AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He offered a tight smile. “Nadine has been worried about me lately. I’m trying to reassure her but it’s difficult when I’m unsure of what is happening myself.”
“You should bring her to the palace for dinner some night,” I suggested as we followed the mourners. “It’d be good to see her again. Your wife always makes everything brighter.”
If Klaus was a brother to me, Nadine was a sister. She and I didn’t have the same deep history, but she was good for my old friend, and I wanted nothing more than Klaus to be happy. He deserved it, after the life he’d been forced to live.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the light of my life being in the same palace as an assassin from the Nightshade,” Klaus replied, frankly. “Reilyn might not be able to kill you, but that doesn’t mean she won’t attempt to hurt you in other ways to force you to release the spell between the two of you.”
I veered to the left, heading for the gardens instead of the palace. “I don’t think she’s involved in this at all.”
“You don’t know her. You’re putting far too much blind faith in this assassin. The warehouse could have been a trap.”
I considered his words, choosing my response carefully. “Klaus. You know I appreciate your insights. You know my weaknesses and if it weren’t for you, Thebe would have killed me. I count on your wisdom to counteract my blind spots.”
Klaus drew to a stop and frowned at me. “But?”
“But in this case, I have to say you’re wrong. Reilyn was as shocked as we were by those vampires. And her grief is real. They were people she knew and cared about.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a trap. Just that she didn’t know the full extent of it.”
I nodded once, accepting that. So far that single half-burned note was the only evidence of the Nightshade’s dealings I’d found. I knew the murders and Reilyn’s coven were connected, but how? I pinched the bridge of my nose. Though I hadn’t told Duke Randell, another of the missing fae nobility had turned up. Marquise Brennan, a pompous old fool, went missing two days ago. Yesterday, I received reports of his body being found. Klaus and I had investigated the scene and had Brennan’s body sent to the morgue for further investigation.
“I’m going to bring Reilyn to the crime scene,” I decided suddenly.
Klaus didn’t say anything. And by his silence, I knew the depth of his opposition to the idea.
“There may be something she picks up on that we didn’t,” I continued, “and if there’s a connection, she might give herself away.”
“I don’t like it,” Klaus said, “But until a better option presents itself, do as you may.”
I patted his shoulder, smirking. “And if you’re right, I will grovel at your feet for forgiveness.”
“Be sure you do,” Klaus replied, giving me one last severe look. “Because that at least would mean you’re still alive.”
Truth, lies, and the dead revealed.
Reilyn
I had expected Araki to remove the Union spell and execute me after the warehouse attack. Instead, we had returned to the palace, and I had been left alone to my troubled mind and anguished heart until Araki took me to another crime scene after the incident two days later. Though there was blood at the site, the body had long been removed. Araki had asked me to investigate and tell him if I noticed anything familiar. There wasn’t anything familiar. No coven traces as I had seen at the warehouse or the lake. Did someone go rogue?
“There is nothing here pointing to the Nightshade,” I said, meeting his cold eyes.
“Look harder,” Araki ordered.
I swallowed and stared at the blood again. “It looks like some blood sacrifice.”
“It is exactly that,” Araki said bluntly.
I lifted my eyes to his steely face. “Using another person’s body to increase their magic?”
“And I believe your coven is behind this.” His eyes flashed with anger.
“No, they’re not,” I shook my head. “The Nightshade wouldn’t do such a thing. It’s a perversion of magic.”
“You saw yourself what happened at the warehouse.” Araki snapped.
I shook my head and frowned, “Yes, but that could be anyone framing the Nightshade. We are not particularly liked.”
“And the dead bodies at the lake? You saw something in them.” Araki interrupted me. He crossed his arms over his chest, challenging me.
