Bram, though not the biggest badass in the room, carried the mantle of a leader, cool most of the time, but in your face when he had to be—like now.
“Lucan, I know you and Shock have…issues. But I do not believe he betrayed us. By helping us in the first place, I have no doubt he has put himself at odds with much of his family, and still he remains.”
“As a spy!” Lucan insisted.
Olivia agreed. She had to—or face the thought that her father had betrayed her.
“You’re way off, dickhead,” Shock spat.
Olivia had no doubt that, behind Shock’s sunglasses, the wizard glared out a death wish.
“Enough,” Bram said to Lucan before he addressed the group. “The truth is, we don’t know exactly who our Judas is. I won’t believe it’s someone in this room.” He cast a hard glare to Lucan. “Nor will you. Anyone telepathic at the party had the information. Any of them could have told Mathias, and we will likely never know who. Fighting the Anarki and learning to eliminate the half-dead is our priority. So, Marrok, will you train and join us?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MARROK SAT BACK in his chair. Six pairs of eyes burned into him, none more than Olivia’s.
Being denied the chance to replenish their bond and her strength was playing havoc with his head. But that would have to wait. The possibility that she was conspiring with her father to earn the man’s affection disturbed him. But ignoring the possibility that she distanced herself from her mate because she had sided with her sire only placed her and the book in more danger. He could not afford to make decisions based on fear, denial, or ignorance of the magical world.
He needed an ally. Though he hated to admit it, the job of protecting both the book and Olivia while fighting the Anarki and Mathias was too big for him alone. Part of being a good warrior was knowing when to align with someone.
He knew of only one person in the room, who, without a doubt, would never take Mathias’s side.
Marrok tore his gaze from Olivia’s worried one and focused on Bram. “I must speak to you. Alone.”
Surprise flickered across Bram’s face, but Marrok could read men. His request was not unwelcome.
“Right. Out with you,” Bram said to the other men. “Let me talk to the warrior.”
With a mixture of shrugs and disgruntled stares, the others filed out the office door, all except Olivia, who hadn’t moved an inch. She, more than anyone, could not hear this.
He turned to her. “I’m sorry, love. Can you leave us for just a minute?”
His request clearly hurt her. Marrok watched emotion churn in those dazzling violet eyes, but didn’t apologize. If he could prove his worries false, he would find a million ways to make it up to her. If not…
Stiffly, she rose and left.
Bram shut the door softly behind her. “What’s on your mind?”
“I would not say we have been friends.”
“I’ve tried. You seem not to appreciate my finer qualities.”
“After my experience with Morganna, you will understand why I distrust those who wield magic.”
“And here I hoped you’d come to understand that we’re not all evil freaks.”
Marrok smiled faintly. “After the attack this morning, I have reevaluated my position. I trust no one except—and I never believed I would say this—you. When you crossed the magic circle at my cottage, it was clear you could have entered and stolen the book anytime you wished.”
Bram nodded.
“Why did you restrain yourself?”
“To build your trust. I didn’t know exactly where you’d hidden the diary. Stealing it does no good because I don’t know if any dark magic comes with it. Some objects can be cursed so that if they’re taken from their makers, bad things happen.”
“Like the book locking and never opening again?”
“Or worse. Illness, death, tragedy…”
“So you restrained yourself?”
“I continued to hope that if I helped you get free of your curse, you’d pass the diary into my hands for safekeeping. Such a powerfully magical object should be well protected from Mathias. So until your curse is ended and your connection to the book severed, stealing it could do more harm than good.”
Logical, Marrok supposed, in a magical sort of way. “Had you ever met Richard Gray before your party?”
“No. He rang me once, years ago. I’d read up on him, of course. After Olivia said the man was her father, I floated word ’round the magical underground types that I had information Gray might want. When he showed up at my party, I asked if he had any children. He supplied me with Olivia’s name, age, and London address.”
Why would the man know so much about Olivia, yet never take the time to meet her? “You let him in simply to reunite father and daughter? I doubt your motives were that touching.”
“Olivia is your mate and a le Fay. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that one le Fay woman created the instrument of your torture, while another completes you. Somehow, Olivia is the key to ending your curse.”
“And if you help me find peace, then you obtain the Doomsday Diary more quickly.”
Bram shot him a self-deprecating smile. “Yes, but Richard Gray likely knows more about the diary than anyone.”
Marrok sighed and sat back, steepling his fingers. “My cooperation, if I give it, does not come without a price.”
“Naturally.”
Bram had nerves of steel. Though he looked calm, Marrok knew that the future of Bram’s Brethren—indeed, magickind—rested on the man’s ability to persuade a warrior who loathed magic to teach wizards to fight like mortals.
His and Olivia’s lives depended on evading Mathias, something Marrok was uncertain he could do without magical help. If Bram’s forefather could defeat a bitch like Morganna, Bram himself likely had the skills to deal with Mathias.
“Olivia is protected—no matter who threatens her, what it costs, or how many die.”
“That is a given. She is critical to both sides. We questioned Zain, the Anarki Lucan and Duke captured. His mission was to take Olivia unharmed to Mathias, along with the book. Mathias called her ‘valuable’ to his cause.”
Thoughts raced through Marrok’s brain even as his blood turned to ice. He resisted the urge to swear—something too telling while negotiating. Instead, he crossed his ankles, acting as if he had not a care.
“So my hunch about Olivia being critical to the book is correct. Which leads me to his former comrade. I do not trust Richard Gray. Should he come here, I want him watched. He must never be alone with Olivia.”