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“How long have you been hiding your heritage?” he asked.
“Answer the question,” I said.
He folded his arms over his chest, settling in as if he was causally chatting with a disobedient child rather than a hunter. It made my blood boil. I wasn’t a threat to him, I was an inconvenience. I wish I could take him out but I wasn’t suicidal. And if I was dead, nobody else would follow up on Lola. I knew how it worked, the enforcers would do a minor investigation and they’d likely leave it unsolved. She deserved justice and her killer deserved punishment.
Okay, maybe it was vengeance, but that didn’t bother me. It was what I had to do. I owed it to my friend.
“You answer one of my questions and I’ll answer one of yours,” he said. “A trade of sorts.”
“You’re insane,” I said.
He shrugged. “Take it or leave it. I’m sure your friends are getting tired fighting my hellhounds. Even my brother can’t beat a creature that’s immortal.”
My jaw dropped and I quickly worked to cover my surprise. I hated the look of satisfaction on his face from my reaction.Hellhounds. They shouldn’t even be here. Demons weren’t allowed in our realm and the occasional breech was dealt with quickly. How had a pair of hellhound shifters made it through the portals?
“Yes, yes, hellhounds are very impressive and all, but I’m far more interested in you,” he said. “You answer my question, I answer yours. Once I’m satisfied, I’ll go and your friends might still be alive.”
“Fine.” I wouldn’t go so far as to call either Elias or Xander friends but the thought of anything bad happening to either of them sent a rush of fear through me that I rarely experienced. I didn’t just want them to be okay, Ineededthem to be okay. “What’s your question?”
“Did you know you were a demon?” His expression was deadly serious.
“I’m a half wolf,” I said. “I’m not a demon.”
“You released hellfire. Only demons can access that magic,” he said. “And now that I’m so close to you, I’m surprised I missed the hints of your demon magic before. Your wolf covers the scent quite nicely.”
“I’m not a demon,” I said. “Drop it. Who killed my friend?”
“Who were your parents?” he asked.
“It’s my turn,” I said.
“Oh, yes,” he said. “Word in certain circles is a vampire in Queen Marcella’s inner circle took credit for the murder. I think if you were to examine your friend’s body, you’d fine evidence offeeding.”
I shuddered. Sure, vampires had to eat, but no self-respecting supernatural would allow it. It was disgraceful and wrong. Aside from that, it was illegal for a vampire to feed from a wolf.
David’s smile was too self-assured. He seemed to know exactly how much his comment would get under my skin.
Most of the time, I was pretty good at keeping my face neutral. Apparently, this asshole killed my poker face. I didn’t want him to know how much he was getting to me, but something about him made it hard for me to hide.
“Those are strong accusations,” I said. “Tying a murder to the Queen’s circle is nearly the same as saying she was in on it.”
“I venture she was,” he said. “And who exactly does my good for nothing brother work for?”
This time I was prepared for him to drop something for a reaction and I managed to hold back. That didn’t stop my mind from racing. All my interactions with Elias played through my head in rapid-fire. He was interested in the stone, but never tried to take it from me. He went along with me, but refused to say what he’d been doing in the first place. I knew he worked for the Queen, he’d never denied that, but why not tell me something about his mission? Unless it was in direct opposition to mine.
Or was something that connected to Lola’s death.
My pulse raced as I tried to playback the last two nights. Between the two brothers, wasn’t Elias the good guy?
Depending on who you asked, even I wasn’t the good guy. None of our hands were clean.
“Are you saying your brother was in on the plot to kill Lola?” I asked.
He grinned. “You’ve already had your turn. It’s my turn now.”
I clenched my jaw and waited.
“Was it your mother or father who was the demon?” He brushed his thumb against my forearm in a far too intimate way. It sent a shiver up my arm and down my spine.
