Page 111 of Lunar Desires
The High Inquisitor strode around the car, the other doors opening. Witchcops spilled into the street, guns drawn.
I tried putting myself in front of Riley, but he only gestured for me to stay beside him.
“Good evening,” Stefan greeted, tugging on the lapels of his suit jacket.
“It’s not though, is it?” Riley countered.
“What he said,” Isaac agreed with a growl.
Jake took a step forward. “What’s going on, sir?”
Stefan planted himself between us and the shades, the other witchcops facing the line of shadowy monstrosities in a wall of armed force.
My stomach rolled and flipped, and repeated the motion several times. Shit. What was this?
“I brought you here to demonstrate the importance of the greater good,” the High Inquisitor answered.
“A training exercise?” I threw out, seething with fury.
His proximity to Riley was a threat I couldn’t stand. I loathed everything about him—from his icy eyes to his body language.He embodied danger, and I chided myself for not seeing it sooner.
Stefan folded his arms behind his back. “Your destiny is an impossibility. There is no Star, and you are ill-equipped to deal with an apocalypse. This folly must end tonight.”
Riley straightened his spine, his eyes tight. “It’s been one day.”
Stefan titled his head slightly. “Pardon?”
“A day. It’s been a damn day.” I spotted a vein pulsing in my boyfriend’s neck. “What changed?”
The High Inquisitor watched for ten long seconds. “I meant everything I said to you yesterday, but now I see you are reckless. That display with the power lines was uncalled for.”
“Necessary,” Riley bit back.
“Reckless, Riley. Sloppy.” He glanced between The Moon and The Sun. “For a moment, I believed in you. I thought there could be a renaissance for House Aurora. But I was wrong. So utterly wrong.”
I took a sharp breath, my inner alarms wailing. “What have you done?”
He looked to number thirty-six. “Faced the truth, is what. You are no match for House Kingwood. None of us are. The threat against Coldharbour is too severe. I didn’t tell you this before, but I received a letter about Marcus Kingwood’s plans to massacre this city. And it wouldn’t stop here, the carnage spreading to every major city in the country until The Moon and The Sun were handed over.” The wanker unfolded his arms then, clasping his hands together. “We can’t have this, especially in order to protect a diminished dynasty.” He had the audacity to smile at the brothers. “I’m sorry, but the High Coven took power for a reason. You are irrelevant. You even failed in neutralizing Jonathon Aurora. According to the report I received earlier from Erin, this possible fae threat did.” He shook his head.“Ridiculous. We’ll have to deal with it ourselves. We already have an envoy heading for Winter Palace.”
“You’ll drop us so easily?” Isaac asked. “That’s fucking vile.”
“It’s called the greater good, as I said.”
I forced myself in front of Riley now. “You’ve made some sort of deal with the Kingwoods?”
More deals. More fucking corruption.
He looked at me. “And you’re part of the package.”
A figure stepped out of the house.
Rhianna gave me a wave, her belly now swollen as if in the final days of her pregnancy.
My knees weakened, sending me stumbling into the white car.
“Drake!”
Riley grabbed me, steadying me.
