Page 94 of Paramour of Sin

“She’ll see as a replacement,” he finished for me.

“Indeed.” I grabbed a second glass for him, then handed it to him on my way back to my desk. “Which makes Guinevere the more likely target. Otherwise, she would have gone for Zane from the beginning.” Although, it would have been harder to frame him for a lack of control. That little quirk was all Guinevere.

I leaned against my desk and took a sip.

Ragus followed suit, then said, “Which is why you want me to protect her.”

I nodded. “Yes. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“You need to be ready for the possibility that something might,” he countered. “I’m good, but this whole situation is rather bizarre.” He looked at the screen again that I’d left open between us. “I assume Nephilim are somehow involved?”

“That’s our theory,” I replied. “But it’s not proven yet.”

“Amarella working with Nephilim.” He shook his head. “It would be just like her to seek out a higher power in that regard, particularly after her demonic pursuits didn’t work in her favor.”

“I’d like to know how the fuck she’s still alive,” I muttered. “ConsideringI killed her.”

Sort of like how Guinevere supposedly killed Taylor Smith.

I frowned, an idea coming to my mind as I started spinning through the images again. “The human at the murder scene is the same one Gleason saw leaving the house, but Guinevere swears she slept with someone named Trevor, who we’ve realized is Jaxon Trevor—a Nephilim.”

I pulled him up with the image of Taylor, and Amarella, and studied the three of them.

I downed my drink, then stared at my former consort before scanning the two men again.

“Amarella can’t shapeshift,” I continued, thinking out loud. “But maybe Trevor can. Maybe he pretended to be Taylor as he left the house. They have the same hair color, same stature, and Guinevere would have seen him from behind, so if he shifted his face, she wouldn’t have known.”

However, that didn’t explain Amarella.

Unless…

“What if he has the ability to project somehow? Like to change the appearance of others, or manipulate one’s vision into seeing someone else?” I asked, glancing at Ragus. “Maybe he projected Amarella’s appearance onto another woman that day, or somehow altered my sight?”

He set his glass down, his dark eyes flashing. “That would be one hell of an ability.”

“Wouldn’t it?” I started thinking through all the angels I knew, trying to pinpoint one who might have that skill—one the Nephilim would have inherited. “He’s a relatively new Nephilim, according to his files. But that doesn’t mean he told the truth about his age.” If he existed a hundred years ago, he could have helped my consort escape her death.

My jaw ticked, irritation haunting my thoughts.

“On a positive note, I get to kill her again,” I muttered, not all that mollified by the prospect. But I’d certainly enjoy watching her die.

With a shake of my head, I sighed.

“I’ll happily assist in that endeavor, sir,” Ragus replied.

“I need you to watch Guinevere,” I reiterated. “That’ll be your first priority.”

“Second,” he corrected. “Your security is my first priority.”

I narrowed my gaze. “I can take care of myself. Guinevere is…” Well, she wasn’t weak. She was beautiful and strong and possessed a love for humanity that endeared me to her even more. But against Amarella… “Guinevere knows how to protect herself. But Amarella won’t fight fair.” She never did. Case in point, she was still somehow alive.

And Guinevere didn’t possess a single negative bone in her body.

She was sweet. Genuine.Innocent.

Amarella had been anything but, her hunger for power evident the first day we met. It was part of the reason her betrayal hadn’t exactly shocked me. Infuriated me, yes. Surprised me, no.

Guinevere would never hurt me in that way. I’d threatened her earlier when I overhead her and Zane discussing my past, and I’d almost immediately regretted the threat. The way she’d looked at me, like she couldn’t believe I would utter such a phrase to her, told me everything I needed to know about her.