“When Keziq first brought me her findings, I almost didn’t want to believe her. But the more I thought about it, I realized maybe that was your intention all along, kill the vampires, and make me think you were trying the spell when really, it was all for show. You were never trying a spell but killing them instead.”
Adreona took my chin in her hand. “Did I get that right?” She laughed, the sound was cold and bitter, causing a shiver to snake down my spine. “You thought you could outsmart me. Have you not yet learned that’s impossible, Lennox?” She clicked her tongue. “I did think it strange none of your victims turned into Dhampirs, I should have caught on sooner, that is on me.” She rounded the desk to stand beside Keziq.
“But you know what happens when you disobey my orders, don’t you, Lennox.”
Dread settled over me. I prayed to the Goddess, that stubborn bitch, that Luce and Nol had made it out.
“There are consequences. And since you appear hard to break, I’ve decided on a new method.” Her lips curved in a cruel smile.
“You refuse to do the spell because you fear for the life of your beloved vampire mate, you love that he’s a vampire, you don’t fear the monster he is. If you won’t change your mind, we’ll change it for you.”
