Chapter 40

Julia

I was still annoyed with the way the guards had treated Gryph. I didn’t believe they’d acted that way for any reason other than being assholes.

“Calm down, Sass,” Gryph said quietly. “Don’t let those guys get to you. Now also isn’t the time to worry about the flaws in the witch cast system.”

“The wolf is right,” Demetrius added. “You’ll have to get used to dealing with these kinds of reactions regarding your involvement with the wolf. I assume he’ll be by you constantly until you’re no longer in danger.”

“That’s my job,” Gryph agreed.

Demetrius’ lips twitched. “I meant you’ll be by her side less after the danger passes. I’m not an idiot. It’s obvious there’s something between you.”

He didn’t wait for a response before leading us into the room.

We were subjected to angry glares from the council members when we entered. It made me a little sad to see how small the gathering was, and even sadder that Tatiana’s rank among the witches was the only reason I’d expected a bigger gathering. Had there been a controversial affinity test, the turnout would have been much larger.

We quietly took our seats as the questioning of Beatrice LaCroix continued. I’d met Beatrice a few times when we were in school, and she hadn’t changed much. Her straight black hair was still pulled back from her elfin face, and her unnaturally green eyes practically glowed. Her eyes were both beautiful and disturbing. Beatrice wore no makeup and her pale blue robe had seen better days. Her full lips were pressed together in an angry line as she glared at the council.

“I find it hard to believe you never met Tatiana,” a warlock from the audience shouted.

“Why would I have met her?” Beatrice asked in a cold voice. “I’ve already told you I haven’t seen Desmond in years. He’s always considered himself better than the rest of the family. We aren’t close. We were never close.”

There was no missing the cold bite in her voice.

“This whole thing is just a show for the witch’s parents,” Gryph muttered.

Since the council continued questioning Beatrice for another twenty minutes, despite her lack of information, I concluded Gryph was right.

“Enough!” Isadora Hunt finally shouted. “The poor girl has no information on her brother’s whereabouts. We’ve asked the same questions a dozen different ways.”

“Our daughter is missing, and this lying shapeshifter is helping her brother hide her from us!” Tatiana’s father shouted.

“Darius,” Isadora began patiently. “While I understand you are upset, there is no reason to insult Beatrice. She came here willingly, and she has been very patient.”

“Shapeshifters?” Gryph asked me quietly. “I didn’t read anything about shapeshifting witches when I studied for my security clearance.”

“It’s a rare witch ability—one that’s looked down upon, if you can believe that,” I whispered back.

I hadn’t realized Desmond was a shapeshifter. It explained why Tatiana had been so convinced her parents wouldn’t approve of her relationship with him. The Ashcrofts were one of the more elitist witch families.

“I’m glad you finally made it, Julia,” Isadora Hunt said with obvious censure.

“She was delayed by the guards,” Demetrius interjected. “Had I not arrived to assist her, she might still be there.”

“I see,” another warlock on the panel remarked irritably before shifting his gaze from me to Gryph. “I apologize to both of you for the problem our guards gave you.” His apology reminded me that not all warlocks were assholes.

Gryph shrugged. “I’m used to dealing with this sort of thing. Miss Dupree was really upset by the whole matter.”

“Why don’t you come up to the front, Julia?” Isadora asked. It was a polite way of giving an order.

Nodding, I walked forward and took the seat recently vacated by Beatrice.

“When was the last time you spoke to Tatiana Ashcroft?” a warlock asked.

“It was a few weeks ago,” I replied. “I’m not sure of the exact day. Since she didn’t have an appointment, it’s not on my calendar.”

“Can you tell us about the conversation?” Isadora asked.

I told them about Tatiana stopping by to ask me my thoughts on whether she and Desmond could pass an affinity test. Then I explained the email she’d sent to cancel their fantasy weekend. As I’d expected, the council had a lot of questions about my conversation with Tatiana. It wasn’t that they thought my answers would help them locate Tatiana so much as they wanted to make sure I hadn’t broken any rules. I was not allowed to perform affinity tests or guess the outcome of tests.

“How would you describe their relationship?” Isadora asked. “In particular, how did Desmond behave around Tatiana?”

“Do you think he would hurt her?” another witch added.

“Desmond always seemed very doting and loving when he was with her,” I replied. “I suppose it’s hard to tell for sure, but I got the impression he’d never hurt her.”

“Desmond is a very good liar.” Beatrice had spoken quietly, but her words carried through the room. Up to that point, she hadn’t offered anything that could be considered useful.

“Why didn’t you mention this fact earlier?” one of the warlocks on the panel asked incredulously.

Beatrice glared at him with glowing eyes. “Every time I tried to add any details, one of you cut me off and told me to answer the question I was asked.”

Isadora laughed. “You are correct, dear girl.”

Beatrice visibly bristled at the term of endearment but said nothing.

“Is there anything else you’d like to add?” Isadora asked. “I think you’ve proven we need to listen to you.”

Beatrice shrugged. “I really haven’t seen Des in a long time. He always wanted to move up on the council, and he hated that I just wanted to avoid being around any of you. I couldn’t possibly care less about elevating my status. The whole thing is ridiculous, but Des wanted more than anything to be important to you.”

I suddenly wished I’d gotten to know Beatrice better. Her attitude with the council reminded me a little of Mel.

“While you were growing up, was he ever violent?” Isadora asked, and I was surprised no one had asked that before.

“Not normally,” she hedged. “He could be violent, but Desmond has this strange sense of justice he thinks applies to every situation.”

“Could you elaborate?” Isadora asked.

“I can’t really explain how he makes his decisions, but Desmond won’t hurt anyone unless he thinks they’ve wronged him,” she began. “Even then, he’ll spend hours considering every detail before he decides on a punishment. It’s always a punishment in his mind, never revenge. One time, I told my parents about Desmond stealing something. They took away his video game system as punishment. It wasn’t until a week later that my familiar was killed.” There was a catch in her voice, and I was certain the other witches in the room felt the same sympathy I did. I couldn’t imagine losing Oliver.

“Desmond killed your familiar?” Isadora asked softly.

“There was never any evidence of that,” Beatrice replied. “I’m certain he killed her, but my parents didn’t believe me. When Desmond found me crying over Ginger’s body, he held me and whispered comforting words. That’s how my parents found us, so they didn’t think he could possibly be guilty. Neither did I until later when he asked me if I’d learned my lesson about how hard it is to lose something you care about.”

“Was this ever reported?” a warlock asked.

After releasing a shuddering sigh, Beatrice replied, “My parents reported it to the police, but they didn’t find any evidence.”

“Did you tell the police what you suspected?” Another warlock asked.

“No,” Beatrice admitted. “I wanted to tell them, but I was never questioned without my brother present.”

“That seems strange,” Isadora mused. “Why would your brother be with you?”

“He convinced my parents I was too traumatized to be questioned alone,” she explained. “When I insisted I’d be fine, my parents argued I was too distraught to make that decision.”

“Why didn’t one of your parents stay with you?” a warlock asked, sounding angry on Beatrice’s behalf. “It was their responsibility.”

“Do you see them here today?” Beatrice asked.

“They ignored our summons,” Isadora replied.

“That’s because they don’t want to be involved,” Beatrice said with a sad smile. “They never really have. For them, it was easier to let Desmond take care of things.” Clearing her throat, Beatrice struggled to get her mask of indifference back in place. “After that, I was afraid to get on my brother’s bad side. I wasn’t sad when he stopped talking to me.”

“Thank you,” Isadora began. “Your answers have definitely helped.”

I wasn’t much help to the council, but I was beginning to see why Desmond LaCroix might be targeting me.