But I would never, ever forget.
And one thing was for sure. I was forever cured of my childhood crush.
“Apparently, evidence at the crime scene suggests Claudette was collecting information on us. For whom or for what purpose, I can’t begin to fathom.” Mina bit her lip, then looked at Roux. “So, you were right.”
“He’s smarter than he looks.” Bene patted him on the back.
Roux stared into the fireplace. “I wish I were wrong.”
“Even so, I don’t have it in me to blame Claudette,” I said quietly.
“Me neither,” Mina agreed. “I can only imagine that someone bribed or blackmailed her into doing it. Maybe the same someone who has their eye on the château.”
“Someone?” Marius scoffed.
“Yeah, I can think of someone,” Bene agreed.
Mina and I stared at him. Who, then?
“Let’s see…” Bene began sarcastically. “There are hundreds of châteaux in France, but someone is interested in this particular one. Asupernaturalsomeone with the connections, money, and ruthless willpower to send nagas and vampires our way.”
I looked around, stumped.
“Celeste,” Henrik growled. “It has to be.”
“Makes sense,” Marius agreed, pointing to Mina. “She hates you…”
Mina grimaced. “Not even my toughest students hate me.”
“Well, they’re not driven by jealousy,” Bene pointed out.
“Jealous of what — this?” Mina gestured around. “The leaky roof, the endless repairs…”
The hot dragon shifter at her side,I thought.
Roux snorted, and I whipped around.
Did you hear that?I tried mind-speak.
He made a face.Hot? Please.
Oh. My. I would definitely have to watch what I thought from now on. But it did prove we’d broken through that barrier in our minds.
I gulped. It felt weirdly intimate. Was I ready for that?
My gut warmed. Yes. Yes, I was.
“Celeste was trying to maneuver her way into taking over Gordon’s business,” Bene said. “So losing her job before she wasready to execute her plan must have been the last straw. And from her perspective, that was our fault.”
“Her own damn fault,” Marius growled.
Anger energized the room, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the men set off to lynch Celeste that night. But we needed to think things through.
“Sounds plausible, but we need more to go on than that,” I said, then faced Henrik. “I hate to ask, but I must. Did Claudette ever mention anything to you in the time you…uh…”
I faded out, unable to find a delicate way to sayduring your brief, bloody fling.
Vampires were usually as pale and pasty as your average librarian, but Henrik went crimson with indignation.
