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Bronywyn
“It’s been a long fucking day, so I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me why we shouldn’t send you packing.” Rainey leans back against the wall, as Nat and a man she introduced to us as Anthony peruse the living room.
“So this is the place Lucy lived before you all axed her.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
“I wanted to be properly informed before I showed up here,” she replies, and takes a seat on the couch. Anthony, a man with massive shoulders and a pissed-off attitude, goes to stand just to her right, his hand lingering near the blade holstered there.
“How exactly did you find us?”
“A witch. She tracked you down using a bit of her blood.” She points to Delaney.
“When the hell did you get my blood?”
“When the original host—I believe her name was Jane—died. The witch was there in the club, and she stole anything she could from the place so she could sell it later. And for you, it was a few drops of blood on the carpet. Don’t worry, I got anything else that could have been used to track you.” She snaps her fingers at Anthony, and he takes his backpack off and hands it to her. She tosses it to Rainey. “Bits of fabric with your blood on it, as well—his, too,” she adds, gesturing to Elijah. “I also managed to retain some bone fragments along with a bunch of blood from your grandmother, Agatha.”
Delaney quickly unzips the backpack and dumps the contents on the floor. Sure enough, chunks of carpet and pieces of bone tumble out onto the floor.
“Next time you should clean up before the scavengers find and sell the remnants off.”
“I didn’t realize there was a price for blood droplets,” Rainey retorts.
“If they can be used to track an Astor and anyone close to her, there sure as hell is.”
“People actually pay for this shit?” I kneel and lift a piece of bone. Residual magic clings to it, snapping against my fingertips. I drop it, the light in me repelling the dark.
“A pretty penny, too.”
“And you were just so kind to grab it for us.” Rainey crosses her arms. “Why am I having trouble believing that?”
“I’d be wary, too, if I were you. After all, you have a traitor in your midst already.”
All of us stiffen, the mood shifting from curious mistrust to blatant anger. “What the fuck do you mean a traitor?” Elijah growls.
“Someone on your team is feeding information back to the council.” She throws up a hand. “Before you ask me who it is, let me tell you that I don’t know. Before my leak could get a name, someone axed her.”
Rainey glances over at me. “That how they found us?”
“More than likely,” I tell her, my thoughts instantly going to my father. Out of everyone, he’s the easiest target for our mistrust, and that kills me. Is it possible everything he told me was a lie? That he’s actually here to see that we don’t win? After all, he wasn’t here when they attacked earlier.
Why is that?
“My vote is on Daddy Walsh,” Ridley says, casting a side glance at my father. He doesn’t look the least bit upset, though.
“I assure you, Clarance has nothing to do with this,” Natalia replies, instantly.
At her use of his first name, I turn to my father then back to her. “Wait, you two know each other?”
She smiles softly at my father. “Know him?” She glances up at Anthony, then back to me. “He’s the only reason any of us are alive right now.”
I look to my father for confirmation, but he simply stares at Nat, not letting his gaze travel anywhere but her. I turn back to the redhead. “Care to elaborate on that?”
“Sure. As I mentioned outside—” Natalia starts, getting to her feet to pace the living room. I study her movements; they’re predatory, purposeful, and my earlier impression that this woman has seen a lot of death is cemented. “The council is big on experimentation. They love to know how and why supernaturals are immune to certain things while others are not.”
My thoughts drift back to our brief imprisonment and the things they put Tarnley and me through in order to test our bond. The same thing they put Delaney, Cole, Rainey, and Elijah through.
“I was purchased a few decades ago, the day before I turned nineteen.”
