Page 71 of The Wickedness of Man

“Did he now,” muttered the archbishop, glaring at the screen. “You are dismissed, Jax.”

I stood, leaning heavily on my cane, frowning. “…Yes, sir.”

“Don’t pout, bishop. All will be clear in time. You’ll understand how vital your role in this all was. For now—say nothing to the other bishops.”

Benedict poured himself another drink and pressed a button on his desk. A veiled sister came out and began to clean the mess he’d made of the broken glass on the floor.

“Oh, and make sure Harrold doesn’t hear a word about this”—he took a sip of his drink and grinned, fangs gleaming at me—“I want to see the look on his face tomorrow when I get to tell him exactly what helost.”

Magda

Caleb came staggering into the kitchen in a daze, bumping Carmilla out of the way. As soon as he spotted me, he moved to my side without a word and began kissing my cheeks, running his lips along the trail of tears I hadn’t even realized was still leaking from my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, voice thick with sleep as he wrapped me into his embrace, arms tightening around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I told him, unsure if there was anything else to say. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Over his shoulder, I saw Carmilla staring at us.

“Caleb,” she began, “how long have you been awake?”

“Hmm?” he mumbled, resting his chin on my head. “I don’t know. I just… ” Gentle snores interrupted him mid-sentence.

The doctor walked over and looked at him in disbelief. “He’s asleep.”

Given that he was standing, gripping me tightly, I found that hard to believe. “Caleb,” I tried. I shook his arm, but he continued to breathe in deep, even tones.

“He should not have been able to get up,” Carmilla said, poking him. “I’ve been exerting my aura over him. He ought to have been sleeping like the dead.”

Carmilla lifted Caleb’s arms off me, and I had to fight my own urge to snap at her to get away; the sense was strong enough that I turned away as she led him, like a sleepwalker, back to the couch, so I wouldn’t have to see her touching him.

This is so wrong. He has no idea we’ve just fallen prey to this plot. I have no right to feel so possessive over a man I’ve just met.

Yet, I couldn’t help that I did. Carmilla wasn’t touching him sexually in the slightest—wasn’t even feeding from him. I walked into the living room, standing some distance away, trying to arrest the bizarre territorial instinct rising in me that demanded I beat the shit out of her for laying a finger on my man.

No! He’s not yours. You can’t do this to him. You can’t just force him to acceptyoufor the rest of his life when he doesn’t even know what’s going on. And besides…

“Caleb,” Carmilla whispered, once she resettled him onto the sofa, “how did you know Magda was upset?”

He mumbled something unintelligible at first, and I felt the doctor’s power—her aura—slacken in the room. His eyes opened a bit, but he still appeared dazed, as if he was trying to wake out of a coma. She repeated herself.

“I… I don’t know. I just… felt it.”

Carmilla glanced back at me. “I was suppressing your aura too,” she told me. “So that it wouldn’t disturb him if you got upset.Ididn’t even know you were so upset. You appeared to be calming down.”

“She wasn’t,” Caleb said softly. “She was panicking. I could feel it. I—” He looked around at the apartment, struggling to stay upright, blinking in confusion. “…Where are we?”

I walked over and sat on the coffee table where Carmilla had been sitting just a few minutes before and took his hand. “We’re at my friend’s house for now. We’re safe.”

Caleb’s gaze moved from my eyes, which were still tear filled, to my mouth. “Let me fix it,” he murmured.

“Fix what?” I asked.

He leaned forward and kissed me. “Whatever’s making you upset.”

I kissed him back harder than I’d intended; tasted blood as my teeth caught his lip and he groaned against me.

“Magda,” said Carmilla, her voice soft. “Remember what we discussed?”

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