The rage in his chest crystallized into something sharper, more dangerous. Lana’s casual cruelty was nothing new, in fact it was something he himself often enjoyed, but directing it atNadi felt like a personal violation. If anyone was going to make Nadi suffer, it was him, after all. “How much?”
“Three full glasses. Maybe more.” She took another tentative sip of water. “She offered me a fourth glass when I couldn’t finish the third fast enough. Said something about itgetting cold.”
Raziel’s hands clenched into fists before he could stop himself. The anger that rampaged through him was a surprise. When had his protective instincts toward Nadi become so pronounced? When had her suffering begun to bother him?
He loved her.
But that didn’tmeananything to a creature like him. Surely.
“The worst part wasn’t the blood,” Nadi continued, leaning back against the cool bathroom wall. “It was the interrogation that came with it. She questioned everything—my feeding habits, my relationship with you, my memories of being human. Every answer felt like walking through a minefield. It’s one thing to have to hold up an act. But she knows. She knows I’m not Monica, and she wants to know what I am.Whatever happens, after the wedding tomorrow, I think this act is over.”
“What did you tell her?” He kept his voice level, though internally he was already calculating the damage, the potential exposure. But he felt the crushing suspicion that she was right.
“The truth, where I could. About the enhanced senses, the overwhelming nature of the transformation.” Nadi closed her eyes, still looking pale and shaky. “But when she asked about…intimate feeding, about you and me…”
“Ah.” Understanding dawned, along with a fresh wave of anger. “She was fishing for information about our bond.”
Of course she was. Lana would want to know how deep the connection ran, whether it could be exploited or needed to be severed entirely. The thought of his sister probing into the most private aspects of his relationship with Nadi made his jaw clench.
Nadi opened her eyes to look at him, and he could see the exhaustion there, the strain of maintaining her deception under such pressure. “The question is, does she think I’mjusta spy, a fae shapeshifter, or something else entirely?”
If Lana suspected that Nadi wasn’t truly a vampire, there was no other option but for her to be fae. And if she was fae? Everything was over forbothof them.
“We’ll know soon enough. Survival requires adaptation. And if there is one thing you are good at, it’s that.” He helped her to her feet, steadying her when she swayed slightly. His hands lingered on her arms, reluctant to let go until he was certain she was stable. “I’m about to leave to find out where Mael stands in all this and what he wants me to do. The question all this raises is what Lana plans to do with her suspicions.”
“She’ll watch me more closely at the wedding, for one.” Nadi leaned against the sink. “Test me again, probably. Maybe try to separate us to see how I react.”
“Or she might decide you’re too dangerous to keep alive.” The words came out more matter-of-fact than he felt. The possibility of losing Nadi—of his sister deciding to eliminate her—sent a cold spike of fear through him that he couldn’t entirely suppress. “If she suspects you are more of a threat to her than a potential weaponforher…”
“Then we move up our timeline on her death.” Nadi straightened, some of her natural determination returning. “We can’t wait for the perfect moment if there might not be one.”
“No.” The refusal was immediate, instinctive. He’d spent too many years planning this revenge to let fear derail it now. “We stick to the plan. Changing course now, when we’re this close, is more dangerous than maintaining our position. Mael comes first.”
“Even if Lana exposes me?”
“Especially then.” He moved closer, his hands settling on her shoulders. Through the thin fabric of her dress, he could feel the warmth of her skin, the steady rhythm of her breathing. She was alive, safe, still with him. “Because if she tries to expose you publicly, it means she’s confident in her position. Overconfident. And overconfidence creates opportunities.”
He watched understanding dawn in her dark eyes, saw the moment she grasped what he was suggesting.
“You want her to make a move against me.”
“I want her to reveal her hand,” he corrected. The idea of using Nadi felt wrong, but strategically, it was sound. “Right now, we don’t know who else is involved in her schemes, what resources she has, or how far she’s willing to go. If she acts against you tomorrow, we’ll learn all of that.”
“You’re using me as bait.”
The accusation in her voice stung, though he couldn’t deny its accuracy. “Using both of us as bait, because if she moves against you, she’ll have to move against me as well. We’re too closely associated for her to eliminate one without considering the other.”
It was true, though not for the reasons his family would assume. They were bound together now by more than alliance or convenience. The thought of Nadi facing Lana’s machinations alone made him want to abandon all subtlety and simply kill his sister tonight.
“If she corners me at the wedding, Raziel—I’m going to do what I have to do.” Black, opalescent eyes met his. There was no deterring her.
It would ruin everything he’d worked toward. But it would keep her safe. “Do what you must do to survive, Nadi. I can’t ask you to do anything else.”
Nadi was quiet for a long moment, and he found himself studying her face, looking for signs of fear or doubt. When shespoke again, her voice was steadier. “There’s something else. The seamstress who interrupted us—she is fae. Or from the Wild. I saw her at Braen’s club when I was spying there.”
“Are you positive?”
She nodded. “She had that…it’s hard to describe, wewalkdifferently, move differently, those of us who grew up in the Wild. Last I saw her, she was running toward the basement of captives with a gun. The ones you said were missing when you sent your men after them.”
