“So you think we can find him.” Her tone was caustic. “Thomas, that demon has disappeared. I’ve moved heaven and hell trying to locate the monster. I have dedicated every waking breath to it since Angela was killed. All I want in this universe is to rid the world of that thing and prevent any more witches from being murdered.”

He folded his hands together. “And maybe with Stefan and the Duskoff’s information, we can accomplish that.”

Her mouth snapped shut. “You’re the boss, I guess. You’re the head of the Coven, after all. You must know best.” Her tone clearly said she didn’t believe that.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Isabelle, and I understand your need to punish someone. However, we need to put our emotions on hold right now and proceed rationally.”

“Yes, empathically I can tell you’re good at that. Putting your emotions on hold.”

“And I don’t need any empathic ability to tell you’re not.”

She turned an interesting, angry, shade of red. “You think I’m not acting rationally?”

“No, I was speaking in general terms, about all of us. We all want revenge, Isabelle. We all want to punish this demon, but we need to make our moves carefully.”

“But you believe I don’t have a good handle on my emotions.”

“You strike me as a passionate person and I think you’re grieving. But I believe if you consider what Stefan can bring to us in the long run, you’ll see that we need to keep him alive, no matter what our hearts want.” He paused. “Anyway, I don’t think you have a revenge killing in you, Isabelle. That’s a compliment, by the way.”

Thomas had never seen such warm brown eyes go so cold, so fast. Her beautiful face tightened as she stared at him for a long moment before speaking. “I see your point but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. By the way, I don’t appreciate the psychoanalysis, since I never asked for it.”

“I call things the way I see them,” he answered with a shrug.

She stood. “I like you, but you’re kind of a prick. Do you know that?”

“So I’ve been told. Numerous times.”

“I’m sorry you lost an old friend.”

He glanced away, his jaw tightening. “Me, too. I’m sorry about your sister.”

She walked to him, so close he could see the pain in her eyes when she answered softly, “Thank you.”

They stood in silence for a moment. The woman had beautiful eyes, like melted chocolate. They were back to warm again. She leaned forward, so close he could smell her musky perfume as she cocked her head to the side. “Do you even have pupils?”

He blinked in surprise. “Last time I checked.”