Page 98 of The Prince's Curse

“Dom. Let him finish,” Julian said.

But Kova shook his head. “Let him speak.”

“We would have helped you,” Dominic said, swiping at his eyes. He had taken Kova’s presumed death quite hard, especially after they lost Lucia. The somber man had never said as much, but Julian had long suspected that Dom once had feelings for Lucia, though he’d treated her and Kova both with the utmost respect after they met. Dominic had been devastated by Lucia’s loss, and hadblamed himself for years for not realizing what Kova intended to do. He had lamented why Kova hadn’t asked for their help, why he didn’t trust anyone to have his back.

I would have fought to the end to save her! Dominic had protested. They’d even had an impromptu funeral for Kova, but Dominic refused to attend.

“I know. And you would have convinced me not to go. If anything, I trusted you too much,” Kova said. “Which would have been wiser. I gained nothing and lost everything.”

Dominic’s nose wrinkled, his fingers drumming quietly on the table.He wasn’t baring his teeth yet, but through their Covenant, Julian could feel his simmering rage.

“Dominic Cattaneo, don’t pretend for one second that you wouldn’t have done the same for Rachel,” Paris said sharply. “You did not have the consideration of a soulmate back then.”

“Do not presume to tell me how I am allowed to feel about my brother letting us all think he killed himself,” Dominic replied. Safira shifted uncomfortably, casting a glance at Julian. She’d also wanted to find Kova, to at least have closure, but Julian had told her to let it go.

“He’s right to be angry,” Kova said without looking away. “I humbly ask for your forgiveness, but I won’t demand it. I only ask that youlet me help you, and if you want me to leave when Armina is dealt with, I’ll leave.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Dominic will be over himself by then,” Paris said. When Dom began to protest, Paris interrupted, “This may come as a surprise, but you are not the only one who cared for him. Could we table your emotional turmoil until we’ve averted Scarlett’s impending death?”

“Paris!” Julian exclaimed. The Frenchman smiled, clearly pleased with himself.

“I see not much has changed,” Kova said mildly, pointing to Paris and Julian in turn. “Big mouth, big brother.”

“Have a seat,” Julian said, pointing to the open chair. “Tell us what you can about the witch.”

Dominic shifted, his chair scraping back as if he meant to leave the table. Paris fixed him with a glare, and the other man paused. He folded his arms across his chest, leaning back in the chair without looking at Kova.Well, that was something.

“Tell us how to deal with the witch. Anything you couldn’t talk about before,” Julian said.

Kova nodded. His brow furrowed as he looked at Scarlett. “Do you want to know about the curse or the witch first?”

“The witch,” Julian said, though he wanted to scream, The curse, obviously. Save her!

Kova nodded. “She has several other safehouses, including two in Charlotte, and one in Virginia. If she retreated, she’s probably at one of those places. I’ll be glad to help you investigate.”

Julian nodded and said, “Get the addresses to Olivia now.”

“We did it on the way over,” Sasha said quietly. “I assumed you’d want that.”

Kova cleared his throat. “She’s refined her technique to control vampires. With me and Shea, it took a longer time and her control wasn’t as strong. I could still resist sometimes, but at a cost. Her apprentice, Lux, has stepped up the game. You saw the dark-eyed vampires at her house, and here in Atlanta, as I understand it.”

He winced at the memory. Misha nodded and added, “They had a Covenant mark I’d never seen.”

“I’m not sure about that. I know that they rounded up as many of Shea’s former followers as they could,” he said, shaking his head. “I helped. Something about controlling him made it easier to control them. They even made a few more.”

“But they’re different from you,” Misha said.

“That’s right. Lux has created a stake that can break the Covenant instantly while binding the vampire to her will,” he said.

Shoshanna cleared her throat. “She stole your idea.” Misha wrinkled his nose, but didn’t speak.

“Once it’s done, she can do her new spell. Whatever she’s doing, it completely takes over their mind. Lux gives them an order, and they follow it.” His gaze fell on Paris, then Dominic. “When they came after Scarlett, they had orders to leave the three of you standing. Everyone else was fair game.”

“Why them?” Dani asked.

“Because we’re the ones who killed her husband,” Julian said. He glanced at Misha. “That’s why they were all over you at the hotel. And Safira in Charlotte.”

“They’re also stronger than most vampires,” Scarlett said quietly.

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