Once again, I was in Samael’s bed. I struggled to sit up. Next to the balcony, Samael turned, my kitten in his arms. I blinked in an attempt to clear this craziness from my mind.
Nope. I wasn’t dreaming.
Samael strolled toward me, placing Lia on the bed. She immediately raced at me, climbing on my chest and nuzzling at my neck. Tears pricked my eyes. “Hi, cat.”
She purred, and I ignored Samael, clutching her close for a long moment. Lia swiped at me, unhappy at having her freedom restricted. Moment over.
“How long was I out?” This was déjà vu. I had to stop ending up here.
“Two days. Vassago thought you might prefer to have your feline brought here.”
I gazed at him. Samael was… lying. A tiny crease had appeared between his brows, and he seemed almost confused. The demon had remembered how frantic I’d been when I woke up here last time, and he knew that Lia would bring me comfort.
I smiled and said nothing, running one finger over Lia’s tiny ear. I felt good enough to sit up, and I rotated my ankle. Healed. Oh, it ached, but it felt like it was recovering from a small sprain, and not the fracture that I’d had. My head also felt clear, although I could definitely sleep for a few more hours.
“What happened after I passed out?”
Samael waved a hand. “The mages arrived, unhappy to find their suspects were no longer living. However, one of the phones had still been recording.” A hint of frustration covered his face and was gone an instant later. “Vassago missed the phone in his initial search. It had fallen into some undergrowth.”
And it had caught everything. Not only that Samael was powerful enough to turn people to ash with little more than a thought, but that I had fought on the side of the demon. Had tried to save him.
My career was likely over.
Samael reached out a hand, dropping it before he touched my face. “The video was released into Albert’s care before I knew it existed. I paid him a visit and he swore it would not be viewed by anyone else.”
I winced. We both knew the Mage Council was full of leaks. Someone had likely given the witches the Naud Chains. If that video made it out of the Mage Council, I was screwed.
I blew out a long breath. I was alive. Samael was alive. Evie was alive. The witches were dead. I’d worry about everything else later.
I sat back in the mound of pillows. “Botis was bonded to you. So how did he manage to betray you?”
Samael gave a languid shrug of his shoulders. “Those oaths were sworn several centuries ago. They are my equals— not compelled to serve me. They follow my orders because they choose to.”
And Botis had chosen not to.
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
I blinked. It was the most honest Samael had been with me. His expression open, sadness flickering in his silver eyes. I glanced away, and my gaze landed on my arm.
The black slash was gone. Samael strolled closer, then sat on the edge of my bed. Inches away. If I wanted, I could pull him close. “You no longer owe me.”
“Oh yeah? Then how come your gold mark is still all over my arm?”
“I wanted to break the bond. But you didn’t complete the task in the allotted time.”
I went very still. “What are you talking about?”
“You were to discoverand killthe murderers before the end of the two week deadline. Your deadline ended at 12am when you were holding your ward against Mary. Besides, you didn’t kill the witches. I did.”
Rage swept through me and I fought to keep a tremble from my voice. “You son of a bitch.”
“Magic has rules.”
“You make the rules!”
“If I were a better man, I would release you.” He smiled, and it was both cruel and sad. “But I’m not.”
