“Are you sure there was nothing in Hathbury’s basement?” Greyfield asks.
I grind my teeth. “Quite sure.”
My magic had been bound by the cuffs but I would have been able to sense a portal of the magnitude we had been hoping for. Whatever the cause, getting access to the basement of Hathbury House was a blessing in disguise. Either Hathbury does not know I’m a Revivalist or he is a cocky little shit. Rubbing it in that he did actually manage to destroy the portal.
Greyfield sighs heavily. I can taste his and everyone else’s bitter disappointment. We had all been hoping that the destruction of the portal was all just an elaborate bluff and that portal was still growing. This news sets us back hundreds of years.
I growl in frustration. What the fuck is wrong with Hathbury? His grandfather was a genius. If the portal had been left to grow as per the plan, the Fey would have been able to cross it in a few decades.
“Did they take you just to gloat?” someone asks.
Fuck if I know. I let the conversation wash over me. I almost don’t care. The only thing I do care about is Colby’s innocence. He is innocent in all of this. I am sure of it. Aren’t I?
I stop my frantic pacing just long enough to pour myself a whiskey and down it. The burn does nothing for me. It is as if I’m numb to it. Too full of pain to be able to register any more.
The image of Colby’s beautiful brown eyes is haunting me. I can’t stop thinking about his dazzling smile, his sweetness. The feel of him in my arms. He is the brightest thing in my life. It can’t be nothing more than a mirage. That would break me.
“What does your vessel know?” asks Greyfield.
“Nothing,” I croak. Gods, I hope it’s true.
“Is that what you think? Or what you know?”
I wince. “There is no evidence that he knows a thing.”
“Is there any evidence that he doesn’t?”
Murmurs of conversation wash over me. I let them debate it without me. I’ve said all I can. Presented the facts as I know them. There is nothing more I can do. It is out of my hands now.
“It’s quite clear. The boy needs to be put down. We can’t take the risk.”
I whirl to face Greyfield. Sparks ignite in between my fingers and rage flows through me. Greyfield pales and steps back.
“He is a good-looking boy and shaping up to be a powerful vessel. I agree it is a shame, but we can’t take the risk. There is too much at stake, we don’t know what he may have uncovered.”
I ball my hands into fists and keep them clenched by my side. I’m not shocked by Greyfield’s words. They were exactly what I was expecting.
“Of course, The Circle will compensate you for your loss. You’ll be able to buy another vessel.”
The words feel like a slap. They are exactly how I should feel about Colby. He is a vessel. Property. Something to be bought, sold and replaced. It’s how I expected to feel about him.
I don’t understand why I don’t feel that way. How did he seep into my every pore and take up residence in my soul? It doesn’t make any sense. He is cute, sweet, clever. Fantastic in bed. None of those are reasons to lose my frigging mind. But I have. Completely and utterly. And I have no idea what to do about it.
“He knows nothing,” I assert.
Greyfield’s eyes narrow. “Well, let’s put it to the vote, shall we?”
I glare at each of the seven people in the room but I’m all out of words. I have nothing rational to add, because there is nothing rational to add.Please don’t kill my vessel who may be a spy and saboteur and may destroy us all. Don’t kill him because I love him and it will break my heart.Those words make no sense at all. Voicing them will only serve to let them know that I have completely lost the plot.
“All in favor of execution, raise your hand.”
Like a nightmare or a vision of hell, I watch as one after another, seven hands raise up into the air. I can’t breathe. My heart is exploding. My vision swims.
Greyfield pats me on the shoulder. “Sorry, Old Chap. We will make it quick and painless.”
“No,” I say.
Greyfield raises an eyebrow.
