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“I don’t know…” Cirilla muttered, flipping her rainbow hair over her shoulders. “I don’t know for sure, but the amount of dark magic at play—this isn’t a warlock dabbling in forbidden spells. This is something far more dangerous.”
The clicking of her pumps on the linoleum floor was beginning to drive me over the edge.
“Agnan is dead! There’s an Anti-Order to prevent this kind of thing!” I insisted, but even as I spoke the words, I couldn’t deny the overwhelming thickness of dark magic that threatened to choke me, even though there was clearly no one around me.
“IsAgnan dead?” I challenged, drawing closer to Cirilla, who avoided my eyes and continued to scour the room for clues. “Has anyone cremated his body?”
“I don’t know the specifics of his funeral arrangements, Jace, but I’m certain he’s dead. Alpha King Zen took care of him.” She was distracted, her hands working faster as she handled Elix’s discarded items, her frown deepening.
“What would the Order of Souls want with Elix?” Saint asked dumbly, but even as he posed the question, his emerald eyes widened in dismay. “You don’t think?—”
“Dammit!” I whirled around and stalked back out into the hallway, rushing back into the lobby to confront the doorman. He cowered where we’d left him, my guard standing stony faced at his side to ensure he didn’t try to make an escape.
“Who else was in her room?” I barked at the bearded clerk. He shook his head vehemently, his fingers twisting at the stem of his black mini beard.
“No one!” he swore. “Not a soul!”
“I don’t believe you!” I looked around at the cameras overhead, and he cleared his throat.
“They don’t work. They don’t record, only monitor.”
“They must be connected to something somewhere,” I growled, advancing on him. He drew back as I again bared my fangs at him, fully prepared to kill him on the spot. “I want to see what you have!”
Visibly swallowing, he nodded and pointed a shaking finger toward a half-closed door behind him in the box-like entryway.
“It’s back there,” he whimpered. “But honestly, Alpha, it’s not connected to anything.”
Stalking toward the rear, I turned to the Royal Guard. “Find witnesses. Talk to everyone inside and out. And send for backup from the palace. I want every available guard out here. Now.”
No one refuted my orders, and I marched into the stinking rear office, waving for the clerk to follow me. He was a small being, half my six-foot-three stature, and next to me, he fully shook in his tracksuit.
“What’s your name?” I demanded, without looking at him as I flicked on the light. A single, naked bulb illuminated the interior of the room, casting the area in all its ugliness. Spiders and cockroaches scurried away at the sight, infuriating me more. A single, fat rat watched us boldly from a corner, fidgeting its paws in anticipation.
The fact that my Elix had spent even a few hours here angered me beyond reason, but not knowing where she was made me borderline crazy.
“D-Dimas,” the clerk sputtered.
“Tell me everything your remember about Miss Elix from the moment she arrived, Dimas,” I instructed him, flopping down at the broken swivel chair in front of the blank computer screens. They turned on without any effort, but like the clerk had said, they showed absolutely nothing of value.
“There’s nothing to tell you, Alpha,” Dimas whined, and I whipped my head to glower at him. He paled to translucent and looked away quickly, readjusting his tone. “I mean… she came in and asked for a room for the night, maybe more.”
“Did she pay for more than one night?” I pressed. Dimas shook his head, and I turned back to the screens, pushing at the keyboard to call up the non-functional cameras.
“So she paid for a full night…” I glanced at him again. “Do you have hourly rates?”
Dimas inhaled and nodded, inching away from me, but he seemed to remember that my guard was not far away, stopping him in his tracks. I could smell the urge he had to run sweating off of him, but I didn’t pay it much mind. If he were that stupid, it wouldn’t end well for him.
“Yes, Alpha. Some of our regular customers prefer to stay for shorter visits.”
My head rose again, and my eyes narrowed. “Did you tell Miss Elix that you offer hourly rates?”
He nodded and choked back another swallow, nervous sweat dripping fully down his face now and pooling at his chin. Dimas made no effort to wipe it away, as if he feared making any sudden movements.
“So she opted to stay for one night, even though she could have stayed for a few hours?” I said thoughtfully, my pulse racing with this new revelation.
She didn’t have plans to go anywhere. She intended to stay the night.
My frustration mounted along with my fear. It only confirmed what I’d already known—she’d been taken and hadn’t left on her own accord. But by whom? Had someone followed her?
