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Everyone remained silent as I turned toward the door and left the house.

CHAPTER 26

Mercy

IT TOOK JOEL and me about twenty minutes to find Sarah using a locator spell. She was still there, just like I had seen in the photo, lying on her back, her face looking peaceful. We observed no noticeable laceration marks. He must have broken her neck.

We buried her in the East Greenwich Cemetery, the grave only being marked by a bloom of flowers I had conjured up. It was in honor of our first conversation together in the lair when she told me about her gifts. I had no one to call about her death. Her parents died years ago, and she didn’t have anyone else here but us. Before they had taken her to Maurice’s lair, she’d escaped an abusive relationship back in California. She came to Salem to hide from her ex-boyfriend, but what she found was an even worse nightmare of captivity.

Her friends back home didn’t believe her about the abuse or about her magic. She had no one she could trust. That’s probably why, when Troy showed her kindness in the lair, even though he had laid possession on her, she welcomed and wanted it.

Maybe I should find him and let him know.

I spent the rest of the day over at Joel and Derek’s rental home. Derek was still in New York, and after Sarah died, Joel texted him that it wasn’t safe. He needed to stay there until we found the person responsible.

Was the killer Maurice, my father, or someone else?

Between the time of Sarah’s death and now, Lily had shared with Bradley our secret about being witches. It had taken her several hours before she had the courage to open her mouth to speak and reveal that world to him. Of course, like most, she had to prove to him it wasn’t a joke. She showed him a simple levitation spell to cement that what she was saying was the truth. He promised to keep her secret and thanked her for being so honest with him. She did leave out the part about vampires and werewolves because, one supernatural creature at a time.

We trained over the weekend while planning our next move, which focused on Maurice or my father. I wasn’t happy about the coven accusing Alexander, but if I kept an eye on him, perhaps I might be able to prove his innocence.

Riley and Amber trained their new pack members, and Dorian and Noah kept a close watch on Maurice.

I texted my father a few times. I kept it brief and didn’t give him any indication that a few members of my coven thought he was a murderer. He would tell me how busy he was, building up his new business since he wasn’t bringing in money from the club anymore and the “other businesses” he conducted while a vampire. He never asked to see me or asked if I was okay. I found this to be unusual and a little hurtful. His child from three hundred and thirty years ago was alive again, and he was now avoiding me.

I now felt as if he was, indeed, hiding something. Though not necessarily that he was the killer.

It was eight in the evening, and Joel had just finished clearing the dinner table when my cellphone chimed. He smiled knowingly as he sat beside me, the two of us looking down to see Dorian’s name pop up in my text app.

“Go see him,” Joel said, pushing my phone toward me. “I have watched the two of you text every night for the last few days. I know you want to see him.”

I shook my head. “Trust me, Joel, I want to, but I don’t want to give him the wrong idea.”

Joel sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’re being ridiculous. You know that, right?”

I glanced at my phone again. Iwasbeing ridiculous. I decided that if Dorian wanted to see me, then, okay, I would go. If not, I was having another veggie taco and watching a show on Netflix.

Dorian:We just got home. Can you swing by?

“Don’t be home too late,” Joel teased.

I bit my bottom lip and drummed my fingers against the table.

“Don’t wait up.”

CHAPTER 27

Mercy

“ALOHA, MY BEAUTIFUL friend,” Noah said, kissing me on both cheeks when I entered the home.

“Hey, Noah.” I looked past him, seeing Dorian sitting on the edge of the couch, moving his game piece forward. “You’re playing Candyland?”

Dorian’s mouth curved at the corner of his lips. “Isn’t this a classic game from when you were a kid?”

“Yeah,” I said, taking a seat beside him. “It’s a game for eight-year-olds, Dorian.”

They both laughed. “We can always play it with liquor … or naked,” Noah suggested, flashing me a toothy grin.

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