She looked up at me, her eyes dancing with new light. Excitement. “Then we agree that witches are to blame?”
“They’re not to blame, Talia. They didn’t kill themselves.”
“They’ve allowed themselves to become weak and complacent. Is that not the same thing?”
“How can you say that? Listen to yourself!” I shoved back my chair, unable to sit still. I couldn’t believe the bullshit she was spewing. I knew the Council was hands-off and out of touch with the day-to-day realities of most supernatural communities. But to say that witches had brought this on themselves? It was the kind of absolutely backward thinking that had led to witch trials and hunts in the first place, and there was no place for it. Not with me. Not anywhere.
“There’s no need to get upset,” she said. “I’m simply stating the facts. As a detective, I thought you’d appreciate that.”
“You’re stating regurgitated nonsense that should’ve died out in the stone age. Witches are chosen guardians of earth’s magic. They should be revered, not hunted and vilified.”
“There are some who believe they never should’ve been entrusted with magic in the first place.”
“Some who believe? Jesus, Talia. Are you working for the hunters now?”
Talia smoothed an elegant hand over her wine-colored hair, as though my simmering anger had somehow ruffled her appearance.
When she looked at me again, her eyes glittered with so much malice, it was an effort to keep my predatory instincts in check—to stay in human form.
“The hunters’ methods may be primitive and cruel,” she said, “but those methods stem from a deep sense of right and wrong, and a loyalty to truth and righteousness.”
“Unbelievable. Do you realize—”
“Thewitches,” she continued, “are a problem that should’ve been dealt with long ago, and for that, I take some responsibility. The Council has not been as involved as we should’ve been. That is changing.” She shook her head, her lips twisting into a smarmy smile. “Oh, don’t give me that look, Detective. I’m not suggesting they be burned at the stake. Merely that we must find a way to make the distribution of power more equitable.”
My jaw popped, my muscles rippling beneath the skin. My wolf wanted out. He wanted to tear out her throat.
I headed for the window, taking in a breath of cool air.
When I returned to the table, Talia’s smile was gone.
“I want to help you, Detective Alvarez. But in order to do so, I need you to trust me. I need you to share with me any pertinent information you have about this case.”
“You want some information?” I practically growled at her. “Fine. Let’s start with this one: Orendiel. Ring any bells?”
Her already pale face turned absolutely translucent, her mouth parting in a state of surprise I was pretty damn sure she hadn’t meant to show.
“Darkwinter,” I continued. “I don’t know how or why, but they’ve teamed up with the hunters. Right now they seem to be targeting witches, along with shifters and vampires in slightly smaller numbers. But I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, am I?”
Her stunned silence was all the confirmation I needed.
How long had she been sitting on this? Was she covering up for the fact that the Council had let this situation get so out of control right under their very noses? Was she embarrassed? Worried about political fallout?
Or worse—actually involved in this?
Leaning across the table, I lowered my face to hers, staring into her golden eyes as my breath stirred her perfect hair. “Once Darkwinter helps the hunters eradicate the witches, who do you think they’ll aim for next? You think they’ll pack up their toys and go back to their own sandbox? Or do you think they’ve got bigger aspirations? The Council, perhaps? The Courts?”
“Careful, wolf,” she hissed, but I’d rattled her. I could see it in the slight inward curve of her shoulders. She seemed to be shrinking from me.
“I’m pointing out the obvious here, Talia. Shifters are much less a threat to hunters. Our power lies in our ability to take on animal forms—to embody their strengths and instincts. It makesusstronger. But fae magic?Yourmagic? It makesthemweaker. Once they figure that out, it won’t be long before they’re knocking down the doors of your precious ivory tower. And when that day comes, I hope tohellyou don’t come down here looking for help.”
Despite her obvious fear, the ice in her eyes told me that I’d just crossed into uncharted territory. It’d taken decades to forge a decent working relationship with the Council, and it damn near killed me to see it all unraveling. But I couldn’t stand by and let her get away with this. There were lives at stake—lives of people I cared about.
And that was just the beginning.
“Despite our differences,” she said, rising from her chair like a tree growing from a rock, “there is one thing we’ve got in common, wolf.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
