Page 58 of The Curse of Blood and Silenc

“But she can help you, brother.” Gianna’s chin lifted in defiance.

“Take her back up. Now.” My voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.

“But I can help.” Serenity started, meeting my angry gaze.

“You’re not fooling us, Angelo.” Trystan rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving Serenity. “It’s her Nephilim powers, isn’t it? She can sense deception.” His lips curved. “Or is there even more to it?”

“Angelo,” Serenity rubbed her forehead tiredly. “I felt something. Something outside.”

I focused on our connection, letting her sensations flood through me again. Whatever she’d detected wasn’t demonic—there was none of that oily darkness that had made her sickearlier. This was different. Through her, I felt something ancient stirring, like a distant storm gathering power.

I poured all my power into our connection, forcing my thoughts through our mental bond.Serenity, don’t share anything in front of these two. You’ll only make yourself more vulnerable.

Her response came immediately, exhausted but stubborn.Understood, but you can’t hide me.

I ignored her plea and focused instead on Keir and Trystan. “Did you see anything out of the ordinary outside?”

Keir met my gaze, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Sheispowerful, Santi. Being able to sense dark magic or a dark presence is something we can use against Balthazar and Gage and whatever they are conjuring at St. Christopher Church.”

My power surged through my tensed muscles, making the air crackle with barely contained violence. The mere suggestion of using Serenity as a tool made my fangs itch to descend. “She’s not going anywhere near there.” I forced my voice to stay steady. “I’ll ask you again—you didn’t see anything out of the ordinary outside?”

Trystan shook his head. “No, not unless you consider seeing King Nico and the headmaster of Red Rose Academy out of the ordinary. They were walking down the street in a heated discussion.”

“Well, isn’t that interesting?” Dimitri drawled, swirling his bourbon. “Our dynamic duo having a lover’s quarrel. Those two are usually joined at the hip.” His smirk didn’t quite hide the calculating look in his eyes.

I thought about it for a minute. “They might be concerned about what’s going on at St. Christopher’s Church.”

Enzo met my gaze. “They might also suspect it has something to do with the murdered girls.”

Trystan cocked his eyebrow. “According to Ivan’s mate, Shannon, Balthazar admitted he’s been killing the murdered girls. You didn’t tell King Nico?”

I sighed heavily, feeling every year of ruling this territory in my bones. “I didn’t think he or Headmaster Tarus would believe me. They have already convicted me.”

Trystan leaned back on the couch and rubbed his chin. “Interesting.” Behind his casual pose, the wolf king’s eyes glittered with deadly purpose.

Keir, always logical, drummed his fingers on the armrest. “We need to move fast. We don’t want Balthazar, Gage, and Petar to grow stronger. And this thing, whatever it is, might soon become more powerful than us.” It was the first time I heard a slight tinge of fear in his tone.

He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Serenity, who had remained silent during the exchange. I had enough of the Unseelie king’s obvious focus on her. She sagged against Gianna, her exhaustion a reminder of how vulnerable she was right now. She needed time to heal.

“Gianna.” My voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “I am only going to say this once more. Take her back to my room now.”

Gianna opened her mouth to protest, but Dimitri shook his head almost imperceptibly and she clamped her mouth shut. For once, Serenity didn’t argue with me either. She understood this wasn’t the time or place to challenge me in front of Trystan and Keir.

Gianna escorted Serenity out of the living room. I tilted my head and Enzo moved into position to guard the hallway that led to the stairs up to mine and Serenity’s bedroom. He held the Void Chain in his fist.

Trystan glanced at Enzo then at me, incredulous. “You’re seriously not going to use her? She could be our greatest weapon against our enemies.”

I growled, my fangs descending. “Absolutely not. She was taken from me once. No one is going to take her from me again.”

Trystan rolled his eyes. “You’re hiding our biggest asset. According to Shannon, Balthazar fed on her repeatedly, and each time, Serenity was able to heal her. We need her.”

Anger surged through me, my power threatening to explode. It took every ounce of control I’d mastered in centuries of ruling not to hunt down Balthazar right now and tear him apart for torturing my mate. My hands curled into fists as the truth sank in. That sick bastard had forced Serenity to heal Shannon over and over, knowing her compassion wouldn’t let her refuse. He’d used her own kindness as a weapon against her soul. I refused to let her go through that again, no matter what advantages Trystan thought it might give us.

Dimitri and Enzo looked to me. Their pointed states carried unspoken questions about how much I would reveal.

I stated bluntly, “We need to do this without her.”

My vision tinged red as centuries of carefully controlled power threatened to explode. The temperature in the room plummeted. How dare they try to use my mate like this? Serenity wasn’t some magical detector they could deploy at will. She’d already suffered enough at Balthazar’s hands.

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