Page 40 of Maksym

“Quietly.”

His mouth flattened. “Insulting.”

He vanished down the corridor. For a moment, I stood behind my desk and listened to the house settle toward daylight. I picked up the phone and called my father. He answered on the first ring.

“Son,” he said. “What has happened?”

My father had never required much evidence to detect catastrophe in my silence. Perhaps because he had fathered sons who learned too young to bleed quietly. Perhaps because Kazimir Kozlov had survived nearly nine centuries by knowing which empty spaces hid knives.

I looked toward the window. The sunrise had widened by a blade’s breadth.

“At least one member of your Elder Council has been operating blood slaves,” I said.

The line went silent.

I continued, because intelligence delivered piecemeal could become cowardice. “The operation appears to be active within reach of my territory and in direct violation of Crown law.”

Still nothing. Not absence. Pressure.

My father’s silence had weight even through a receiver. I had watched rooms of ancient creatures confess merely to escape it. I gave him the rest.

“They have been doing it under our noses.”

A breath moved at the other end of the line. Controlled. Measured. Dangerous.

“Who?”

“Lucian Devereux.”

The silence changed.

“There may be more,” I said. “There will be more.”

“Evidence.”

“A woman escaped him and came to Amethyst. She collapsed outside the club. She identified herself as a blood slave before losing consciousness. Physical evidence was extensive. Bite patterns. Malnourishment. Restraint injuries. Long-term abuse. Her knowledge of Devereux is direct.”

My voice did not falter when I gave him the truth that mattered most.

“She is also my mate.”

The receiver carried no sound. Not even a sigh. I watched the first edge of sunlight touch the far boundary wall beyond the glass.

“She was one of them,” I said. “One of his slaves.”

When my father finally spoke, his voice was very soft.

“Your mate was held as a blood slave by my Elder in your kingdom.”

“Yes.”

“This man who sits in council meetings at my table has dared to break my laws?” Kazimir asked.

“It seems he believes he is smarter than we are. Clearly, he has gotten away with his crimes until now.”

“Does he know you have her?”

“No.”