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“Without telling any of you? You all believed she was dead.” Her eyes narrowed. “Something’s fishy here.”

“Enough hypothesizing,” I said, trying to keep my tone nice and even. Tobias held a palm up in my direction.

“What we mean is,” he said emphatically. I didn’t have to read his mind to know he was telling me to shut up. “We come to you asking a favor. You have a strong, loyal Coven that trusts you. You would be doing us a great service.”

Now he was blowing air up her ass.

“I don’t know if this would be a good move for me. She has many enemies. What if they come for her?” She shook her head. “I need to think of my Coven.”

I tapped my finger on the surface of the armchair. As true as that was, my patience wore thin—nearing catastrophic levels. Calliope eyed me. She’d increasingly grown stiff with each glance she sent me. The shuffling in her seat grated on my nerves.

“Will you take her in?” Tobias repeated the question. He’d made a strong case. Our alliance for her taking Imogen into her Coven. Without us, Imogen was as strong as Calliope. She could handle her, so she wouldn’t step out of line.

Calliope’s eyebrows raised high on her forehead.

“You know what a big ask that is. Imogen has always been unpredictable.”

“I’m sure she will eventually create her own Coven. She just needs safe harbor.”

“Away from us,” I tacked on to Tobias’s sentence. I was ready to be done with that cunt. The only reason I hadn’t taken her head off was because I’d have problems with Tobias. Killing both of them could fix the issue.

Tobias raised an eyebrow at me. I grinned, unrepentant.

“I would like to see you try.”

Stuffy vampire.

I only shrugged. Tobias returned all his attention to Calliope.

Her pink tongue wet her lower lip. She would say no.

“What if we offer you the ring?” Interest finally sparked in Calliope’s eyes. The corner of her lips moved the slightest bit. We had her. She’d been wanting that ring for ages. We’d held ontoit because, if it was in the hands of another Coven, it would put ours at a disadvantage.

“Your precious ring?” She tried to hide the excitement, but I clocked it a mile away.

“You would never use it against us. If you do, we kill you, or one of our Progeny kills you. We’ll set precautions.”

Not only would we kill her. We’d take out Freya, the vampire who would take her spot as Coven Sire. In essence, inheriting all of Calliope’s assets.

“I am unsure . . .”

“Stop playing difficult.” I bristled, leaning forward to brace my elbows on my knees. The corner of her lips finally turned up.

“Deal. But I need to ask something from you.” Her eyes settled on Asher.

“Now, now, sweetheart, I always knew you had a thing for me but I’m a new vampire. I belong to one female now?—”

Calliope scoffed with a sneer.

“I need you to talk to someone.”

Asher looked over at Tobias. His eyes slightly thinned. He focused on reading Calliope’s mind.

“Do it.”

If Tobias agreed, he would have reason for it. Calliope looked over at the male standing near the door.

“Bring her.”