Page 14 of The Temptation of Roan Island

Noah stands behind his mate, hands resting on her shoulders while his gaze travels over each of us. “I wanted to speak to you all before the new moon party tonight.” Noah’s jaw ticks, his shoulders riding a little higher than normal.

A heavy, weighted feeling sinks my stomach. Whatever he’s going to say, it’s troubling him.

He looks down at Ruby, and she smiles back at him, giving his hand on her shoulder a squeeze. The silent exchange makes the tether wrapped around my hearts twist tighter. It’s too familiar and too foreign all at once.

“I’ve heard from Hammish’s lawyer.” Noah says our father’s name with disgust. “Shemaiah was right. He took additional measures to thwart us even in death.”

Not surprising considering the man slept in a different room every night to avoid one of us killing him in his sleep. That, combined with our deceased father’s patriarchal ability to control the other Mavarri in his family line—an ability that has since passed to Noah—ensured it was nearly impossible to stop him and the wake of deaths he created. It took years, and help from the women in this room, to accomplish it.

“Father wrote a stipulation into his will that his death was to be investigated. We only get our inheritance if we can prove he died of natural causes.”

“That we didn’t off him,” Jafeth quips.

“But you did kill him,” sweet, innocent Kay says. “Or rather… Zarah did.” Her eyes dance around the faces as if looking for Zarah despite knowing she’s not here.

Kay’s right. Our sister landed the final blow, but we were all just as involved as she was. We planned it. Truthfully, I concocted the scheme and put everything into motion. We’re all complicit in the death of an abhorrent Mavarri who killed countless people before his own demise.

“And we’d do it again.” Noah moves away from Ruby and sits down at the table with a sigh.

“His ending was too kind.” Jafeth holds his teacup in the air as if he’s toasting with champagne to our father’s death.

His flippancy and irreverence doesn’t quite land, though Zarah would appreciate it, probably cheering him on if she were in the room.

“So how are you supposed to prove you didn’t kill him?” Anna asks.

“Witnesses.” Ruby looks at each of the three women brought here because of Hammish’s corrupt, and ill-attempted desire to create more Mavarri, brought here under false pretenses that they might be healed.

“We have to impose on your generosity once more,” Noah says.

“The three of you are our best hope of quickly having the case dismissed.” Ruby’s gaze lands on Pippa last.

I have the sudden urge to pull Pippa behind me protectively, even though I know Ruby would never hurt her and what she’s asking is reasonable.

“So you want us to lie for you?” Kay brings a finger to her lips like she’s about to bite her nail, but drops it like she caught herself in the act.

Kay, Anna, and Pippa did witness our father’s death, even participated in it, but clearly Noah doesn’t want them to share the way Hammish really died at the hand of his only daughter.

“I’ll do it,” Anna says, batting her eyelashes at me from across the room. “I’ll do anything to help.”

I find my gaze settling on Pippa beside me, wondering what she thinks of this. Having gotten to know her over the last several weeks, I still can’t guess what she’ll say to the request. She’s honorable, but she’s also loyal, and the only thing in her life that means anything to her is her son. Revealing the truth would certainly risk reuniting with him.

A person of few words, much like me, she simply nods her head, letting my brother know she’ll go along with his plan.

“Does it really matter, though?” Kay asks. “I mean, you’re… well, you know. It’s not like they can really hurt you or arrest you or anything. Couldn’t you just fight them off?”

“We may be difficult to kill, but it’s not impossible, as you saw with my father. Humans have ganged up on Mavarri before.” He pauses, his eyes shuddering for a moment with emotion I understand, having lost our mother this way, but then he regains his composure and focus. “It’s why we’re the only ones of our kind left.” Noah leans his elbows on the table and folds his hands. “Other than the lie, we’ll handle this within the boundaries of the law and ensure our place remains the same within society. Respected. Powerful. Feared. And secret.” He leans back in his chair and picks at a bit of lint on his trousers. “Hammish’s lawyer will be in attendance for the new moon tonight, and he’s bringing Detective Ricin to talk to all of us.”

The thought of Pippa at the new moon party, even if it’s just so she can talk to the detective, sets something jittery fluttering low in my gut and traveling through to the base of my spine.

“Both men have been to a new moon party before. They don’t remember the specifics, of course. But it’s unlikely that the detective will imbibe tonight, since he’s here to question us. Which means no open feeding.” Noah’s gaze settles pointedly on Jafeth. “Understood?”

“Spoilsport,” Jafeth huffs. “What fun is a party without a little exhibitionism? We could just bite the detective, and then he’ll be so high on venom, he won’t remember a thing.”

“No biting the detective,” Ruby scolds. Even when she was still human, she had an odd skill for putting Jafeth in his place. “If you bite the detective, he’ll just be back asking more questions because he won’t remember your previous answers.”

“Look, I know you need to feed,” Noah says, rubbing in the fact that he doesn’t, because he now has a mate to satisfy all his cravings. “But do it in private, and only with people you’re certain won’t remember clearly.”

“Or with us.” Anna flutters her attention between me and Jafeth.