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Steele’s eyes flashed. “This blood is yours, but it is also shadow blood. This was taken after your transition.”
Riley’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. I only gave a small amount of my blood to Dannika, and that’s it.”
Steele’s eyes roamed over her, and she didn’t like the look in his eyes. “And yet your blood opened a relatively stable portal. Tell me how that happened.”
“I don’t know,” she said.
Steele moved to the smooth wall, running his hand over the stone.
Riley put her hand on Colton’s arm. “I have no idea what is going on. They took my blood when I was abducted, but they used it on that girl and to open a portal. Maybe they got more than I realized.”
Colton put his hand on her cheek. “Hey, it’s okay. We will figure this out.”
Steele stood after picking something up after he overturned another rock. Riley’s heart stuttered when he held her clan sash in his hands. There was no mistaking it. The pattern for every member was different. The sash had been on her dresser when she left that morning.
Steele’s eyes were black when he looked at her. “Tell me how your sash got here.”
Her chest squeezed. “I don’t know.”
Steele’s growl echoed in the cavern. “You lie. You are demon turned and you are helping them.”
“I’m not. I would never,” she said.
Colton stepped up to his leader. “She was with Ferguson or me today. She would never help the demons, nor did she have the opportunity to.”
Steele waved the sash in Colton’s face. “She could have given the blood at any time. She told us the demons took her blood but used it. Perhaps that was the lie. She knew they had enough for a stable portal. She just chose not to tell us.”
Riley shook her head. “I thought they used my blood, but it’s possible they took more than I realized. I did pass out for a bit.”
Steele huffed. “How convenient. Tell me how the sash got here.”
“I don’t know. It was in my room this morning,” Riley said.
Steele’s eyes narrowed on her. “There is only one pathway to your home. Only a clan member could use it without raising suspicion.”
Riley’s mind raced. Steele wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know. She didn’t want to say the clan had a traitor. Who would help the demons? Steele didn’t trust Dannika’s reaper clan except for Ferguson. They would never have gotten near Colton’s home without a clan member reporting it. “I understand. I just don’t have an answer for you.”
“I think you do. You just won’t admit it,” Steele said.
Colton’s alpha emerged. “If you insult my mate again, I will challenge for leadership. I was cured of the demon venom. The clan will back my ascension,” Colton growled with the undertone of his alpha.
Steele’s alpha emerged, growling. “You are too pussy whipped to see the truth. Aaron is dead because of her. We are a hair’s breadth from the king’s arrival. She is ensuring our destruction from within,” Steele hissed.
Riley stepped between the alphas as smoke rose from their shoulders and there was no sign that either would back down. She understood Steele’s point. It looked like she was a traitor. Colton would never stop defending her. “There has to be some way to confirm I am not a traitor. Why can’t you hear the truth in my voice?”
Steele looked at her with contempt. “There have been a few shadows with the ability to lie. It’s rare, but it would stand to reason that you possess this gift.”
Riley shook her head. “I will do anything you ask to prove my innocence.”
Steele glanced between Riley and Colton. “There is one way that will satisfy the clan and me.”
“What?”
Ferguson emerged from the tunnel. “What is going on?”
Riley quickly recapped the events. As soon as she finished, Ferguson’s alpha emerged. His was unlike Colton or Steele’s. It was power rolling in dark smoke. His voice boomed when he spoke. “If you challenge Riley, then you challenge me. The queen sent me to ensure Riley’s safety. You touch her. You die.”
Colton returned to his human form. “Riley is not only my mate, she is the queen’s twin. Be careful of your next move, Steele.”
