Page 62 of The Rogue's Curse

“Why?”

“Leverage, I’m sure,” Paris said.With a grim sigh, he asked, “How many escaped?”

“Before I tell you, I need you to look me in the eyes,” Julian said. Paris met his gaze. “This is not on you.”

“That bad?”

“Thirteen, including Lilah and Kieran. About half of those were ours,” Julian said.

Dread washed over him in a chilling rush. “If Misha hadn’t been with me, I wouldn’t have gotten out.”

Julian smiled faintly. “Then I’m glad he was with you,” he said. He rubbed his temples. “We have to maintain our focus. The Crown is attempting to track the escaped prisoners not affiliated with Shea, but our focus needs to remain here. The sooner we eliminate Shea, the safer this city will be. Then we can focus on all the other shit piling up on us.”

“Like Brigitte and Kova?”

Julian’s smile evaporated. “Yes. Like them,” he said quietly. “I can only pray that seeing Sasha softens Kova’s heart. Perhaps he’ll keep the witch away from us somehow.”

Paris stared at him. “You don’t believe that,” he said.

“No, I don’t,” Julian said grimly. Before Sasha’s curse was broken, he’d been convinced he was an ally to the Shieldsmen. And he had seen Kova, their long-lost brother, seemingly in servitude to Armina Voss. But if Kova hadn’t returned to the family in the decades he had been gone, there was a reason, and Paris feared that it was a bad omen for them. He only prayed that Kova couldn’t come back, not that he wouldn’t. “As for Brigitte, let’s hope we all survive long enough for her to be a problem again,” Julian added.

“Perhaps Shoshanna—”

“No,” Julian said sharply. “I need all of you focused on this. If there is one saving grace, it’s that Armina Voss wants me alive to suffer. We cannot become distracted.”

Paris nodded. “Have it your way. Misha should be able to track Lilah with the blood we obtained. While he’s working, I’ll have our teams split between patrolling hotspots and following up on bite victims. It feels like too little, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“It’s all we can do,” Julian said, shaking his head. “I’ll keep working with Olivia to dig deeper into Shea’s financial connections. I’m also vetting a couple of new veravin, though I’m paranoid that everyone we meet is a plant from Shea.”

“You could be much worse things than paranoid,” Paris said.

A text message buzzed through to his watch. As soon as he saw Misha’s name, butterflies danced in his chest.

Misha: Come to building one. I’ve got a drink for you.

“And keep your eye on Olivia,” Julian said. “She’s upset about the breakout, though she’s attempting to hide it.”

He nodded. “I’ll check on her before I see Misha,” he said.

The human woman’s office was just down the hall, so he sidled up to the door and knocked. She jolted in surprise, head snapping up. With a weak smile, she said, “Hey.”

“Hello, cherie,” he said. “We’ve all had a long few days, so I’ll spare you the clever dance. Are you all right, given what happened with Lilah and Kieran?”

Her smile was almost manic. “Am I all right? Let’s see, the vampires who kidnapped me and my sister and nearly killed us, along with my soulmate, are free from prison and probably want to kill him horribly, followed by the rest of us… Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Sarcasm. I like it when you talk sassy to me,” he said. She let out a nervous laugh, and he saw a glimpse of her fiery spirit behind the fearful expression. “You’re staying here, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “I haven’t left since you called yesterday.”

“And Danielle?”

“Her too,” she said, shaking her head. “She’s antsy. I’m afraid she’s going to do something stupid.”

“I’ll speak to her,” he said.

Her head cocked. “No offense, but do you think you can be more helpful with her than me?”

“Your sister and I are assholes in the same way,” Paris replied. “And given my lack of a sleep schedule, I’ll be decent company for her.”

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