Chapter 24

Elek

I watch Mátyás lie still in our bed. His wound is healing, but he's still resting. Being staked with the one weapon that can kill us took its toll on him. I'm not sure how well he'll take the news that it's been two nights, and we're no closer to finding her.

"How is he?" My teeth grind together at the sound of his voice. He's the last one I want to see right now.

"He'll be fine, no thanks to you." I spin to face him, wanting nothing more than to sever his head from his body.

"You think this is my fault?" His brows pinch together.

"It was your idea to have this celebration to begin with, Samael." I bare my teeth at him.

"To celebrate you finding your mate." He presses his lips into a tight line.

"Bullshit. That was an excuse to distract us." I turn around and slam my fist through the wall, causing the stone to crumble to dust under the force of my strength.

"I assure you I did no such thing." He chews on the barbell in his lip as a distant expression washes over his face. "Mates are sacred. I know that more than anyone. And we came back as soon as we heard what happened."

"Then who told them about the Baobab tree? Because it sure as shit wasn't either of us, and only those closest to us know that little secret."

"They used a stake carved from the Tree of Life? That's impossible." He shakes his head.

"I'd agree with you, but the unconscious mate in my bed tells a different story." I wave my hand in Mátyás' direction. He hasn't even stirred from our yelling match.

"Like I said, it wasn't me. You have a traitor in your coven. Meet me in the chapel in ten because there are some sinners who will be repenting." With that, he flies out of the room.

I look at Mátyás lying still on the bed and channel my anger. It took Samael giving him some of his blood to save him. It kills me to know that I wasn't enough to save my mate. And I'm going to take every ounce of flesh from whoever is responsible for thinking they could pull one over on us.

When I enter the chapel ten minutes later, what's left of our coven sits in the pews like statues. All their eyes are on me as I walk to the front and stand near the pulpit next to Samael. He's standing guard like a sentinel with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the opportunity to attack. One wrong move, and he'd send the remaining members back to the underworld for good.

"What's going on?" I ask, not in the mood to be kept waiting.

Samael grins and has one of his demons drop the curtain covering the area behind him, revealing a giant wooden cross, but that isn't what has me seeing red. It's who he has nailed to it.

Sebo is hung in a crucifix position. His shirt has been torn off. Scratches are marred across his chest. His head hangs down as he struggles to stay conscious. Red lines of blood drip down his arms. The ones from his feet trickle into a small puddle on the floor. None of his wounds are healing because Angels are the only beings we are vulnerable to, but I can also sense the magic in the nails he's jammed into his flesh.

"Explain yourself, Samael." My hands clench into fists as I stand toe to toe with the Angel.

"I told you you have a traitor in your midst." He narrows his eyes at me.

"There is no way that he's the one." I point to where Sebo is strung up. "Sebo has been loyal to me for over four hundred years."

"I know." He walks up the steps to the cross and stands next to it. When he turns around to face the rest of us, his face grows cold. The predator he keeps hidden is unleashed. "But someone in this room is, and if I have to make them confess their sins, then so be it."

As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. We don't have much time to waste. The longer Kiara is in the hands of Farkas and his mutts, the more danger she's in.

"We could always drink from them to find out who it is," I remind him.

"This is more fun." He gives me a knowing look, and if I weren't sure we'd be wasting more time, I'd argue with him. But we don't have time, so I play along.

"The Lycans were not only able to breech our hidden location that we've spent centuries hiding from them, but they were able to work with the witches to attack us on our own soil and almost take both of my mates from me." It takes everything I have to keep my beast in check and get the answers I seek.

I study every single one of them. Faces can deceive, but body language never lies. And they've already stabbed me in the back once. This time, I want to look them in the eye as they try to fuck me.

As I continue to speak, all heads remain forward. Not one of them shows any hint of emotion. They might as well be robots.

"I want to know who told them our weaknesses and how to get through our wards." I remain where I am, watching for a reaction, but no one utters so much as a word.

"I guess they need motivation," Samael taunts as he steps closer to Sebo and slashes his talons down the front of his chest, widening the marks already there.

Sebo lets out a grunt of pain as his skin is filleted from his body. It's a good thing he's immortal and can withstand the pain.

"Stop it!" Ysabel jumps to her feet, ready to defend Sebo, which makes me question why.

"Something you want to tell me, Ysabel?"

"No, but this is wrong. Attacking each other will cause more division between us." She lifts her chin, spitting fire from her gaze.

"Perhaps." I lean down over the pew and get in her face. "Or maybe you didn't like having another female here?"

"Fuck you, Elek. She has become a friend, and when I find out which one of our dickless members put her in danger, I'm going to stick my stiletto so far up their ass they'll taste the leather. But you and I both know Sebo would never betray you." She balls her fists at her side. Letting her talk to me like this goes against the hierarchy, but I allow it since it's on Kiara's behalf.

Satisfied with her answer, I move on to the next face. "How about you, István? You're timing of when Mátyás was stabbed can't be a coincidence."

"Impossible. I was across the room when he was stabbed." He shakes his head.

"Did you see who did it?" Samael asks. The two of us wait for him to answer to sense if he's telling the truth or not.

"No. By the time I killed the Lycan that was attacking me, Mátyás was already on the floor." He hangs his head.

Samael gives a slight shake of the head. He senses it, too. István is not our traitor, but something smells rotten in my own damn house.

Movement catches out of the corner of my eye. There's no missing the way he's fidgeting. I should never have allowed Sebo to turn him.

"Or maybe it was you, Akos?" I cross my arms over my chest and watch him squirm. Those deceptive eyes dart around the room like a rat trapped in a maze.

"It was not me. I swear it." His body trembles underneath my gaze.

"But you do know who it was, don't you?"

"I do." Akos rubs a hand over his dark bald head.

"Shut up, you fucking cunt." László jumps to his feet and lashes out.

"I will not let Sebo be punished for your crimes." Akos points a finger at him, knowing what fate awaits the traitor.

"You ungrateful prick. I did this for you. So we can be together." László attempts to swipe at Akos, but he jumps out of the way in time.

"No." Akos shakes his head. "You did this for yourself."

"László, why?" Ysabel asks, barely holding herself back. The hostility filling this room is becoming harder to contain. There might be an all-out war before I can have the answers I seek.

"Because Farkas promised we would be in charge once he eradicated the coven! We wouldn't have to take their bullshit orders of where we can and can't hunt." He lifts his chin and glares at me. "All he wanted was that cunt of yours."

The moment he insults Kiara, I lose it. My vision narrows as I let my beast have free reign. I grab him by the throat and smile, baring my fangs as my scales appear. He tries to fight me, but my beast is stronger and ready for the kill.

"It's a good thing the blood never lies." I rip out his throat with my fangs and let his blood fall down my throat. "I'll see you in Hell."

Images of every conversation and lie he's ever told unfold in front of me as if they were my own memories—the one of Farkas promising him untamed power, the first meeting they have with that witch at the bookstore. It's all been a setup from the start. I swallow more of his blood, letting the images continue until I find the one I'm looking for.

"Found you, társam."

I drop his dead body to the floor and am prepared to tell them everything I saw when the last person I expected walks through our doors.