Page 39 of Grimoires & Glamoury

“I’m happy for Dex that he found a way to finally sever all of the remaining ties with his toxic family,” she said. “I’m sure he made a tidy profit with the sale. No doubt that’s how he replaced all the funds.”

Instead of confirming or denying her statement, I simply took another sip of the wine.

A door opened from across the main floor and I saw Charles step out followed by a second male. The second man wasn’t as tall as Charles, but he was brawnier. He was handsome in a sort of old-world way, with a trim beard and mustache that matched his medium brown hair. His dark suit had to have been custom made for him. I couldn’t imagine him buying off the rack with his build.

Charles was also immaculately dressed in a suit and tie, and suddenly I felt extremely under-dressed in my online attire as compared to the designer and custom clothes all around me.

While I could hear Charles’ shoes moving softly against the marble floor, the second male made no sound as he walked across the room. Setting my wineglass down on the coffee table, I stood.

“Lorna,” Ekaterina said as they approached, “allow me to introduce my husband, Seth Olarescu.”

“Hello.” I nodded.

Seth Olarescu came to a halt directly in front of me but did not offer his hand. His eyes, a sizzling green, narrowed as he looked me deliberately up and down. I regulated my breathing and waited him out. He was sizing me up, I knew. I was a Supe, a Witch in his home, and he did not know my level of power or ability.

All I could think as he stood before me was: Warrior. It was the way he held himself, the shape of his body, and his calm, courteous appearance which I knew could flip to violence in a fraction of a second.

“So, this is the young silver-haired Magistra I’ve heard so much about,” he said, sitting on the sofa across from where I’d sat with his wife.

Now that he’d taken his seat, I was able to do so as well. It was the most formal of protocols, but it was the wisest thing to do. Charles also did not sit down until after Seth had.

Still, I hesitated for a moment longer.

“Please,” Seth said to me. “Be comfortable.”

I sat down next to Ekaterina, and when she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, I glanced over at her and gave her a smile in thanks.

“Charles and I have spoken at length about the issues that have tainted Birmingham.” Seth Olarescu’s voice was low and cultured, with the tiniest bit of a bass rumble.

It was a major weapon in and of itself. His voice made you lean in and want to listen to him, almost as if it was a compulsion...or more likely an enthrallment. A Vampire that could use their voice so effectively, I knew, was either ancient, very powerful, or both.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I sat silently respectful as Seth Olarescu went over everything that had happened. Hearing the events through another’s perspective was helpful. But, when he spoke about Tadd Caruthers’s murder, I could see the anger in his eyes.

It turned out that Tadd was well known to the Olarescus. He had designed the computer tech for all of their companies and had been one of their employees.

“May I ask a question?” I said to Seth.

He inclined his head. “You may.”

“Did Sawyer and Shelby know that Tadd had connections to the Olarescu House?”

“No.” Seth shook his head. “Tadd signed an NDA with us. I have no reason to doubt his loyalty or his discretion.”

“Tadd was much more than our employee,” Ekaterina said, her voice trembling.

Concerned by her reaction, I looked to Seth for clarification.

“Tadd,” Seth said, “was voluntarily blood bound to me.”

That information had my mind reeling, and I stifled a gasp. In my mind’s eye, that Tarot card—the Nine of Swords—that had fallen out of the deck when Circe had done a reading for me a few weeks ago was now making a hell of a lot more sense.

Tadd and Seth hadn’t simply been employer and employee. They had shared a psychic connection, and Seth had thought of him as family. Many incorrectly thought that a blood bond meant you were indentured to a Vampire, but truthfully it was reserved as an honor. It was about the highest one a mortal could receive from a Vampire House. It was a deeply emotional bond...like between brothers, or even a father to a son.

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” I said to the Vampire couple.

Seth inclined his head. “We have recently received information that Sawyer Weston’s parents are also missing.”