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“Alaric, please,” I said softly. If it would get her to talk, he needed to concede.

He exhaled long and slow before muttering, “I promise not to kill you. At least, not today.”

Geraldine scowled. “I’d prefer you swear not to hurt me at all.”

“It’s the best you’ll get, witch.”

Geraldine glared at him, her nostrils flaring.

“Geraldine, did—did you kill the Mage King?” I asked in a hushed voice.

Her eyes widened. “Mage King? Storms, no! Why would you think that?”

I stared at her, trying to discern if she was lying or not. Before I could respond, Alaric said tightly, “She’s telling the truth.”

Geraldine looked affronted, as if Alaric sensing her pulse was some kind of violation.

My mind was struggling to keep up. If Geraldine hadn’t been working with Gran to take out the Mage King, then what had they been doing here?

With a sigh, Geraldine smoothed her hands along the folds of her cloak. “Before I explain, you have to understand something. I didn’t create any of this.” She spread her hands, gesturing to the tunnels. “This was all Elvira. She only let me in on her secret because I caught her coming out here one day, ages ago. I—I was not at all comfortable with what she was doing.”

“But you still went along with it,” Alaric said, his eyes narrowing.

Geraldine grimaced. “Elvira handled the messy bits. I only dealt with the research.”

“Research of what?” I said impatiently.

Geraldine scratched her chin. “We came across a Wolven a while ago. It wasn’t like any of the others. It was more wild. Feral, even.”

A Rogue. I looked at Alaric in alarm. His face was stony, his brows drawn together.

“We managed to trap it and bring it here. We had to chain it up—for our own safety, of course.”

I nodded, even as a sour taste filled my mouth. Judging by the white wolf Alaric and I had encountered, I could understand the need for chains.

“We wanted to help the creature,” Geraldine went on. “Its eyes kept turning red, and it would emit this strange smoke every now and then.”

Something jolted in my chest. The Rogue had clearly been about to rupture.

Oh gods… could this have been the same white wolf Alaric and I had encountered yesterday?

“Eventually, Elvira found something that worked,” Geraldine continued, wringing her hands together on her lap. “An elixir that, when ingested, would keep the Wolven’s symptoms at bay. We started experimenting by adding ingredients, thinking that perhaps we might discover a way to neutralize the Wolven if they ever attacked us.”

I couldn’t meet Alaric’s eyes, though I could envision the enraged look on his face. But could he really blame the witches for trying to fight back? They were only trying to protect themselves.

“This elixir,” Alaric said slowly. “Would it mask a Wolven Mage’s scent?”

“Yes. It made the Wolven smell like an ordinary human.”

“And likely made it harder for him to be tracked, too.” Alaric’s gaze darkened, and he gave me a significant look. I remembered him saying he and Reid had been tracking the white Rogue for a while.

I had no doubt the elixirs in the wolf’s system made that task more difficult.

“We made a lot of fascinating discoveries,” continued Geraldine. “We managed to keep the creature alive for quite a long time.”

“How long?” Alaric said stiffly.

Geraldine blinked, as if just realizing he was there. “What?”