Page 101 of Ancient Magic

“What the hell happened to you?”

“Are you with him?” the male rasped.

“Who?” Valen demanded, sensing Gabriel move out of the cramped space as Valen’s servants rushed to discover what had happened. He thankfully realized that Valen wanted to question Kane without being interrupted.

“Azra.”

Valen glanced around the room in confusion. “The ambassador? Is he here? Has he been hurt?”

“The bastard.” Kane released a low snarl, his hand covering one of his deeper wounds. “He tried to kill me.”

Valen crouched down, focusing on the male sprawled on the hard cement. It wasn’t as easy to read a vampire, but Kane was gravely injured. It should make it easier to detect a lie.

“Why?”

“Traitor.” The word ended on a groan.

Valen leaned forward. “A traitor to who?”

“The Cabal.” With an effort, Kane’s hand reached toward the nearby freezer built into the wall. “I need to feed.”

Suddenly Valen realized why Kane had been in this corner. He’d been trying to force his way through the layers of magic to get to the blood.

“Not until I have some answers,” he warned the male, struggling to accept he might have leapt to conclusions.

He had convinced himself that Kane was the traitor. Every clue pointed to the ambitious male being behind the endless troubles that had been plaguing them. Including the kidnapping of Micha and Skye. But there was no denying the fact that Kane was the one who’d been severely injured while Azra had disappeared. And while it was possible that Kane had been the one to attack Azra first, it wouldn’t explain where the ambassador had gone. Or why he’d taken his belongings with him.

“You’re claiming that Azra—Sinjon’s most trusted servant—is a traitor?” He needed to be sure he hadn’t misunderstood the male.

Kane licked his lips, his face twisted with pain. “I can’t...”

“Try really hard.” Valen leaned forward, allowing his power to press against Kane. “We already know it was Igor who came to New York days ago to stir up anger toward my mate.”

Kane hissed but seemed to accept that he wasn’t going to get the blood he so badly needed until he’d answered Valen’s questions.

“Why not?” A soul-deep hunger flared in the depths of the vampire’s eyes. “This Gyre should be mine.”

“If you believed that, you would have openly challenged me to take control of my territory. Instead you were a coward, hiding behind your trusted servant, who was sneaking around, trying to turn my people against Peri.”

Kane released a low growl. “Not trusted.”

“What?”

“He...he betrayed me. With the ambassador.” Kane shuddered, his skin unnaturally pale as his powers visibly drained away. “Give me blood.”

“How did he betray you?”

Kane shook his head. “Food.”

Valen swiveled to the side, placing his hand flat against the magic. There was a sharp tingle that crawled up his arm, as if seeking to confirm his identity, before there was a loud pop as the spell was broken. With a deliberate desire to torment Kane, he slowly opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of blood, holding it just out of reach.

Kane’s fangs protruded, his body trembling with hunger.

“Talk,” Valen commanded.

“Fine.” Kane’s gaze remained locked on the blood. “It’s true that I sent Igor to cause trouble.”

“Why?”

---