Everything got very quiet then. If it wasn’t for the scenery whipping past the windows, it felt like time had stopped.
“A-are you okay?” Harper stammered. Patricia stared out the back window.
“I think we’re fine.” She took Nell’s hand, scanning her for injuries before doing the same to Harper. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know.” Harper tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “But whatever it was, I’m glad it’s pissed at them instead of us.”
Chapter 15
Seeing Natalya pace twice within the same month had to be some sort of record.
The last time Maya had experienced it was during that tense meeting in the forest, but then she’d only had the role of unwilling observer. She hadn’t been the source of the fiend’s ire.
It had also just been simple irritation then. Her response was measured as a result. Unlike now, with her pacing the entry hall of the Lotus, eyes glowing pure scarlet.
“This is a disaster.” Natalya’s voice was like a whiplash. “A neutral zone has fallen, we’re suddenly neighboring two hostile therian Courts instead of one, andsomehow, I didn’t learn about any of it until there were dead bodies on my doorstep. Explain yourself, Maya.”
Maya turned the silvered switchblade, inspecting its edge. When she arrived at the Lotus just a few minutes before, both it and her hands were covered in blood. She barely had time to clean off before Natalya pulled her into this stern lecture.
A punishment probably waited at the end of it, no matter what she said. She might as well be honest.
“I did what I had to do.”
Natalya’s eyes shined, her infernal gaze hitting like a kick to the senses.
“You did what youwanted, impacting several lives beyond your own in the process. You may be new to my Court, but that isn’t an excuse for shortsighted,selfishbehavior.”
The words stung enough that Maya had to look away. This hidden world was so for a reason. There was safety in secrecy, something Maya hadn’t concerned herself with at all.
It didn’t matter when she killed those lycanthropes; something a Chains patrol team needed to clean up for her. It didn’t matter when she showed up at Harper’s apartment—which she still wasn’t sure how she’d found—prepared to tell her everything she was supposed to keep secret.
But she hadn’t. And it wasn’t because of orders, or concern for her peers, or some other sensible reason. It was because Harper would have demanded proof, and Maya didn’t have anything at hand.
Other than herself. Other than the terrifying kind.
“They can’t sell us as the instigators,” Natalya muttered. “Nothing was shared that could put anyone at risk, and we had every right to respond, since those wolves were technically hunting in our territory without permission.”
She gave Maya a sharp look. “Though, if we had known of the developing situation, they might have been stopped and wouldn’t have been there at all. You learned of this attack on St. Louis last night. Why didn’t you contact me about it?”
Maya gritted her teeth. “Because I doubt I would have liked your response.”
Fire blazed in Natalya’s eyes. “That isnothow we operate. The Chains don’t have grand armies or centuries-old alliances to fall back on. We have survived this long because we respect the laws—both our own and the ones beyond our territory. Our enemies are hungry for weak links in our defense, and if I can’t trust you to report something like this, I can’t trust you at all. Especially not when you refuse to understand how serious this is.”
“I do understand. That doesn’t mean I regret my choices.”
Maya forced her eyes onto Natalya’s. A shiver ran through her, creating a ball of tension in her stomach.
“I should have called you. I know that. But if I had, you would have needed to respond as the Regent of Chains first and set aside every other concern. A neutral zone being under attack would have taken precedence over everything else, including my original reason for being in St. Louis. But since you didn’t know, you didn’t have to make that choice. You didn’t do anything wrong. I did.”
Natalya stopped pacing, her anger so heightened that it infested the air. As a greater Lust fiend, her powers allowed her to manipulate the emotions and senses of others. If she wanted to, she could make Maya fall to her knees with a single glance.
Notably, and perhaps because no one else was present, she only made Maya want to lower her eyes.
“Why would you do that?” Natalya asked, irises shifting from red to violet.
“You told me to protect Harper. And the others. As far as I’m concerned, I did just that.”
Natalya stared her down, eyes narrowed. A similar look to the one Maya had gotten during their first conversation. Equal parts surprised, suspicious, and intrigued.
