Page 261 of Sigils & Spells

“But this one …” He arched a manly brow. “… was loud enough that the whole residence heard you.”

I exhaled slowly. “He made me mad.” Onyx always made me mad.

“Mm hmm.”

“You know how witches get when we’re angry.” I bit my lip and tried to make sense of it all. “Do you really think that’s why he left?” I scrunched my face. “That doesn’t sound like Onyx.”

The vampire shrugged.

“He’s a tough guy,” I continued, “and … trust me, my opinions don’t matter to him.”

Alessandro scoffed. “Men don’t always say what they mean, Rebel. You need to learn that.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t about to discuss my man problems with a dead one who was blackmailing me. “Have you tried looking for Onyx?”

“What do you think? I tried to contact him in every possible way. Onyx is gone, and you need to stop the Fang Hunter on your own.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“But I’m a bibliophile, not a detective.”

He leaned closer. The coppery scent of human blood dangled on his breath. “Do I need to remind you what is at stake for you?”

I groaned. Alessandro knew my deepest, darkest secret. If people found out what I had done, I would be destroyed. He leveraged this knowledge to get me to start an academy for his wayward progeny and continued to hold it over me so that I would do his bidding.

During his long undead life, Alessandro had collected and traded many people’s secrets using them for his own purposes. It was like a hobby for him, and one had made him powerful and rich. I understood that, but I sure didn’t like him holding my life in his hands.

“Alessandro, you can’t—”

His jaw hardened for a beat, and then he spoke in his solemn voice. “If you don’t eliminate this threat to the students, I will consider our contract terminated.” His jaw firmed. “You know what that means. I will tell everyone your secret.”

I nodded, too afraid to trust my voice.

“Rebel?”

“How can I?” My mind reeled at the prospect of having to find the villain on my own. “Can I go into the tunnels?” Alessandro had taken over an underground network of passageways and caverns created by smugglers in the nineteenth centuries to move black market tobacco, booze, and drugs. It hadn’t been used in decades, but his band of night creatures had renovated it to suit their needs.

It’s how they got around town, how they escaped the sun, and where they fed most of the time. The student and staff residences had been built down there as well. I had been asking for a tour since we opened but had been denied each time I asked.

“No, not now,” he said, and then in almost a whisper, “Not ever.”

“Alessandro!”

“No, Rebel. The world below the academy is not a place for mortal beings.”

“But that’s where the crime was committed. How do you expect me to solve this case when I can’t even witness the scene?”

He shrugged. “Talk to the students and staff. They live down there. They will give you all the information you need.”

“But if I could just see—”

“No.” He folded his arms. His predator stare grew so intense I thought I might sizzle beneath it. “Under no circumstances are you to step below the ground level of the academy.”

I swallowed. “Okay. I will respect your boundaries.”

“And?” he said in a gravelly voice that raked my senses.

---