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Vero strode down the stairs to the carved-out basement and walked to the first cell. He opened the heavy wooden door and moved inside to find Silas sitting on his cot, playing solitaire with a deck of cards.

Silas looked up, his light red eyes narrowing. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”

“Really? How’s that?” Vero asked, shutting the door behind himself.

“We don’t have satellite hookup or our computer bank, but we have excellent prisoner cells. Does that tell you where our p riorities lie?”

Vero studied the male he’d known since birth. “I think our priorities are exactly right. Unfortunately, we’ve never existed in an er a without war.”

“Ah. But whose fault is that?” Silas leaned back against the rough cement wall. “I mean, look at this place, Vero. We might as well have been trying to split a mountain in half with a hammer to make space for, what was it ? Three cells?”

“Yes,” Vero said smoothly. “We have three cells down here and yes, I remember the dynamite.” He looked around the rough room. “Although the cells have come in handy. We have two out of the t hree occupied.”

“Yeah, by your allies,” Silas shot back, his eyes darkening t o a deeper red.

Not a bad point, unfortunately. “Not any longer. I set most of the new Kurjans free. As for you, I am sorry about this,” Vero pulled over a metal chair to sit. “At least we g ave you cards.”

Silas’s chin lifted slightly. “You’re being a dick.”

“I am a dick,” Vero agreed. “One with a problem. We have a human female victim in our territory with no record of how she got here.”

“She must have been here whe n you arrived.”

That was impossible. “No,” Vero said. “I know everybody in this camp and we’re in the middle of nowhere, Silas. The only person who has flown anywhere and returned this las t week is you.”

Silas crossed his arms. “You forget about the raiding party that brought those newest enhanced females into the territory.”

Vero cocked his head. “I was part of the raiding party. I know exactly who returned with us. Tell me how you flew that female into the territory. Le t me help you.”

Silas shoved the cards away on the rough wool blanket. “Oh, because you wa nt to help me?”

“I do,” Vero said. “We go bac k a long ways.”

“Kid, you’re still in your first century,” Silas snapped. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

There might be some truth to that statement because this didn’t make any sense to Vero. “Did you kill her?”

Silas looked up at the rough cement ceiling and shook his head. “Why would I kill a human female?” He stared at Vero now, surprise and bewilderment on his face. “Seriously, why would anybody kill a human female? I m ean, just why?”

The answer to that question kept Vero up at night. “Because they could? Because they’re making a statement? Because they’re trying to show that Paxton is wea k as a leader?”

Silas glanced at the closed door. “That would make sense,” he mused. “Having somebody killing human females who have no way of being in our territory right under Paxton’s nose and yours as well?” He nodded. “Yea h, good point.”

Irritation clocked through Vero, and the damn mark on his palm still bu rned. “Thanks.”

“But still.” Silas winced. “A huma n female. Why?”

“I’m hoping you can answer that.” Vero leaned forward.

After living for three centuries, Silas was fit and trim and could fight, but he lacked Vero’s broader upper body size and strength. The thought occurred to Vero that maybe he was broader than most Kurjans because—No, he wouldn’t go t here right now.

He focused intently on Silas. “I don’t want to do this the hard way.” He meant every word. “So just tell me what I need to know.”

Silas chuckled, the sound lacking any true humor. “You don’t want to do this the hard way? I’m ready for the hard way. You want to fight?”

“Not really,” Vero said honestly. “I just w ant the truth.”

Purple shot through the red in Silas’s eyes. “The truth? The truth is I went to Anchorage to fetch all the equipment we need for interior surveillance and computer enhancement. The only people I spoke with were at the two stores I visited.” His gaze flicked away and then back.

Vero straightened. “You ju st lied to me.”

“Fine.” Silas threw up his hands. “I went to the local diner and got an Oreo cookie milkshake. Sometimes a guy just wants a mi lkshake, Vero.”

Vero sat back. He couldn’t get any sense that Silas was lying. “Why would I give a fuck if you go t a milkshake?”

Silas crossed his arms. “You have no right to know my pers onal business.”

“I have a right to know everything I want to know,” Vero growled. “Where’d you g et the female?”

Silas shook his head, more sadness than anger in his eyes now. “You know as well as I do that I didn’t bring that female back here. Trust y our instincts.”

Vero wanted to believe Silas. “My instincts aren’t working for me right no w,” he snapped.

Silas attempted to hide a grin, then gave up. “Female problem s of your own?”

Vero let out a low growl. Maybe he could us e a good fight.

Silas lifted a hand. “All right. None of my business. Though, I have to tell you, I do like Lyrica. She’s smart and spunky. Doesn’t know what she wants in life.”

Vero cocked his head. “Wha t do you mean?”

“Figure it out yourself,” Silas grumbled.

Vero didn’t have time for this. “If you didn’t bring that female back here, who did?”

“How should I know?” Silas shook his head. “You had to have missed her. There’s no way that she just dropped here o ut of nowhere.”

Vero scratched his chin. He really needed to shave. He was starting to look like one of those human movie stars who had just enough scruff to look dangerous. Well, one of the villains in a movie, anyway. He’d never come close to hero status. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Silas watched him, alertne ss in his gaze.

“Do you recognize this symbol?” Vero unfolded the paper to show the symbol with the circle and three slashes.

Silas stared at it intently. “No. It’s kind of a dumb symbol.”

Exasperation clapped through Vero. “You’ve never seen anything like this? You’ve lived for three hundred years.”

Silas looked from the paper to Vero. “No, it’s a circle with three lines through it. It has no significance to me whatsoever and, frankly, I can’t think of any kingdom through time, at least that I’ve studied, that had such a symbol. Why? What is it?” He sounded gen uinely puzzled.

“I don’t know. That’s why I ’m asking you.”

Silas shoved the paper back at Vero. “I have no clue. Where d id you see it?”

The sight seemed burned into his brain. “The killer cut the symbol into the two dead females, and it was branded onto a couple of the attackers who tried to take me o ut last night.”

Silas looked at the paper and back up at Vero. “Then what the fuck are you talking to me about? Go talk to the guy in the next cell. He’s one of the att ackers, right?”

Yeah. The only one Vero had allowed to live. Hopefully he’d be conscious by now. Vero stood and replaced the paper. “That’s my plan.” He turned toward the door, his head starting to pound. All he needed was a blasted migraine to make this day perfect. He reached for the doorknob and paused, turning around. “You’ve been in the main Kurjan nation for quite a while. Do you have knowledge regarding the experiments conducted by o ur scientists?”

Silas’s eyebrows rose. “No. I’m a computer guy and a pilot. Sometimes a soldier. I don’t have anything to do with science.” He shivered. “Seriously, some of the weird things they’ve done, like creating that virus to take out the vampires. I mean, who does that?”

It was a good qu estion, really.

Silas shrugged. “Although I do appreciate the Sunshine Cure. You were a part of creating that , weren’t you?”

“I’ve just tweaked it through the years. I wasn’t the genius behind it, unfortunately.” How Vero missed the hours he’d hid out in the labs during his childhood.

Silas nodded, his eyebrows lowering. “Yeah. Most of those scientists were killed by your uncle. I always figured it was a good thing I didn’t want to go into the medical field.”

“What about Paxton?” Vero asked. “Did you know anything of the experiments with crossbreeding demon s and Kurjans?”

“God no,” Silas breathed. “That’s insane, as far as I’m concerned.”

Just great. Vero had searched Paxton’s room, and their father’s journal wasn’t there. It had described the details of Paxton’s lineage but hadn’t mentioned Vero’s. Why did he have a demon brand on his hand? “Do you remember if any of the scientists or doctors who experimented with demon females lived?”

Silas eyed him. “Not a one. You don’t want to dig further into your half-brother’s genetics, Vero. Let people forget what he is and let him lead. Enough of us are concerned about his lineage, and only the fact that you’re backing him is reassuring us. You’re Kurjan throug h and through.”

Yet he might not be. Fuck. Vero opened the door. “I’ll be back later.”

“How long are you keeping me here?” Silas asked. “You know I didn’t do a nything wrong.”

Vero’s gut feeling said the male was telling the truth. “I know. I’ll t alk to Paxton.”

“Why? You’re the enforcer. Maybe it’s time you acted like it.”

Fire lanced through Vero. “If I acted like it, you’d be bleeding on the fl oor right now.”

The heavy door groaned as Vero stepped out of the cell, leaving Silas behind with his sharp tongue and unhelpful musings. The dim light of the hallway stretched out before him, casting long, flickering shadows against the rough stone walls. The cold air hung oppressive here, thick with the scent of damp earth and the faint metallic tang of blood that seemed to permeate everything underground. Vero rubb ed his temples.

The symbol—the damn circle with three slashes—was an enigma, one he couldn’t afford to ignore. It was etched not only into the bodies of the victims but into the fabric of their fragile peace. Silas’s dismissive remarks about it being “dumb” didn’t help. Vero couldn’t shake the sense that it was more than just a symbol. It was a message. A declaration.

He reached the door to the adjacent cell and paused. His instincts gnawed at him, whispering that he wasn’t prepared for what he might find inside. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open.

The male inside was slumped against the wall, his face battered and bruised, though his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. This was the lone survivor of last night’s attack. Vero had personally ensured he wouldn’t die before they got answers, though his condition suggested he mig ht wish he had.

As Vero stepped in, the male’s purple eyes fluttered open. They were bloodshot, his pupils dilated. He tried to shift his body but winced, groaning through gritted teeth. “Back for more?” he croaked, hi s voice ragged.

“Save your energy.” Vero dragged the metal chair from the corner of the cell. The scraping sound echoed, setting Vero’s nerves on edge. He dropped into the chair, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I don’t want to hurt you again—unl ess I have to.”

The male let out a wheezy laugh. “That’s what they all say.”

Vero pulled out the paper again, unfolding it deliberately. He held it up for the prisoner to see. “Tell me about this.”

The prisoner blinked, his gaze sharpening for a fraction of a second before he looked away. “Never s een it before.”

Vero’s patience wore thin. He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a growl. “Don’t waste my time. This symbol was cut into the victims and branded onto you and your dead buddies. You expect me to believe you don’t know what it means?”

The prisoner coughed, spitting blood onto the floor. “I don’t expect you to believe anything. But if you’re looking for answers, you’re asking the wr ong questions.”

Vero frowned. “Then enlighten me.”

The prisoner chuckled, a wet, gurgling sound. “It’s not about the symbol. It’s about what it represents. You think you’re fighting rebels? Traitors? No. You’re fi ghting ghosts.”

Vero’s hand shot out, grabbing the jerk by the front of his torn shirt and yanking him forward. “What the hell d oes that mean?”

The male grimaced, but defiance bloomed in his bloodshot eyes. “You’re too young to remember, Prince, but not everything in your world was built to last. Old alliances crumble. Old sins come home to roost. You’re digging into things bette r left buried.”

Vero tightened his grip. “Who sent you?”

The prisoner smiled faintly, his teeth stained red. “You wi ll never know.”

The words sent a chill down Vero’s spine. He shoved the male back against the wall and stood, pacing the small cell as he fought to piece the puzzle together. The symbol, the dead girls, the attack on Paxton and attack on Vero—it all felt conn ected, but how?

He turned back to the prisoner, who was watching him now with a mix of wariness and smug satisfaction. “Who do you work for?” Vero demanded. “The Realm? The humans? Someone else?”

The prisoner shook his head, his smile widening. “Kurjans always think it’s about you. Always think the world revolves around petty Kurjan squabbles. It’s bigger than that, you traitor . Much bigger.”

“Why did you attack me?” Maybe the why would lead him to the who. Vero’s headache turned into a full-blown migraine. He took a step closer, fists clenched. “Start talking. Now. Or I’ll make you wish you hadn’t survived the attem pt on my life.”

The prisoner’s smile faded, replaced by a resigned expression. “You’re out of your depth. By the time you figure it out, it’l l be too late.”

The words hit Vero harder than he expected. If he tortured this jackass any more right now, he’d kill him sooner rather than later. So he turned and exited the cell, slamming the door behind him. The sound reverberated down the hall, a fitting punctuation to his boili ng frustration.

Outside, he leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to calm the storm inside him. Silas’s words about trust and instincts rang in his ears. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something—someone—was playing them all like chess pieces on a board. And the worst part? He didn’t know t heir next move.

For now, he’d follow the trail, no matter how twisted it became. But he couldn’t shake the nagging thought that the answers he sought might be worse than the questions haunting him. Taking a break, he looked down at his right hand.

At the perfect mating br and of a demon.