Page 77 of Cruel Destinies

He bristled, and I could practically see his gryphon feathers flaring beneath his skin. Where was he going with this? Had I been right about him and Julian? Was this just part of some twisted game?

“What happened with this vampire?” he asked.

I didn’t see the point in lying about my involvement with Julian. He obviously already knew, and I was tired of worrying about it and second-guessing myself.

“It was a few weeks ago, after that shifter party I got kicked out of,” I began.

“Wait, you got kicked out of a shifter party?”

“Yeah. Arya had invited me to see if I could shmooze up to some of her friends, but when they found out I was a witch, they threw me out,” I explained quickly, not wanting to relive that particular disaster. “Anyway, I was walking home and realized I was being followed by a vampire. So I led him into an alley and then used this snaring spell my Gram taught me. Like I said, I can hold my own against a vampire.”

He nodded, seeming unwilling to argue about that fact. “Okay. Then what?”

I let out a sigh, eager to spill the truth and get this whole ordeal over with. “This vampire actually seemed more man than monster. He said he followed me because he could sense my magic and wanted to offer me a deal. I could use the grimoire he had in his possession if I agreed to use it to bring his lover back from the dead.”

I watched his face as I spoke, carefully gauging his reactions. Surprise never crossed it. Which made me wonder, if he already knew, why were we having this conversation?

“I didn’t immediately take him up on it,” I continued. “Even when he said he had connections to the Dome and could try to get me in. I was raised not to trust vampires. When I turned to leave, he told me about a spell where I could reach out to him if I changed my mind.

“And a few days later, I did. You don’t know what it’s like to have magical potential and no one willing to teach you how to use it, Caesar. The possibility of finally being able to practice my magic was too tempting to pass up. So I took him up on it. But you already know that, don’t you?You’reJulian’s connection at the Dome.”

He nodded, the confirmation of what I already knew satisfyingly validating.

“If you already know all of this, then why are we here?” I asked, wondering if he also knew about the blood drinking. Was that what this was all about? Was he going to accuse me of cheating or something, because, as far as I knew, we weren’t exclusive. We weren’t anything with a label.

He rubbed his chin, seeming to debate his next words. When he finally looked back into my eyes, his were full of suspicion. “Do you have any other affiliations with vampires?”

I blinked at him, confused by the question. “What?”

“How likely is it that a witch would just happen to befriend the most powerful siren in centuries and be with her on the very night that her mother gets murdered?” he asked, the distrust in his eyes stinging me more than his accusation. “How likely is it that the same witch would form a connection with the director of the best-kept secret in the shifter worldandthe vampire double agent he’s affiliated with?”

The hurt inside me quickly turned into insult and anger.

“You think I’m a spy for the vampires?” I snapped. “You think I orchestrated all of this? Befriending Arya? Sleeping with you? Making a deal with Julian?” I shook my head, barely able to contain my rapidly escalating rage.

“I don’t know, Shea,” he said, his tone now more pleading than accusatory. “I don’t want to believe it, but it’s all a little too convenient, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t!” I shouted. “And the fact that you could even concoct such a thing, that you could even think for a moment that I’m that kind of person…” I gripped the edges of the armchair, digging my nails into the fabric to keep from losing my cool completely.

“We live in a dangerous world in dangerous times,” Caesar said. “With all the people I’m responsible for protecting, I can’t take any chances. I just need to know.”

“Fine! No, I’m not a spy for the vampires,” I hissed. “No, I didn’t weasel my way into my best friend’s life because I knew she was the siren of a prophecy I’d never heard of. No, I didn’t actively try to seduce you for information—youwere the one who kept running intome, I never sought you out. And no, until recently, I had no idea that you and Julian were friends or acquaintances or whatever you are. I’m just a lonely, desperate witch trying everything I can to find my place in this fucked up,untrustingworld!”

My chest was heaving when I finally finished my tirade. I was so offended and enraged by his accusation that I couldn’t make myself meet his gaze without risking accidentally bursting him into flames.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his forehead creased with conflicted regret. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. You have no idea how hard it is to know who to trust in my position.”

“Oh, I think I have an idea,” I said snidely, though I knew he was in a much tighter, more important spot than I was. He had very real enemies. It just really hurt that he could ever suspect me of being one of them.

He rose from the couch and came to kneel beside me, putting his hand over mine, which still dug into the edge of the armchair. “How do we move past this?”

The warmth of his hand felt so good, and his stupid face was so cute as it looked up at me. But I wasn’t done being angry, and I figured we might as well get everything out while we were being so honest.

“That depends. What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Julian?”

He frowned. “He’s just an old friend. He came to me a few years after he left the vampires, and he’s been spying for me, more or less, ever since.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t finished yet. “And how much do you and Julian talk about me?”

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