Prologue

The Gentleman Warlock

With red hair falling across her flawless porcelain skin and vivid blue eyes watching me with something close to terror, Tatiana was truly beautiful. Her beauty hadn’t been what first drew me to her. I’d have pursued Tatiana even if she’d had a horn growing out of the center of her forehead.

“Please, let me go,” she whimpered.

“Let you go?” I asked with a laugh. “After all the effort I put into our relationship, you think I should simply let you go?”

Tatiana tugged at her restraints and mouthed the words to a spell while I simply waited with a smirk. It was impossible to hide my amusement as the stupid witch tried to cast a spell in a room that suppressed her magic.

“Are you having a problem with that spell?” I finally asked.

“You’ll never get away with this,” she told me. “My parents will have the police looking everywhere for me.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” was my response. “Your parents are going to think you ran off with me.”

“They would never believe that!” she insisted.

“Why did you end things with me?” I demanded.

Her eyes flashed with anger. “Our magic isn’t compatible. We were never going to pass an affinity test.”

Her response came as a surprise. I’d never planned to take an affinity test with Tatiana. For months, I’d worked to convince her we should run off together. It hadn’t been difficult to find a warlock who would bind our magic for the right price. As part of my plan, I’d convinced Tatiana that her parents would use their influence to get the council to prevent us from being together. A hopeless romantic, Tatiana had believed me. Each day, her distrust of her parents had grown. Every time they told her I wasn’t good enough for her, it cemented her belief that we were star-crossed lovers. Someone had put doubts in her mind, and I had every intention of making that person pay. “Who told you we weren’t compatible?”

“What difference does it make?” she asked with a sniffle. “You were sleeping with that shade, anyway. Why should I stay with you when our magic is incompatible and you’re cheating on me?”

My rage shifted in a different direction. There was only one way Tatiana could have learned about Katya. It was Katya who’d betrayed me.

“I should have listened to my parents,” she said with a pitiful whimper. “They were right about us being wrong for each other. Julia saw we weren’t a good match.”

Now, I knew who to blame for ruining my perfect plan. Those two bitches would pay. “I’ll kill them,” I muttered.

“No!” Tatiana cried out. “Katya was just jealous because she loves you. Julia didn’t even want to answer any of my questions.”

That gave me pause. Katya had to die, but Julia Dupree was another matter. I’d have to consider her punishment carefully. If there was one thing I prided myself on, it was my sense of justice.

“I’d better have a word with Katya,” I murmured as I grabbed the large knife from the table. “I’m afraid I’ll have to cut our visit short.”

“Please, don’t kill me,” Tatiana sobbed out. “I won’t tell anyone what happened if you let me go.”

“Poor, frightened Tatiana,” I crooned as I moved behind her to cut the ropes securing her hands.

Moving to stand in front of her once again, I regarded her while tapping the side of the knife against my thigh. With her hands still behind her back, her gaze remained on the knife. I was disappointed. I’d expected her to make a run for the door. It wouldn’t have done her any good; my cottage was well-hidden.

“There’s food and water,” I told her as I backed away from her. “There are several spells protecting this place, so don’t bother trying to escape.”

“You’re not going to kill me?” she asked softly, bringing her hands forward to rub her wrists.

“I haven’t decided how to deal with you yet,” I admitted with a shrug. “Killing you would be a shame after all the effort I put into preparing you to be my witch.”

“If you let me go, things can go back to the way they were,” she promised with obvious desperation. Her frightened eyes lit with hope.

I laughed at her lie. She really thought I was stupid enough to believe her. “Enjoy your time here.”

I locked her in the room and then headed out of the little cottage. Once outside, I took several deep breaths as I finally allowed the gravity of Katya’s betrayal to wash over me. I walked back to my car and stored my knife before calling the deceitful bitch.

“Hello.” Her voice carried over the line in a sexy purr. Despite my anger, that voice always had an immediate effect on my body. Katya was a very sexual creature who knew what I liked. It’s why I forgave her for acting shrewish at times. There was more to it, but I refused to think about those rare moments when I actually felt some sliver of emotion for Katya.

“I need to see you, Kat,” I told her.

Her laughter was a soft, sultry sound. “How much of me do you need to see?”

I wasn’t in the mood for flirtation, but I also didn’t want to tip her off to my anger. Kat could be oddly sensitive, and she was likely to avoid me if she knew I was mad at her. “Where can we meet?” I asked.

“Why don’t you come over to my place?” she suggested. “I’ll slip into a different form before you get here. Do you have any requests?”

I’d always liked that Katya could take the form of any woman I desired. It was almost like having a harem.

“I like the blonde you used last time,” I told her. Personally, I didn’t care what she looked like. One thing I’d learned from being involved with a shade was how to kill them. If you killed a shade while they possessed the body of another, only the possessed person died. To kill a shade, they had to be using a form they’d created. Katya had told me she’d created the blonde just for me.

“This is going to be an unforgettable night,” Katya promised.

“Yes, it will,” I agreed before ending the call.

Seated in my car, I considered the other bitch in need of punishment. Katya’s betrayal was easy to deal with. With Julia Dupree, I wasn’t certain what would be a fit punishment. I wanted to hunt her down and kill her now, but I had to think first. At least, I’d get to enjoy one kill tonight.