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"Were they tortured?" she asked, pointing to the knives and even an ax that were nearly hidden beneath the gore

Santiago returned his sword to its scabbard, his expression grim "Worse"

"What could be worse?"

"They were forced to torture the to escape The rooering terror in the roo over her skin like an insidious disease

They fell silent as they considered the slaughter With an effort, Nefri coldly stripped away the horror of what she was seeing to concentrate on basic facts

There were five--no six--hu, perhaps in their early twenties, and as left of their clothing suggested they hadn’t been hoe students?

They’d been held in the room for at least a week and occasionally fed and watered if the amount of waste mixed in with the mess was any indication They’d been physically fit There was no other way they could have endured such punishth of tinition

To have been able to keep sopeople hidden behind the illusion for such a length of time took more than the usual enchant her senses to flow through the thick air She should be able to pick up so trace of power A stray piece of DNA left behind

But there was nothing

Which spoke for itself

"This isn’t Gaius’s doing," Santiago at last broke into the heavy silence "At least not on his own"

"No," she softly agreed

Strong, slender fingers closed around Nefri’s upper ar her to ame"

"I never said it was"

"Then tellon"

She tilted her chin "You know I can’t discuss this"

"Are you freaking kidding h the air, reo was ruled by primitive passions and male i toward the open door

She lare "I can hardly miss it"

"And you still want to play politics?"

Her hands clenched at the unfair accusation The last thing she wanted was to be caught in politics Wasn’t that the reason she’d retreated behind the Veil in the first place?

"If you want answers, then approach the Oracles and ask your questions," she infor on her heel to walk away

It was that or tossing hih the nearest

"Nefri" In the blink of an eye he was standing in front of her, blocking her path "You’re not leaving until you tell s extended "You’re a typical alpha o, but you’re not stupid"

His eyes narrowed "What’s that supposed to ive orders, I don’t take them"

Gaius’s new lair in Wisconsin

Unlike Louisiana, northern Wisconsin was already in the grip of late autued with frost and the countryside filled with sugarthe dark sky in shades of gold and cri a remote cabin in the middle of a thick patch of woods, Gaiustheround Then, ensuring his beloved Dara was comfortable in the upstairs loft, he spent the re the ith heavy shutters and reinforcing the doors, belatedly thankful that his essence had been destroyed weeks ago by the witch No one would be able to follow his trail

Still it was only when he was certain that he’d made the place as safe as possible that he climbed the narrow stairs and crossed the wood-planked floor to the bed covered by a handstitched quilt

His feet briefly faltered as the body in the center of the bed faded to a black mist, as if it were as insubstantial as a cloud Then, the darkness coalesced into a slender female form that was covered in a short skirt and halter top he’d found in his previous lair

A fig the fact that it wasn’t the first time hisforward, he gazed down at the perfect oval of Dara’s honey-tinted face fraht, blue-black hair She was so beautiful, he acknowledged with a pang of longing

Exquisite