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He shoved his fingers through his hair. “You could have been killed. It’s a fucking miracle demons didn’t get to you first. Fuck.” He shot out of his chair. “So you’re telling me you have no idea why you left the keep?”

His body was rigid. “That’s what I’m telling you. I heard…voices. I can’t remember what they said, but whatever it was made it impossible for me to resist, to fight it. Until I reached the cottage.”

“Cottage?”

“There was a stone cottage. Someone was inside. They were trying to get me to come in, but I couldn’t reach it, and then I didn’t want to, so I tried to fight it.” I looked up at him. “Then you were there, and I was in the truck.” He was breathing heavily, and the veins and tendons in his forearms bulged.

He said nothing.

“You’re angry. You think I’m lying,” I whispered.

He sat on the edge of the bed and carefully cupped my newly bandaged arms. “I don’t think you’re lying. I saw you, I saw what they did to you, whatever the hell evil that was. I’m angry because I promised to protect you and they got to you in my territory, in my fucking keep. Christ, you could’ve….” He cursed again. “How am I supposed to keep you safe when they’re using dark magic to get to you?” He rubbed his thumb over the scar on the palm of my hand, then kissed me there. “I don’t know what to do,” he rasped.

I covered his hand with mine. “We’ll work this out.” I shook my head. “I won’t let them win, Draven.”

Without a word, he climbed into bed beside me and carefully pulled me into his arms.

I woke again a couple of hours later when my phone beeped, letting me know I had a Nightscape notification. I checked the screen.

No.

“What is it?” Draven asked.

My heart thundered in my chest. “Another witch is missing.” I looked up at him. “Somehow, they got to Kristi.”

CHAPTER 33

Iris

I tugged the sleeves of my shirt down to cover the bandages, and glanced around the room.

The bar was intimate and dimly lit.

A perfect spot for a clandestine dinner date with your secret lover.

Cesare Sartori sat in a booth in one of the darker corners, the female I’d seen him with in that council meeting room, pressed against his side. He was holding her hand under the table—well, I hoped that’s what was happening under there.

I shuddered.

Cesare wore an expensive suit, nothing out of place. His hair was combed carefully, brows shaped, and a fresh fake tan made his skin look more orange than golden. He had on a gold watch and gold cuff links, and as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind his companion’s ear, the huge emerald in the pinky ring, glinted in the light.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Draven asked. “Are your arms causing you pain?”

That was the second time he’d asked since we got here. “Between Mari’s numbing cream and Else’s healing balm, I can’t feel a thing.” He watched me for several long seconds and I could tell he was about to try and convince me to go back to the keep again. “I’m not in any pain, Draven, I promise.”

He made a rough sound from across the table, and thankfully dropped it. “So how do you want to do this?” His gaze darkened. “You want me to make him talk?”

“I don’t need you to beat a confession out of him just yet. I honestly don’t know if he’s capable of kidnapping and murder or if he’s just an unfeeling piece of shit. I’m hoping today I can either rule him out or get some kind of evidence.”

Draven took my hand and gently slid his fingers over my bandaged forearm. “It’d be faster if I just beat him.”

“I won’t pretend I wouldn’t love to see that. The guy’s an asshole, but we should probably go for a subtler approach.”

So much had changed between us over the last couple of days. I didn’t know how to explain it, but something had shifted.

Whatever it was, he’d stopped looking at me as if he were waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’d been sharing with me, telling me about himself, his family, his pack. I thought he might be starting to trust me.

And for me, that change in him, seeing it, feeling it, was causing a change in me as well. That wall around my heart was falling down brick by brick. We’d been together for such a short time, but the connection between us, it made it feel so much longer, especially with everything we’d been through. The knowing he’d told me he felt when it came to me, I felt it too. And maybe it was stupid, but I had hope that maybe I’d have something wonderful waiting at the other end of all this.