“Jules.” Kat knelt next to him and lifted the tattered remains of his shirt. His front was fine. She shoved against his weight and turned him over.

Twelve. There were twelve stab wounds.

She looked up at Trina and Lilith, fully prepared to beg.

“Tell us what to do.” Lilith knelt on one side, Trina on the other.

“Pull energy from Machon; don’t use your own. Let it flow through you and out your hands into him. Picture the skin like ripped material, sewing itself back together from the inside out.”

Come on, Jules. Come back to me.

Lilith picked up on the technique first. She managed to get two of the smaller cuts healed. “His aura’s dimming.”

Trina was too impatient to keep trying. She stood. “I need blood!”

Kat expected one of her coven sisters to volunteer, but it was Scott who came over first. “What do I do?”

Trina took his hand, and went for his palm with her blade.

“No!” Kat reached up and grabbed Trina’s arm. “I have a needle.” She opened her medicine satchel and took out a sterile bag. She ripped it open, took out the needle with an attached blood tube. It was meant to collect blood, if she attached the collection tube to the end. She took hold of Scott’s arm, found the vein and inserted the needle. Blood wound up the tube. Trina grabbed hold of the end and held it over Julius’ wounds.

Julius’ body absorbed each drip and splatter and began to heal one wound at a time.

Lilith came around and took Kat’s place, holding the needle in Scott’s arm.

Kat went to the other side of Julius. She lifted his head, scooted under him and let him rest against her leg. “He did good right? He came back. He brought you both Leopold and the Watcher.”

Trina nodded. “Yes. Just like you said he would.”

He’d proved he was on their side. “So that’s it? He’s free?”

The women shared a glance. “Let’s get him back to the Citadel and let him clean up.” Lilith reached over and patted her hand. “Everything will be fine.”

Lilith pulled the needle from Scott’s arm. “Thank you, Scott.”

“Yeah, no problem. He gonna be all right now?”

Trina leaned over Julius, one hand on the muddy ground next to his shoulder, and touched his forehead with the index finger of her other hand. For a long moment, nothing happened.

Julius sucked in a deep breath and his eyes opened. His whole body tensed.

“You’re okay, baby.” Kat cupped his face in her hands. “We’re all safe.”

He swallowed. Studied each of the faces leaning over him, but didn’t move.

Kat glanced up. They were all looking away. Shifting their weight.

Even after everything that happened, none of them would meet his gaze.

Julius wasn’t sure what to think. They hadn’t put him back in the hood, but no one save Kat would meet his gaze. They let him clean up. Gave him a change of clothes. Fed him. But while he bathed and changed, he’d been locked in a room—granted it was a nicer room than the cell downstairs.

They let him come to the main hall of the Citadel to debrief them on what happened in London. “Trina sent me there because she thought I might finish remembering everything that had happened, including Leopold’s name and the name of the Watcher. She was right.”

Lilith leaned her hip against the chair James was sitting in. “I still don’t understand why Leopold started all this in the first place.”

“For Evelyn.” He leaned back in his chair. “He was the second son of a noble family. She was the first daughter of another, but poorer, noble family. When they eloped, both sets of parents disowned them. She found a vampire to transform her and then transformed Leopold. She had both families killed so they’d inherit their properties. It wasn’t enough. She wanted more than what their families had. She wanted everyone to respect them. She pushed Leopold toward the Vampiric Council and she started a side business to keep their coffers full.”

James’ brows furrowed. “I don’t remember them having a business.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” Julius chuckled. “It was all hush-hush. By the time I came onto the scene, though, it was becoming a problem.”

James shook his head. “We were pushing you to mesmerize Leopold to step down because the Council wasn’t doing its job.”

“Right. They were turning a blind eye to a massive herding ring. The Watchers were sending us after ghosts—people who didn’t exist. No one could figure out what was going on, but we knew it had something to do with the Council. We wanted new leaders.”

Kat touched his arm. “What’s herding?”

James grimaced. “Some vampires think of humans the same way humans think of cows—dinner. They’ll gather ‘herds’ of humans and sell them to the highest bidder.” He dragged his hand over his head. “Problem is, as the humans are sitting there, waiting their turn to die, they’re anxious and afraid. Adrenaline floods their bloodstream, which acts almost like a drug to vampires. They became reckless. They were slipping back into the human consciousness.”

“They were herding too many humans,” Duncan added. “Shipping and selling them by the hundreds.”

Julius nodded. “We had to put an end to it. Everyone knew the Council and Leo were right in the middle of the whole mess, but no one could prove it. They were getting rich while the rest of us suffered the consequences. It’d been going on for a long time before the coven clocked on.”

Trina’s brows knitted. “What about the Watchers? Didn’t they notice?”

“Of course they did. Except that Leo’s a projector. He could send anyone he wanted to make the deals and collect the money. The Watchers saw what the rest of us saw—what Leo wanted us to see—and they’d send the Guardians chasing after ghosts—projections.”

“Jesus.” James shook his head. “I always wondered what came of that. But then the Clearances happened and the coven was gone and Machon was closed and everything was total chaos.”

“The Clearances.” Julius let his head fall back. “By the time the coven arrived at the colony of Roanoke, all the colonists had been transformed into Nephilim.”

Trina nodded.

He shook his head. “I was weak from possession already, an easy target. So when the coven showed up, Azazel possessed me again. Except he’d had a little practice by then. He wasn’t so clumsy or passive. He was too strong. He killed Lilith while she tried to exorcize him.” He shook his head. “See, back then, Augustina had told everyone Lilith was the Original. Katherine must have thought Lilith alone could take on Azazel.”

Lilith cleared her throat. “We saw a vision of the Clearances. Azazel was taunting Lilith even while she was trying to exorcize him.”

Julius nodded. “When he stabbed her, Trina died, too. None of us knew about the poem—the Black Book of Daemonology was still being written.”

Trina sat up to stretch her back before leaning against the wall. “Katherine led the coven there to rescue you.”

He nodded. In the end, she’d felt guilty for leading him on. For sending him after Leopold.

“And instead, the Watcher killed her.” He looked at Kat. “I was so angry, so upset that I gained control back for a few seconds. Long enough to hold Azazel through the hour mark. I trapped him. I made it impossible for him to make any more Nephilim.”

“That’s what Tamriel meant. He told me never to leave my consciousness in one of my projections longer than an hour,” Kat mused.

His gaze narrowed. “You’re a projector talent? Leopold transformed you?”

Trina cleared her throat. “Leopold’s projection of you transformed her.”

He dropped his gaze to her throat, to the massive ragged scar there. “Jesus, Kat.”

“It wasn’t you. And now we know that you did what you could to keep the Watcher in line. You did good.”

“Why did you hold on to the Watcher?” Duncan asked. “What did you think to gain?”

“Time,” Julius said. “I remembered that Augustina said the Original could fight a Watcher as an equal. Both Katherine and Augustina believed Lilith was that being. At Roanoke, I learned that the Original was both Lilith and Trina together, but they were dead. So, I held onto him, thinking they would reincarnate.”

Scott leaned back in his chair. “But why did you think holding him would be better—you gave him a body, a way to communicate with humans.”

“It was the best I could do. I limited his power. He had to leave my body to create the Nephilim—if he used me to bite a human, he’d have created vampires. I figured at least I could prevent him from creating more of those creatures.”

“Why isn’t he in his cell?”

Everyone turned to the entryway where Angie stood with four human men.

Angie folded her arms over her chest. “I told you they were going to renege on their bargain. They fired me because I’m the only one who could verify him at trial.”

Lilith stood. “The trial is tomorrow. We haven’t backed out; we do, however, have new information.”

One of the males came forward. His hair matched the snow-white shirt beneath his dark suit. His little eyes narrowed behind his thick-rimmed glasses. “You still have to present him tomorrow. The DDC court will decide his fate, not you.”

“Senator Dorset, this was not part of our agreement.” Lilith cleared her throat. “You have no right to be in Machon, much less in this Citadel. You were not invited. This is a breach of our treaty.”

His lips thinned. “I’ll be staying or I will go straight to the media.”

Julius stood. “It’s fine. I’ll spend the night in the cell and tomorrow, after the trial, I’ll spend the night with my mate.” He squeezed Kat’s shoulder and headed for the door that led to the cells. Harrison and Scott flanked him.

“He needs to be chained and hooded. I won’t have him mesmerizing my men.” The senator’s words rang out through the room.

Julius nodded once. “Fine.”

The three of them went downstairs in silence. He let himself into the cell and sat on the bench. This was just a little setback. Trina and Lilith would present new evidence and the jury would let him go. He held his arms up so Harrison and Scott could lock him back in. Didn’t even flinch when they lowered a new hood over his head. Hell, at least he was clean, healthy, and fed. He was doing better than yesterday.

George sat on the bench between his legs, watching. At least the little shit wasn’t growling or hissing.

When they finished, Scott walked out but Harrison lingered in the doorway. His colors were off. Cloudy. He was probably still stressed over what happened in London. “What?”

“You could’ve escaped.”

“And what, leave Kat holding the bag? I’m a bastard, I’ll admit that, but even I’m not that much of a bastard.”

“Is that why you pulled me out of there? And Scott? You don’t want to be that much of an asshole?”

Julius snorted. “You don’t know me.”

“Yeah, well, you sure as hell don’t make it easy to.” Harrison leaned back against the wall. “No one likes the fact that you know everything about them.”

He was right. Once Lilith and Trina explained what happened, once it came out that he remembered everything the Watcher had seen over the years . . . maybe they could hide that fact. Then again, that was the only way he could prove he’d been possessed by the Watcher. So the very thing that could save his skin, might also be the thing that ended him.

A ripple ran through Harrison’s aura. “All that shit you spouted when we first brought you in . . . .” He tipped his head to the side. “At first I thought you were stark raving mad.” Harrison let out a sound halfway between a chuckle and a sigh. “But you’re not.” He ran his hand over his head and turned toward the door. “Kat’s lucky to have someone so protective.” He patted his thigh. “Come on, George.”

A chill raised the hair on his body. If the humans didn’t let him go free, he didn’t want them to associate Kat with him. It would be dangerous. “Hey!”

Harrison poked his head back in.

“I am crazy. I did hypnotize her. I made her do everything. It’s my fault.”

For a long moment, Harrison stared. He opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head. “You got it, man.”

Fuck. He’d been so focused on getting the job done and then so secure in the knowledge that he was innocent, he’d forgotten his role. Who else had noticed aside from Harrison? Scott? The coven?

Harrison went straight back upstairs, Scott right behind him. “Can I speak freely?”

Lilith rolled her eyes. “Hold on.”

Seconds later, Trina burst through the door. “What’s wrong?”

Lilith nodded to Harry. “He wants to speak without anyone hearing. If it’s for the reason I suspect, we need you.”

“Okay.” Trina came deeper into the room to stand next to Lilith. “Go ahead.” She was the Shadow. Not even the Watchers saw her or those she was interacting with. Whatever he said now would never go beyond these walls.

He couldn’t believe he was about to do this. “We can’t turn Crowley over to the humans.”

The women shared a speaking glance.

“He could’ve escaped. He could’ve left us for dead. Instead, he almost died fighting for us. He came back to Machon and he fought some more even knowing we all hated him. He’s not insane.”

Trina snorted. “All evidence to the contrary. Did you even listen to what you said? Those are not the actions of a sane male.”

Scott came forward. “He’s not a threat to us.”

Trina pointed. “You started this. You wanted nothing more than his head on a damn spike, remember?”

“I didn’t understand.”

Lilith raised her brows. “And you do now?”

Scott shrugged. “I have a lot to learn about daemon kind. I get that. The thing is, I’ve been in Machon long enough to know I have a lot to learn.”

“That’s something, at least.” Trina folded her arms over her chest. “Can you get Dorset and the others to give up on using Crowley as their scapegoat?”

His mouth opened. Closed. He held his hands out to his sides in a helpless gesture. “They’ve publicized the hell out of this. I was kind of hoping you could.”

“What? Snap our fingers and make everyone in the world forget? Wave a wand and make the powers-that-be see reason?” Trina scoffed. “You do have a lot to learn.”

Lilith sighed. “You’ve put events into motion and now they’re speeding along far too fast to stop. We have to see this through to the end.”

“To what end?” Harry paced across the floor in front of them. He carried enough guilt. He didn’t want to add the death of an innocent male to his burden. “This is bullshit. There has to be a way.”

Trina picked up her Tarot cards. “Look.” She spread them, fanning them between her fingers to show the faces of the cards. Then she turned them over. “What happens if I hand Crowley over to the humans?”

She flipped over the Hanged Man.

“What happens if we hold a trial for Crowley before handing him over to the humans?”

She flipped over the Hanged Man.

“What happens if we refuse to hand over Crowley to the humans?”

The Hanged Man.

“What happens if we take any option available?”

The Hanged Man.

“What happens if we take an option we haven’t thought of yet?”

The Hanged Man.

“What is Julius Crowley’s fate no matter what we do now?”

She threw down the remaining cards and they all fell face up. They were all the Hanged Man.

Harrison swallowed. They were about to hand over an innocent male. How the hell were they supposed to live with themselves afterward? What would happen to Kat? They expected her to live out her life without her mate?

Lilith shook her head. Her voice was gentler than Trina’s, but her words weren’t any more comforting. “His fate is sealed. As is ours.”

“Ours?” Scott asked.

“Yes.” Lilith motioned to the cards. “Crowley’s fate is sacrifice.” She picked one up, turned it in her hand, and showed them the face—the Five of Cups. “Ours is regret.”

His cell had been as busy as Grand Central Station all night. Dorset and Angie had been in to ensure he was secured. Duncan had come to see if he needed anything and to thank him for bringing Harrison home in one piece. Now the door opened down the hall and a soft set of footsteps approached. His cell door opened and Trina slipped inside.

“Somehow, I don’t think Duncan would approve.”

“I’ll tell him soon enough.” She glanced around the small space, grabbed a bucket from the corner, flipped it over, and sat.

“Staring contest or conversation? If it’s the former, you might want to take the hood off. I’ve been known to cheat.”

A small smile curved her lips.

“No? Well, I can’t sing or dance . . . if you want to pull my pants down, I’m sure my dick still works.”

Her expression didn’t change. “If I thought for two seconds you were serious, I’d rip off your man parts and beat you to death with them.”

“Good God. Duncan lets you touch his? Amazing. Cute as you are, I can’t say I’d want you anywhere near my . . . man parts. Then again—”

“Cut the shit, Crowley. Shut up for a minute.”

“Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven—”

She huffed. “You can drop the act.” Trina leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. “We both know you’re running off at the mouth to keep attention off Kat. Harry told us you were back to insisting you’re crazy and spouting off about mesmerizing your mate. Thing is, you can’t mesmerize Kat. Rowena cast a spell over her. I can’t even get into her head.”

Well, shit. Now they tell him. “She didn’t do anything wrong. You two gave her permission to keep me at her place. You can’t turn on her.”

“We’re not going to let anything happen to Kat. No one has even suggested that she might deserve punishment.” Trina shrugged. “She’s a healer; she was doing what is in her nature to do.”

He nodded and something settled in him. Calmed. Kat would be okay. “And me?”

The door opened again and his gaze shot to the doorway. He hadn’t heard anyone approach.

Lilith.

Trina huffed. “About damned time. I was about to muzzle him.”

He shifted his gaze between the two women. This wasn’t good. “So you’re here to tell me Dorset realized this has all been a big misunderstanding and I’m free to go.”

“Almost.” Lilith walked right up to him and removed his hood. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She had lines of strain around her eyes and between her brows.

He stared at them. “You’re just gonna take it off?”

Trina met his gaze. “You forget, when we merged . . . .” She shook her head and looked away. Chuckled. “I think Lilith and I will be having nightmares for a long time.”

Lilith leaned against the wall and smoothed his hood out against her thigh before folding it. “We knew it would be bad, merging with you. Being in your mind.” Her hands trembled and the material slipped. She smoothed it out again and started over. “But I didn’t expect . . . .” She met his gaze. “I don’t know how you’ve survived the last three centuries.”

Trina nodded. “You may be crazy but you’re the bravest, strongest-willed crazy person I’ve ever met.”

“All the more reason for the two of you to exercise caution.”

The corner of Trina’s mouth curved. “We’re Kat’s sisters. The depth of what you feel for that woman is—” Her voice cracked and she drew in a deep breath. “Breathtaking.” She lifted her hand and dashed her fingers under her eye. Sniffed. “You’re not a threat to any of us.”

“Jesus. Don’t . . . don’t cry, for God’s sake. I’d rather get possessed again.”

Both women laughed. It was a sad sort of nervous laugh but even then he wished he could join in. “You’re both doing a damn fine job of avoiding my question. What’s happening with me?”

“You’re a problem,” chimed in Trina, always one to get to the heart of the matter.

“Three problems, actually.” Lilith winced. “Kat was going to trade you out with a doppelgänger so we could hand that over to the humans and you could carry on with life.” She looked away. “She lost her Magic before she could do so.”

Damn. “And now the sniffer has my scent.”

Trina nodded. “When I allowed her down here, I thought you were the doppelgänger. If I’d realized . . . .”

Jesus. It was a fucking tragedy of errors. “What happens now?”

The women looked at each other. Seconds ticked on in silence. They must be discussing something telepathically. When they broke eye contact, they both looked down.

Trina drew in a breath. “In six hours, Scott and Harrison are going to escort you to Seattle. The Superior Court building belongs to the DDC now. You’ll be tried for several crimes in a jury comprised of both humans and daemons.”

He chuckled. “We have to keep up appearances, don’t we?”

Trina drew in a deep breath. “We do.”

“The problem, Julius—” They both jumped. It was the first time anyone aside from Kat had used his first name. Lilith smiled and continued, “Julius, we’re dealing with a much larger issue than your trial. This is the first legal interaction between humans and daemons. Everything hinges on promises being kept. We’re not trusted. If we do anything suspicious . . . .”

It was all for show, but it was an important show. Should the humans terminate him without trial, it would create a precedence that would allow daemons accused of crimes to be terminated prior to conviction. These were smart ladies. They’d make good leaders. He nodded. “I understand.”

“That being said”—Trina leaned closer, lowering her voice—“Scott and Harrison will escort you to court tomorrow. The humans have announced that you’ll be there. We’re expecting . . . .”

Finishing her sentence for her wasn’t hard, “A mob.”

“A circus.” Lilith pressed her hand to her stomach.

His gaze shifted between the two. They were hiding their discomfort well, but they were both scared shitless. Not of him, of what would happen tomorrow. “You’ll both do fine. You’ll do what you need to do to be good leaders.”

They shared another glance. Then Lilith said, “It’s your choice, Julius.”

“What choice?”

“We will get you to court. You will be hooded and restrained with Plasticuffs.”

The same cuffs he’d broken out of twice yesterday. His wrists were still raw, but he could do it again if needed. “But it can’t look like you helped.”

They both nodded.

Trina scuffed the toe of her shoe against the rough stone floor. “There’s something else you should know.”

“Trina!”

Another silent battle of wills raged between them. Lilith sighed. “Fine.”

“We read the rest of the blank pages in the Black book of Daemonology. The sacrifice you have to perform to get out from under the goddess’ curse . . . I think you were supposed to do it while you were still human and still able to reincarnate. The curse says you have to sacrifice yourself completely, which, with you being a vampire and all is kind of a shitty deal.”

“No reincarnation, no paradise. Just the Eidolon Wastes to look forward to.” He swallowed. “What if I don’t?”

“We’ve looked at this from every angle. One way or another . . . .” Lilith looked away.

“One way or another, I’m ash.”

Trina nodded. Looked up. “Your choice comes down to this: Do you want to risk a war to have a little more time with Kat?” She stood. “You hold the fate of two worlds in your hands. You can go down fighting and leave war and strife behind you, or you can go to your fate with grace and bring peace to both.”

He snorted. “You want me to sacrifice myself.” For what? For a bunch of assholes that wanted him dead without even knowing what happened?

Trina stood. “You wouldn’t be the first to do such a thing.”

She shifted her weight, looking a little lost. “After everything you did today, helping with Azazel, taking in his knowledge, bringing Harry and Scott back, I wish we had better news.”

“It’s not your fault.” This was his fault. His own trusting stupidity that had taken him to Azazel’s tower to meet Leopold. His own arrogance that made him hold onto the bastard.

Trina opened the door and slipped out.

Lilith came closer. Lifted the hood and hesitated.

Now that she’d been in his head, she knew why he didn’t like it. Yet, right now, he almost preferred to be alone in the darkness. He nodded.

She slipped it over his head. “We owe you for your actions today. We’ll support whatever choice you make.”

Owed him, but still intended to sacrifice him. “I appreciate the offer.”

The door closed.

“Please let the fucking thing stay closed.” He couldn’t handle another visit. Not today.