Gentle murmurs filled the Council chambers as the members spoke to one another—not hurried, not quite a hushed whisper, but there was still a sense of urgency in it.

I tuned them out for a moment, allowing myself a few precious seconds to think about what I’d say to them.

An emergency session had been called to discuss the murders of the previous night. James and Reginald had been found dead in their beds, with no sign of what had killed them. Reginald’s room had shown signs of a struggle, a clear indication that someone had been in there, but James’ room had no evidence for us.

Truth be told, Reginald’s room didn’t have any evidence, either. Just the implication of a fight.

It was more than we’d had to begin with, but it didn’t answer any questions.

In fact, it only gave us more questions to add to the pile.

How had someone gotten into the castle? How were they killing us? No stakes buried in their chests, no wounds on the bodies. We had no idea how they had been killed, and thus no clue to who the killer could be.

“Gentlemen,” I said at last, clearing my throat. “If we could proceed.”

Silence descended on the room, and all eyes turned to me.

“I’d like to open this session by giving you the floor to voice your concerns,” I said.

I knew I was going to regret that, but it was important that they felt their voices were heard.

“Our safety is of paramount importance, and it’s become very clear that we aren’t safe—not even in our own beds.”

“What are your plans?”

“How do you intend to proceed?”

“What should we do, moving forward?”

“How did you allow this to happen?”

The questions came rapid-fire, but everyone hushed when Councilman Isaiah voiced this last concern. It was one they were all no doubt thinking, and it was one that I’d anticipated.

That didn’t mean I had a response prepared.

“You are correct: our safety is of paramount importance. Our investigation into the general’s death is still ongoing, and now that the killer has struck again, we can gather more information. I’ll do everything I can to ensure the safety of all of us. You can rest assured of that.” I paused to look at each of them in turn. I knew that my gaze was stern and unwavering, and I hoped it would provide some semblance of security to those lacking it. “Going forward, we’ll strengthen the numbers of our guards. One will be posted in every hallway, not out of sight of the last. It’s impossible that the killer gained access to the rooms through any means other than the door—there are no other entryways. This will allow us to keep a better watch over everyone who is sleeping, allowing everyone to sleep easier throughout the day.

“As to the last, I didn’t allow this to happen, Isaiah.” I fixed my gaze on him. “No more than you did.”

He bristled, his lip curling in an inappropriate display of his true state of mind. He should know better at his age.

“I’m not the one in charge of the security of all vampire kind.”

“No, you’re not, but my point stands. I didn’t open the doors to allow this killer into our midst. I didn’t invite them in. I’ll do everything in my power to bring this killer to justice. These deaths will not go unavenged.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but no one raised their voice to challenge me directly.

They didn’t believe I could do anything to keep them safe.

In truth, I didn’t doubt them.

I didn’t know what I could do to keep them safe at this point. No one should have been able to get into the castle, but those men had been killed in their beds. It was impossible to ignore that.

We were no longer safe, no matter what I did to make everyone feel like they were.

“How did they get into the castle in the first place?” Griffin spoke now.

My lips twitched into a brittle smile. “That’s currently being investigated.”

That was all I could say at the moment, and they’d simply have to be satisfied with it. I didn’t have any more information than the rest of them did, but I couldn’t exactly come out and say that. That would incite panic, and at the moment, it was all I could do to keep them under control.

“But we have guards! Surely, they must have seen something!”

“The guards have been questioned. No one saw anything,” I said, rubbing my chin with one hand. “It’s possible that we may be dealing with a threat that resides within our walls.”

The silence in the room was deafening.

No one wanted to entertain that thought, but they needed to.

There was a traitor somewhere in this castle. Either the killer was here in the castle, or someone had let them in. I preferred to think that it was the latter—it allowed me to feel just a bit safer than the former.

And yet, instinct told me that wasn’t true.

The killer was here somewhere. I just had to find them.

How could they possibly evade me?

Not for the first time since this had started, I yearned for Raoul’s presence. He was the best tracker we’d ever had, and he’d be able to sniff this person out. No one had even come close to his level of skill after we’d lost him, and I knew they wouldn’t be able to do what I wanted.

“Rest assured, I will find this killer, and I will end them,” I said, standing up.

The meaning was clear: this meeting was adjourned, on my terms.

I left the room, walking tall and without hurry. I couldn’t let them see me sweat.