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“My lord,” Cormac muttered, the last semblance of colour draining from his face as he took a step back.

The guard didn’t flinch as Aidan silently instructed him to move closer, to raise the barrel to Cormac’s temple. Another Provident’s hand might have trembled, might have attempted to push back against Aidan’s power, but this guard was a very weak Gerentis, with no hint of anything powerful enough within him to object. The safety clicked off the gun with another thought.

“Wait. My… friend is missing. I want to ask Weyland if…”

“If he has her?” Aidan finished for him. Not just a friend. Someone Cormac cared for deeply, which meant the little display with the human when Aidan arrived had been purely for show. For the other Vampires.

Cormac nodded.

Aidan released his hold on the guard and had him unload the gun, the rounds dropping to the floor with a clink before he replaced the weapon in its holster.

Scarlettwas much more than a friend. His wife, yet—Cormac was flitting through thoughts now in a piss-poor attempt to hide them, though Aidan respected the attempt nonetheless. Futile, because he already had what he needed, and he hid his surprise as he met the Vampire’s eyes. “She’s your mate.”

“My lord,” Cormac whispered, his eyes darting to the guard beside him. He pulled a gun from the inside of his jacket, but Aidan knew it wasn’t meant for him. The bullet hit its mark and the guard fell to the floor with a thump. “He was my best.” A glance at the weapon in his hand, and then back to Aidan. “Apologies, my lord.”

“How does a turned Vampire have a mate?” Aidan asked, despite already sifting through thoughts and memories for the answer. Scarlett was a Witch. Inter-Order relationships were not unheard of, and though mates between Orders were rare, it was known to happen on occasion. Whereas Fae and Vampire pairings usually ended in disaster, Witches had been known to mate with Fae, Vampires, and humans throughout history.

Though with how secretive they had become in the last decade, it was becoming unheard of. Unheard of, until now.

“We were mated before Levice turned me,” Cormac explained, though Aidan already knew. He let the Vampire explain regardless. “Scarlett helped me take down Levice.”

“Helped you ascend to your current position,” Aidan said flatly. He narrowed his eyes at Cormac. The Vampire would have known Aidan would learn all of this by coming here. “What do you want?”

“My lord?”

One-way conversations were incredibly tiresome. There was movement a few blocks away, and Aidan decided it was timeto wrap this up. “Meet with Weyland, find out as much as you can about what he’s up to. You’ll be assigned new guards who will accompany you everywhere from now on. I’ve no idea what you thought you could gain by letting me know this piece of information, Cormac. I have no allegiance to the Witches after they turned my uncle away, and I certainly have no allegiance to you and your mate.”

“I let you see because you and I are the same, my lord.”

Aidan had the Vampire fall to his knees and levelled him with a glare. “Are we?”

To his credit, Cormac held Aidan’s gaze, the guard’s blood soaking his trousers as he said, “Both rejected by our kind, fighting to hold our positions. Despite what the council might think of you, I have always respected you.”

The truth. “Several council members died last night, and my last bargain saddled me with a human for an Odalik, so my patience is running rather thin.”

“A bargain weighed heavily in your favour, my lord, even if she is the head of Omnia.” Cormac the sneak. It was no surprise he knew who Rae was. “Too many have gone missing. Too many have been affected by whatever is happening in the city,” the Vampire added.

Aidan allowed Cormac to rise, to brush the dust from his trousers before he spoke. “Meet with Weyland as soon as possible. There’s a very high chance your mate is already dead.”

Cormac sucked in a breath. “I would have felt it.”

Also true. “Do you know what’s going on out there? To the ones who go missing?”

A shake of the Vampire’s head.

“They’re carrying out tests. Drawing magic from the Orders, injecting it into humans.”

“Wouldn’t that…”

“Kill the Orders?” Aidan nodded once.

Cormac pulled his PAD from his pocket, punching in numbers Baelin no doubt already had eyes on through his cameras if he hadn’t tapped the PAD itself.

It was protection Cormac sought. For his mate. Though Aidan had never given the Vampire—anyof the Vampires—reason to believe he would offer it. The movement a few blocks away had intensified; this meeting was over.

He checked in with Baelin as he turned to leave, calling out over his shoulder to Cormac. “Your new guard unit will be here shortly; I’ll be expecting your report from meeting Weyland within three days.”

“Of course, my lord. And thank you.”