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Nodding, she walks across the room to stand in front of her kitchen table. “I hope you find peace one day, my friend. The Rogues know you deserve it.” Taking the gun from the table, she places it on her temple and pulls the trigger.

The explosion sounds in the house and her body crumples to the floor, and the echo is all that’s left of my friend I’ve loved since I was a child. Kylais dead and nothing will bring her back. My numb state is the only way I’m going to get through this. Doing a quick scan of the scene, I see none of my blood is here. Taking a final look at her body, I leave. I won’t dare kiss her goodbye, but I swear, her death will matter.

Racing out of that house, I throw myself into my car and drive with only one destination in mind. With one hand on the steering wheel, I grab my phone and text Mom. “It's done,” is all I say. Fuck her. I’m not giving her the report in person. I will kill her myself if she tries to blackmail me again.

Racing to the Rhodes’ Estate, I park outside and jump the gate and run to Jude’s bedroom. By now, the guards expect this from me, and I scale the wall to her bedroom to find her inside. That’s when the tears start blinding me.

Seeing the state I’m in, her eyes widen and concern floods her face. Falling into her arms, I hiss with pain as it pushes the knife deeper, even if it's what I deserve. “Sebastian, what's wrong? You’re hurt! Let me help you.”

Gently easing me up, she finds the source of the pain and gently eases the knife out of my shoulder. Turning, she grabs a shirt off her dresser and presses it against my wound, knowing that it won’t be long until the blood stops, and my healing kicks in.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asks me.

Shaking my head, I collapse into her arms, and she holds me as I sob my heart out for the friend I just lost, and the daughter that lost her mother.

Chapter 15 | Bloodlines

Dominic

Banging pounds at my bedroom door, and half groggy, my eyes fly open. My shoulders tense, and the hand hanging over the side of the bed brews with magic ready to defend myself. “Dom! You said I must wake you up. So get up. Are you alive?”

Oh yes, Remi. I told her to wake me up in case I overslept, which I ended up doing. Shows me how well I know myself when there is a celebration. Bottles litter my room, and my head is pounding as flashbacks from last night go through my head.The drug shipment was a success.

“Yes! I’m awake. You can go now.” I shout back at her through the door. Pulling my other arm out from one of the girls sleeping in my king-sized bed, I pad across my bedroom floor and jump into the shower of my en suite bathroom. Even if I feel like a truck has run over my head, last night was fun, and I have no regrets.

I turn the water as hot as it will go, which does the trick, and after a few minutes of standing under it, my headache subsides. I could use my magic to get rid of it, but it feels like a waste of energy when options like this are available to me. Conserving my magic for when I really need it is crucial. Turning off the water and grabbing one of my fluffy towels, I dry off andwalk into my bedroom naked while quickly getting changed into one of my signature three-piece suits.

Looking towards the bed and the satin sheets covering the girls, I see they’re finally awake, both beckoning me to them. “Come join us again, Dom! Let's have a bit of morning fun.”

One girl, I forgot her name, pouts, and I imagine she thinks it's sexy. Even if the aftermath of all her makeup from last night gives the opposite effect. Approaching her and leaning over the edge of the bed, I grab her by the jaw and give her the sexiest kiss I can muster up without my morning coffee. “Tempting but I’ve got a busy day ahead. You can show yourself out.” I don’t need to stay to see their gasps at how rude they think I am. They’ve served their purpose, and I just don’t care.

My first stop is the kitchen for a coffee, and then I make my way to mystudy for the day ahead. I should stop at some of our business locations soon, but only when I’ve got a handle on things here. Leaning over the kitchen counter, I sip my cappuccino and mentally flip through everything that needs to happen today.

“There you are!” Remi walks into the kitchen, clearly with something big on her mind. With a quizzical look on my face, I respond with a hint of sarcasm, “Yes, I’m having my cappuccino if that’s okay with you?”

“I need your help with my magical studies, Dom. You’re the best Sorcerer I know, and I know you can help me figure it out.” Between the twins, she’s my tougher critic. I remember when she was a baby, how much quieter she was than Reece, like she was observing you to see if you deserved her love. When Remi lets you into her heart, she loves you fiercely and will protect you to the death. She’s been nicer to me recently, and I appreciate it, even if I can’t tell her that. She is never thrilled with the idea of over the top displays of emotion.

Even if she doesn’t want me to make a big deal of it, my little sister needs me, and that makes my heart swell with love for her. I respond, “Of course I will help you, Remi. Do you want to look at it now?” She shakes her head. “No, Sebastian’s waiting in your office. Come see me when you’re done with all the important stuff.”

Making my way to my study, I still can’t believe I pulled the latest drug shipment off. Sure, drugs are bad, and I’ve seen them destroy other families. But it’s the very backbone of what protects my family, and it’s all that matters to me. I do have a hard line at taking drugs, though, a rule that extends to the twins, and that’s precisely because of what I’ve seen these drugs do. Between this shipment and having the heart to heart with the twins, things are getting better for our family. Our plan is working.

Entering my study, I find Sebastian sitting in a guest chair, waiting for me, staring out the window at the grounds. Turning to look out the window with him, I don’t see anything and clear my throat to let him know I’m there. Walking towards him, Sebastian gets up, clasps my hand, and claps my back in greeting. Except, something is off about him, and I’m struggling to put my finger on what. My normally very put together friend is messy. His hair is rumpled, his shirt creased, and there is a haunted look in his eyes that isn’t normally there. I don’t know what he sees on my face, but I know I’m worried.

“Everything okay, my friend?” I ask him. His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes as he responds. “Yesterday was bad. One of the worst I’ve had in a long time. So I spent the night at Jude’s, and I’ve just come from her place.I just needed to be somewhere safe while I work through everything that’s happened, and what I’ve lost. But I will survive.”

Accepting that, I share something that has been on my mind for a while, yet I’ve been hesitant to voice. “Do you ever wonder what would happen if the humans found out about us, and we lost everything? I’m responsible for so much, but sometimes, I can’t pretend I don’t miss my freedom.”

Something dark flashes across my friend's face as he considers my question and responds, “Yes, but let’s talk about why I’m here instead.” Subtle change of subject noted but not forgotten. Grabbing a manila file on my desk, I hand it to him. “What do you know about the religious group, The Children of Christ?”

Looking down while he pages through the file and scans the contents of it, Sebastian tells me, “I’ve heard about them; they’ve been giving the Rhodes grief. Jude was telling me about an incident at school with Brooklyn and the leader's daughter?”

I nod, leaning back in my chair. “Rumour has it one of their sect saw a Rhodes shift, and now they’re convinced the Rhodes are demons. While they don’t have proof, they are making too much noise about it, and we need to do something. You know how these religious groups are.”

Closing the file and putting it on the desk, he looks up at me with those crystal blue eyes of his and responds, “You want to do Eric a favor, don’t you?” I nod and cross my arms over my chest. “I want you to assassinate their leader. You know they don’t know how to organize if you cut the head off the snake. The hypocrite is having an affair, and in the file you will find some of his movements with his mistress. We could chalk it up to she murdered him in a jealous fit of rage because he wouldn’t leave his wife. You know how often it happens.”

Getting up from the chair, Sebastian goes over to the alcohol cabinet and pours us both a drink, even if it's a little early for my liking. Waiting for him to say something, anything about this plan, he walks back to me with a drink in each hand, turning to give me one. “I can’t say I’m not intrigued. I would like to get rid of something causing Jude grief. But first, I want to know. Why don’t you do it? And why come to me, not my mother?”

Pausing, I take a sip of my drink. “Icoulduse death magic, but that’s always more complicated, even if the twins were to help me. It would drain us for days. Your mom is a piece of work. I prefer avoiding her for business if I can. Even if you and I are friends, we both know having a favor from the head of the Sorcerer empire is a good thing to have, which you would get if you did this for me.”