AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know what she was thinking, spouting off bullshit like that, but I doubt she expected Danni to leave and go get shot by Mathis. Beheading is a bit much, considering her crime is stupidity.”
“Her stupidity almost got Danni killed,” I argued. “I’ve already decided to remove her from Court. I never should’ve allowed her to stay. I knew she had ambitions to be queen at one time, but I thought she was over the fling we had. Otherwise I never would’ve kept her on.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but a knock sounded, and she glanced at me. I shook my head. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Not when I had more important things to work out.
Ysa stood, walking to the door, answering it, and speaking in low tones. Turning to me, she said, “Give me five minutes.”
“Sure,” I said, waving her off. She left, closing the door behind her, leaving me to toss around everything we had already discussed. I picked the information apart, piece by piece, always coming back to the same conclusion. I couldn’t call the House Council to vote.
We had knowledge of the army Mathis was building, and that would certainly give the other Houses a reason to question his truth, unless they were a part of it. I also had to account for what Mathis would say he was actually doing with that army. He would expect me to bring it up, which meant he had a cover story.
An emergency meeting of that magnitude held the weight of the future, and the breakdown was impossible to figure out. Blood and Beryl would be accusing Fire and Fluorite of treasonous acts against the mated future queen. By default, neither of us could vote. We could only present our cases. The remaining five Houses would determine the outcome. I had Gold and Garnet and Sea and Serpentine. Mathis had Air and Amethyst; of that I had no doubt. But Earth and Emerald, and Spirit and Sapphire? The latter was uptight and didn’t engage in the conflict between others. The former was founded on the ideals of individuals who only wanted a House for protection. They would never vote for something that could possibly bring about disagreements or war. Both Houses would need hard evidence—and I couldn’t blame them for it.
Pinching between my eyes, I rubbed the bridge of my nose in a tight, circular motion, taking a moment to calm myself. There was something I was missing, but we didn’t know where to look anymore.
“Elias?” Ysa said, poking her head through the door. I looked up, confused why she didn’t just come in. “We have a visitor, and I think you’ll want to hear what he has to say.”
I raised an eyebrow, searching behind her as she opened the door.
Markus.
I stood up fast, my hands flat on my desk, my chair rolling behind me and hitting the shelves. “What do you want?” I barked. To his credit, he held his chin high. He didn’t flinch or back away. “Just because you are no longer tied to my mate doesn’t mean I want you around.”
“Elias, listen to him,” Ysa said quietly, an eyebrow raising over her shades.
I glared at him, then waved my hand.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m happy Danni found her second-chance mate,” he started, and I narrowed my eyes. Clearing his throat, he continued. “I never thanked you for saving my life. I know it was Danni who stuck her neck out for me—even though I didn’t deserve it. She knows I’m grateful. But you made the decision to let me stay, and I owe you. You have my allegiance.”
“Is this what you wanted to tell me?” I asked, looking at my second incredulously.
“No. Well, yes, but there’s more.” Markus put his hands behind his back, clasping them as he stood tall. I hadn’t invited him to sit, and he was smart enough to not assume he was allowed to. “Danni encouraged me to explore my options in the House. Find work that suited me. Contribute to Blood and Beryl. Heal from . . . my past. Try to be a better person. In time, I know I’ll prove myself worthy of being accepted. She also suggested that I . . . date, or at least, play the field. So I have been.”
I crossed my arms, wondering where his conversation was headed. “Congratulations. You’re learning how to be a man, and you’re getting laid. How does any of this pertain to me?”
His jaw clenched tightly, and he sniffed, but the tension loosened shortly after that. “You have another mole, and it’s someone you are entirely too close to.”
I shot Ysa a look and she inclined her head, removing her shades, giving me an I told you so look if there ever was one.
“How do you know we had a mole to begin with? That information wasn’t made public.”
“Because I’m sleeping with a member of your High Court,” he said. Anticipation and adrenaline coursed through me, and I dipped my chin, telling him to continue. “Katie.”
“You have my attention,” I said, the emotions I felt making the words come out gritty and thick.
“She is the direct line feeding information to my father,” he said, wasting no time getting to the point. I exhaled sharply, my brows furrowing.
“How do you know this?” My voice was dark, and so were my thoughts.
“Because I overheard her last night,” he explained. I glanced at Ysa as she remained outwardly calm.
I considered him, then pulled back my chair from where it’d hit the shelves, sitting, and resting my elbows on my desktop. Still, he remained in place, not being offered to do anything but stand. “What exactly did you hear?” I asked.
“My father knows Danni is alive. I heard someone named Jordan is dead, and he gave up information before his untimely passing. I also know you found five other rats in Blood and Beryl, two of whom are also dead. The three you captured have been under the care of someone you haven’t named, at least not in front of Katie.” He inhaled deeply, taking a moment between unloading everything he’d learned. “You know what he’s been building in Utah. He’s already given orders to make it disappear and get rid of the evidence.”
A crease formed between my brows. “Katie said all this in her sleep?” I made no attempt to hide my doubt. A traitor wouldn’t have gotten this far by making stupid mistakes. I’d told her not to have any more overnight visitors if her sleep talking was going to be a problem.
“Of course not. I’m not allowed to stay the night, so after we were, um . . . finished, I packed up my things to leave and she went to shower. Halfway to my room, I realized I’d left my keys, so I went back. The water was turned on, and I figured maybe I’d pop back in to surprise her. Then I heard her whispering, so I listened in. She was incredibly quiet, but . . .” He pointed to his head, shifting his ear to the shape of a wolf’s, large and pointed, but not changing the rest of his body. It took a lot of practice to shift individual parts. I was impressed.
