Page 24 of Depths of Desire (The Emerald Dagger Mafia #3)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“ S o, tell me what you found out. In detail,” I say to Kael Thorne, the half-fae shadowmancer who has been my right hand for years.

Kael was raised in the darker underground of the magickal realm.

He specializes in manipulating shadows and concealment magic, which has made him invaluable to me over the years.

He is utterly loyal to me, not because of a spell or by blood, but because I saved his life years ago.

Kael leans back in his chair and flicks his black hair out of his ash colored eyes—a habit he’s had for as long as I’ve known him—and says, “It depends on what he does. There are a couple of different options.”

I can’t keep the frustration out of my voice. “What are they?”

He nods, as if he knows how maddening this is for me.

“First, he can go to the Council of Kings and tell them that there was a prior agreement in place and that he was on his way to get the contracts approved before she went missing. The thing is, he made that agreement with Luna’s mother in the last century.

So, you could argue that if he was serious about it, he would’ve done it ages ago. ”

“Right…”

“He could argue that Luna was too young at the time, so it didn’t matter then, and that she’s only just now of marrying age. So now he’s applying for the contract.”

My stomach tightens. I grind my teeth. “So, what you’re telling me is… he could actually get the contract approved?”

Kael hesitates. “I won’t sugarcoat it, Nico. He could.”

I frown. This isn’t the news I wanted to hear. “Is there anything else? Any other way this could work in his favor?”

Kael flicks his hair out of his eyes again, giving a small shrug.

“Well, he could also claim that you’re holding his fiancée hostage, which would throw his whole blowing-up-the-ship move into a different light.

If the Council assumes you’re doing this out of revenge for him sinking your ship… that won’t go over well.”

I drum my fingers on my desk. “Usually they stay out of disputes like this. If I went and complained that he blew up our shipments, they’d just say, ‘Tough. Deal with it on your own.’”

“Yes,” Kael agrees. “But if he was engaged to Luna beforehand, and the destruction of your ship is now being linked to you taking her in an attempt to stop him from marrying her and filing that contract… it falls under a different category. An occurrence the Council won’t look favorably upon.”

“So once again, you’re telling me he’s got all the cards.” The rage boiling inside me makes me want to throw something.

Kael nods. “In this case, he does.”

“So, he could pull both of those plays and go before the king’s Council?”

“Yes,” Kael nods.

“And what recourse do I have?”

“Very little, I’m afraid. The only things stopping him from marrying Luna?

Well… two things. One, if you can prove that he only wants to marry her because she can repel magickal creatures, then you might have a fighting chance.

But the Council? They don’t really care.

Vampire marriages are usually about alliances or some kind of gain.

So I don’t know how far that will get you. ”

“And the other option?”

Kael clears his throat. “If Luna already has a prior engagement. If she was already engaged to someone else—or married—then he wouldn’t have a claim.”

“And how would that work?” I ask, the wheels already turning.

“Well… if, for example, Luna’s parents had her engaged at a young age, but she chose someone else as an adult, there’s an argument that could be made. You could say Luna didn’t realize she was engaged, and that she already picked someone else—and that her adult choice supersedes the old agreement.”

He pauses, then continues. “The other option is if Luna married someone else. A human marriage, although not as strong as a vampire contract, would still matter—because Luna is human. The Council would have to take that into account. And since her parents are human and the blood contract wasn’t written, there’s a clear argument to say a human marriage holds weight. ”

My mind skips from one idea to the next. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

Kael exhales. “Scuttlebutt is that Malrick has already requested to meet with the Council.”

“So he’s going forward with it.” My gut churns.

“Yes,” Kael says, “but you know as well as I do that just because you request the Council isn’t a guarantee they’ll meet.”

I can tell he’s holding something back. “What is it?” I ask.

“He only needs five members of the Council to meet, which means your father won’t get a seat. Malrick can choose five who are likely to favor him.”

“Shit,” I mutter. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

Kael nods. “Yeah. If he picks five who already lean his way, he could definitely sway the decision.”

“So the thing to do,” I say, “would be to get my father working on this—see if he can get people friendly to our family, or at least neutral, into that group of five.”

“Exactly.”

“Anything else?”

Kael hesitates again.

“What?” I push.

“I think you should know… there are rumors.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“In the magick realm, everyone’s saying your curse is about to come true.”

I freeze. “Everyone? What do you mean… everyone?”

“The witches. Morwenna Draelith, specifically. She said she saw it in a prophecy.”

“Fuck. That’s not going to help. Morwenna is a very powerful witch. If she says it, people will believe it.”

“Yes. Morwenna told the entire magickal community that she sees your fall coming.”

“Great,” I mutter. “The vultures will be circling, thinking we’re weak, waiting for us to fail.”

Kael nods solemnly.

“Thanks, Kael. If anything else comes up—if you hear anything new, or Morwenna says anything else—let me know.”

Kael nods again. “I will keep my ear to the ground and maybe do some nosing around.”

I tense. “Be careful. Malrick has to be on edge. The whole reason he wants Luna is because she can pick out magickal creatures no matter what they do to hide themselves. He knows that there are creatures after him. I don’t want you to get caught up in his mess.”

Kael grins. “Have I ever gotten caught?”

“Still, be careful, my friend.”

“That’s so interesting about Luna, though. I look forward to meeting her.”

Jealousy grips me. Kael is an attractive man, according to all the females. I don’t want him anywhere near Luna.

“Just be safe,” I say. He nods once more, and I end the video call.

This situation just got a hell of a lot more complicated.

I frown. If Morwenna is out there spewing shit about the prophecy coming true, why didn’t Esme give me a heads up?

Morwenna is the head witch in her coven, and also her aunt.

I grab my phone again and dial her number.

It goes to voicemail. “Esme, call me when you get this. We have to talk about Morwenna.”

I put my phone back down on my desk. None of this is good news.

I rub my face, and Luna’s scent hits me.

It seems to cling to my skin even though I’ve had a shower.

I want to go back up and crawl into bed with her again.

I want to hear her yell my name as she comes.

I want to float on the essence of our passion again.

In all my life, I’ve never experienced levitation during sex.

Maybe…we didn’t just have sex. I made love to her.

She is mine now. Body and soul. No one will ever touch her but me.

I will kill anyone who tries. I don’t care what paperwork Malrick has. He will die.

I sigh and reach out to my brothers and my father. I nudge them through our connection and wait.

Renzo and Luca open the channel first.

What is it? Are you safe? Renzo asks.

Yeah, I’m fine, I reply, but we have problems.

Luca snorts. We’ve had problems. What do you mean we have problems? We’re all aware.

No, I say, I mean we have real problems. Like prophecy-level problems.

Real problems like what?

Apparently, Morwenna has announced to the world that she saw our curse coming true.

What? Renzo’s shock slams into me like a physical blow.

Yeah, I say. Kael just told me.

Our father’s energy flares into the bond. I’ve heard it as well, he says.

So what does that mean? Luca demands.

It means people are perceiving us as weak, I say. They’ll circle like vultures.

Yes, my father agrees. That is exactly what it means. That’s not good.

No, it’s not, Renzo mutters. It also means that if Malrick brings his liaison with Luna to the Council, chances are good he’s going to win.

I grind my teeth, flexing my fingers to keep from breaking the other corner of my desk. He’s already brought it to the Council. Or at least he’s putting the Council together now. So what are we going to do? I ask.

Nothing, my father replies. Luna is not our responsibility. Nor is she a problem we should take on.

I disagree, I interject through clenched teeth.

My father’s frustration pulses through the bond. You need to be realistic. I realize you have feelings for the girl, but she’s more trouble than she’s worth.

Anger flares in me, hot and sharp. I fight to keep it contained.

Regardless of my feelings for the girl, if we don’t protect Luna, it means Renzo’s not protecting his people.

That’s another sign of weakness. It means Malrick wins.

And our family— our name —looks weak. We can’t let Luna go just because it’s inconvenient.

I think he’s right, Father, Luca adds. As much as I’d like to say it doesn’t matter, I think it really does.

We can’t be seen as weak. Of all things, letting Malrick get a foothold in the family is a disaster waiting to happen.

He’s already had Luna’s father under his thumb for years.

If the witches are talking, the rest of the realm is listening.

Malrick’s probably telling anyone who will listen that he’s had a man on the inside this whole time. We can’t afford to lose Luna.