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What does he mean? The Other World or his world? The world of dark and illegal dealings? I bite my lip. “Do you have to? What if he has a family? What if he was just following orders? What if . . .”

“What if by following orders, he killed your friend?” Julian counters. “What if he is motivated by pride and greed and lust for power, as most of the Circle of Night is? Would it be alright to kill him then? Or would you still hesitate? You are being naïve, ma souris. Make no mistake, we have entered a war now, and you cannot have pity for the enemy if we are to win. Let me do what I do best, and if your heart is too soft for that, then don’t ask me questions that will make you hate me for what I must do to keep you safe.”

I shiver at the coldness of his words, but I know he is right. If it was Colton tonight . . . if he killed Jade to try to get to me . . . if he is willing to go this far . . . then, I do not know what to do. But Julian, with his centuries of experience and shadowy methods, does. I need to trust him, at least in this.

“Okay,” I whisper, closing my eyes so that I don’t have to look at him, so that he cannot see the fear that is in my heart. “Do what you have to do.”

I feel a brief kiss on my forehead, and my eyes fly open to see Julian above me. His eyes are intense as he pulls away, and my skin breaks out in goosebumps at the fierceness of his gaze.

“Rest now, Andi,” he orders, with no room to argue in his tone. “I’ll be back to see you when I’m done.”

Then he’s gone, the door closing behind him, and I’m all alone in the room.

Chapter 20

Julian

An hour later, I am washing blood off my hands. Outwardly, I am calm. Collected, even, but inside, I am seething. How dare they! How fucking dare those sons of whores! The warlock I collected from the scene that tried to take Andi didn’t have much to say, even when the torture started. But we had barely begun, his first fingernails pulled out, when he began to writhe and convulse, his eyes bursting into bloody streams in his head. A curse triggering, maybe from even thinking of betraying his intelligence to me. I should have known. Haynes would never have been so sloppy as to send anyone who could implicate him if caught. No matter. The curse all but confirmed who was behind it. Still, it annoyed me that I now have a body in my house and nothing really to show for it.

This just proves how bold the Circle has gotten. A few years ago, they would have never dared to try to take someone under my protection. That they did so now, the morning of the fucking same day that our families are supposed to meet, shows the level of disrespect that they have toward me. They are both arrogant and desperate to have Andi. Maybe they know that I have figured out what Andi is, or think that I am close to finding out, and want to take her before I can stop whatever plot they have.

I step out of the holding cell to find Sebastian waiting for me, not Gaspard. Gaspard would not leave the witch’s side, which annoyed me as well. It is the first time in centuries that I have questioned his loyalty to me, but I let it slide. Andi will want to know that her friend is being cared for, and someone must stay to monitor the situation. Might as well be Gaspard.

I glare at my driver, and he stiffens. He knows that he fucked up. Letting Andi go in that junker was probably the reason the Circle felt they could strike and try to take my siren. By all rights, I should end him, but I can already see Andi’s horrified, tearful gaze in my mind’s eye when she finds out that I meted out righteous punishment because of her actions. Maybe that would teach her to be more cautious, but I’m trying to get her closer to me, not send her running away, damn it. Besides, displeasing her still causes me pain. So Sebastian is safe, for now. But he’s on my shitlist.

“Get rid of the trash,” I growl at my driver.

He nods, obviously relieved that I haven’t ripped out his heart. “Right away, Commandant.”

Leaving him to his task, I stalk through the halls of my home, coming to the room where Jade is being treated. Gaspard is pacing in front of the door, looking like he wants to kill something.

“Why are you out here?” I ask him.

“Damn healer kicked me out. Said I was a distraction.” Gaspard grinds the words out tightly, his face grimmer than usual, his version of distraught. He looks at me, fire in his eyes, and says, “Tell me who to kill, Commandant, and I will do it with pleasure.”

“It was the Circle. They were after Andi. Jade, unfortunately, was most likely just collateral damage to them.”

“Let me take care of them,” he snarls, clenching his fists.

I nod, approving of his violent inclinations. “The time is coming soon. They tried to take what is mine, and that cannot stand. We will attend their meeting today, and play nice to uncover their plan, then kill them at the first opportunity. Be patient. They started this war, but we will end it.”

Gaspard makes an impatient sound, and I know that he wants to kill something as a way to channel his feelings. I understand, even though I cannot give him what he wants yet.

“Is the clean-up finished?” I ask, changing the subject.

Gaspard reins in his temper with great effort and puts on his calm, emotionless demeanor. “Yes. The truck and car went into our junkyard, and the bodies into the bayou. The cameras at the intersection were already tampered with, so there’s no footage.”

“Good,” I say. “I would not want my rescue to end up on the internet.”

“The assailants were all armed with pistols loaded with hawthorne bullets. They came ready to kill vampires.”

Grim news indeed, though not entirely unexpected. Obviously, they were not expecting to go against an ancient vampire fortified with siren blood. My speed would have been too much for another vampire, let alone mortal warlocks. Most likely, they saw that I wasn’t with her today and meant to kill Sebastian. It makes me a little less angry at my driver. They were going to try to take her, even if she wasn’t with Jade. Being in Jade’s flimsy car just made it easier.

At that moment, the door opens, and Hector exits the room. He’s a tall man, though not as tall as me, with copper skin and black hair, and wire-rimmed glasses on his face. I paid for his medical school and practice, as well as funded his research on combining magic and medicine. In return, he plays mob doctor for me from time to time. He sees me and nods with respect.

“Commandant.”

“Hector. Will the witch live?”