‘Say you’re mine,’ he pleaded.

He used his free hand to clutch hers, pressing a kiss on her knuckles.

‘You’re mine. We belong together,’ she told him.

He kissed her again but on the lips. It was a quick peck but full of their usual passion.

Their focus returned to the grimoire. Her ancestors’ book.

The book was beautiful.

A dark blue cover made from a cow’s hide. Gold foiling lined the shape of stars and a waxing crescent moon. The symbol of the Maiden. It felt like power in her hands; she could feel it slumbering, waiting to awaken.

‘How do you know if this is truly it?’

Bethan shrugged, brushing the dust off. ‘It feels a part of me.’

‘It should. It belongs to you. Everything here belongs to you.’

‘I wonder if Dana knew.’

‘She did,’ a third voice responded.

And in walked Julius Rennigan, dressed in the robes of the Adelian Resistance.

Kellan threw out a protective arm, shielding her and the grimoire.

But Julius wasn’t alone.

No.

Standing behind him was High Councillor Edington.

chapter thirty-three

chapter thirty-three

bethan kore

Was the High Councillor a part of it all along?

The puppeteer pulling the strings. Edington did not seem the sort; Bethan’s entire body shook; she must have been mistaken. She had to be.

‘Look at you two running around where you’re not supposed to,’ Julius said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Edington looked on in confusion; he rubbed his forehead.

Bethan took the time, and her eyes landed on Kellan. He stood a little bit in front of her, the dagger and the short sword drawn. Fury washed over him, the same she had seen only a rare few times.

He was calculating the best way to get her and the grimoire out. And so was she.

But.

She needed answers. She was done playing pawn. She tightened her grip on the First Grimoire, holding it close to her chest. Bethan was adamant about not letting it slip out of reach. She was its sole protector like Kellan was hers.

‘I thought we were meeting about the humans,’ Edington said.

Kellan and Bethan stepped back. She subconsciously let out a sigh of relief that Edington wasn’t part of the Rennigans’ schemes.

Edington looked for an explanation. ‘Seventeen humans were taken from apartments in the Crow Quarter. By the Adelian.’

A grin grew on Julius’s lips.

‘Those humans are exactly where they need to be,’ Julius murmured. ‘No need to worry about the vermin.’

‘How dare you?’ Edington said. His eyes then flicked toward her and Kellan as if he only now noticed their presence.

‘What are they—’

‘Julius is part of the Adelian,’ Kellan said, his voice vicious. ‘So are the rest of the family. They had it the entire time. The grimoire.’

Edington’s grey eyes landed on the book in her hands. His eyes widened, then looked to Julius.

‘Why?’