Page 128 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘Axel? Fluffy?’ Jules asks, her eyes looking glassy. ‘Are they?—’

They’re fine,’ Dameon assures her quickly. ‘Axel is here with the other clan. They’re making sure we got them all. Fluffy is in the maze.’

She sighs heavily, her eyes closing. ‘I was afraid …’

‘It’s going to be all right,’ Maddox says gently. ‘Come on. It’s time to go home, darling.’

She shakes her head, perking up in his arms. ‘No, we can’t yet. There were two fae … There’s a lab in Metro. They said it was for magick recovery. I think they’re keeping succubi there, or at least women they suspect are succubi.’ She clutches me. ‘I think they’ve been experimenting on them.’

‘Why?’ Maddox asks, drawing back from her to study her face.

‘The High Fae haven’t been able to create magick of their own since they destroyed us. They’ve been stealing it from other fae and what few succubi they’ve found,’ she says quickly, not seeming to realize that this is a huge bombshell. ‘We can’t leave them in that place.’

‘Holy shit,’ Daemon says. ‘If that’s true?—’

‘That would explain the lack of conjures around this place,’ Iron mutters. ‘My nanna has more magick in her house than Tamadrielle does. That doesn’t make any sense unless he was rationing.’

‘How do you know this?’ Alex asks, and I turn to see that he and his clan have joined us.

Axel is suddenly in front of Jules. He picks her up and hugs her into his chest. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him from taking you.’

‘It’s okay,’ she says. ‘If you had, he wouldn’t be gone. This wouldn’t be over.’

‘Tamadrielle is dead?’ one of the other clan asks.

‘Aye,’ I say. ‘Jules all but killed him, and Krase finished him off.’

Jules nods. ‘It’s true. He’s dead, and his power was limited. I figured it out when I was lighting the fires, and I realized how little magick was actually being used here in lieu of slave labor. Tamadrielle confirmed it.’

‘And all the High fae suffer the same?’ Alex asks.

Jules nods. ‘He said that all the highest lords pretend to be powerful, but it’s just a smokescreen. Tamadrielle wanted a secret succubus of his own to keep his magick at high levels. He was going to let the Ten die out and then take control of the council behind the scenes.’ Her jaw clenches. ‘He was going to make me keep him topped up. He said he was going to take Jellybean and keep her here, raise her to serve him.’

‘Fucker!’ I snarl, glad all over again that he’s dead.

Alex turns away, pulling out his phone and calling someone, probably his resistance contacts. ‘I need a meeting. Now.’ He walks a couple of steps before he turns back around and eyes Jules. ‘I think a way to get rid of the Ten for good just fell into our laps.’

‘The lab in Metro,’ Maddox says. ‘Do you know where it is, darling?’

Jules shakes her head. ‘They didn’t say any more than that while I was in the room. I don’t know how we’d?—’

‘Found it!’ Paris says, his thumbs moving quickly over his phone screen.

He looks up and shrugs when he sees our collective surprise. ‘Easy to find if you know what to look for,’ he mutters, his face going pink. ‘I have the blueprints. We just need a way in because I’ll bet security will be tighter than here if it’s important to the Ten.’

‘There are two fae in Tamadrielle’s library,’ Jules says. ‘One of them will have a key.’

‘Theo, you’re with me,’ Alex orders. ‘Paris. Kor. Sie. You get the key and meet us back here. We’ll get it done now. Use the element of surprise.’

Theo coughs. ‘I can’t go with you, boss.’

Alex gives him a questioning look, and Theo grimaces.

‘Jane didn’t want me to tell you. It’s still early …’

‘What?’ Alex growls.

‘She’s in labor,’ he replies. At Alex’s thunderous expression, he throws up his hands. ‘How do you think I got her to stay at Maddox’s? It’s early, and there’s a long time to go, but I need to be there.’