“What could do something like that?” Liam asked, his gaze intense.
Joseph shook his head, one hand going up to pinch the bridge of his nose.“You’ve got me.I’ve never seen anything like this. Whatever was done to them would have been excruciatingly painful. Like their soul was being ripped from its shell.”
“I hate magic,” Makoto said, his voice grim.
“We all do,” Anton responded, for once no trace of teasing in his tone.
“How did this happen?” Eric asked.“I thought our wards were supposed to protect us from their magic.”
I looked up with interest. This was the first timeI’d heard that.
“I don’t know,” Liam said, his gaze still on the bodies. He seemed pensive, almost regretful, as if the sight of these dead vampires pained him, reminded him of his failure.
I ignored it, unwilling to let my anger go, even if he was showing a trace, a very tiny bit, of humanity.
“You should bring Miriam in,” I said.“She could probably tell us more.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“I’m sure she’d be happy to leave whatever hole you dropped her in.” My words held more of a bite than I intended.
“Would you rather I left her to wander loose after nearly killing you?” he asked, a forced politeness in his voice as he responded to the faint judgment.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” There was a snap to my words even as I gave him my sweetest smile.“We both know you wouldn’t want to disappoint the person holding your leash.”
His eyes burned, the blue twin flames that threatened to sear. No one spoke, holding their breath as the moment pressed down on us. I refused to back down, stubbornly holding Liam’s gaze.
I let him see inside me, let him see that whatever we thought we’d been building up to with the flirting and the games, it was over now. The sides were very clear, and he wasn’t on mine.
“Fine,” he bit out.“We’ll ask the witch. Makoto and Anton, bring her.”
The two enforcers excused themselves as the rest of us waited silently, the room full of strained tension.
Miriam walked in, flanked by the enforcers. There was a bruise along her chin and her skin looked pale, lines of pain around her mouth and dark circles under her eyes. Around her wrists were a pair of handcuffs that seemed to eat the magic she emitted naturally.
Gone was the facade of the perky coed, in its place was an exhausted, irritable woman.
Miriam’s glare could have lit the room on fire had her handcuffs given her even a little access to her natural magic. As it was, she had nothing but a frown to strike fear into our hearts.
“I see you survived,” Miriam said in a dour voice when she saw me in the corner.“Pity.”
“You have a very interesting way of thanking someone when they save your neck,” I told her.
She scoffed, the sound full of derision.“Save me? They would never have come after me if not for you.”
“Who?” Liam asked before I could speak.
Miriam spared him a brief glance. Her lip curled in disdain.“What’s this? More pointless questions?I’ve already told you I don’t know anything.”
Liam bared his teeth at her, his expression chilling. This was a man who’d gladly end her existence. Tear it from her and not spare a thought or ounce of regret for his actions later.
I was tempted to let him, but we’d be right back where we started.
“I’ll make it easy for you, Miriam. We already know your coven has made a deal with the Fae,” I told her.
She watched me with a guarded expression.
I gave her a humorless smile.“They’ve just shown they don’t consider you one of them, which in a way is good for you since it means these guys will be less likely to kill you.”
