“He was killed defending her. She was pregnant with you at the time.” Silas pulled a photograph from his pocket, set it on the counter, and stepped back. “This is the only picture I have of him. It was taken the week before he left for Ireland.”
Muriel approached cautiously, Brandon a solid presence at her back. The photograph showed two young men, arms around each other's shoulders, grinning at the camera. They had the same eyes, same sharp cheekbones.
One was clearly a younger Silas. The other had Muriel's smile.
“My father,” she whispered, touching the image.
“I tried to find Siobhan after, to keep my promise,” Silas continued. “But she'd vanished. Declan’s affinity was protection wards, and he’d taught her well. I lost track of you both.” His eyes found hers. “And then three weeks ago, I felt it—a surge that indicated a powerful relic had resurfaced. It was natural magic, powerful and pure, with your mother's signature woven through it. I knew it had to be you.”
“You weren't the only one who felt it,” Brandon said, voice hard with suspicion.
“No. Which is why I'm here.” Silas looked between them. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm trying to keep the promise I made to Declan.”
Muriel exchanged glances with Brandon. She felt his wariness, his protective instinct. But also—curiosity. A desire to know what Silas wanted.
She nodded. “Go on.”
“Medraut became suspicious when I didn’t immediately take you into custody that day. He withheld crucial information and went rogue. If he’s not already here, he will be soon.”
“Your warning’s a little too late,” Brandon said.
Silas looked between them. “He’s been here?”
Brandon nodded.
“And?”
“He’s no longer an issue,” Brandon said firmly.
Silas studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I see.”
“Wait,” Muriel said, exchanging a glance with Brandon. “You said he went rogue. Does that mean the Consilium wasn’t aware of what he was doing?”
Silas shook his head. “No. As his direct superior, such information would have had to go through me. I can only assume that he planned to abduct you and present you to the high council himself. In this case, his arrogance worked in our favor. Whatever intelligence he gathered likely died with him.”
Neither she nor Brandon corrected Silas’s assumption that Medraut was dead. He might well be by the time Karthik finished with him.
The implications were clear. If Medraut hadn't reported back, then the Consilium didn't know about Brandon's heritage, the mate bond,ortheCodex.
“So what now?” Muriel asked. “The Consilium knows something powerful surfaced. They'll send more people.”
“Not if I give them what they think they came for.” Silas's expression sharpened. “With Medraut taken care of, I can close this investigation in a way that satisfies the Consilium without exposing you.”
“How?” Brandon's tone remained skeptical.
“By presenting them with something valuable enough to justify the surge they detected, yet mundane enough not to warrant further investigation.” Silas opened his arms, encompassing the displays of grimoires and artifacts. “I assume you have something that might fit those parameters?”
Muriel thought of theCodex, warm and humming from where she'd left it upstairs. No way in hell was she handing that over.
But then Brandon said quietly, “TheLiber Terrae.”
Silas's eyebrows rose. “You have a copy?”
“Muriel does. I gave it to her weeks ago.”
“May I see it?”
Brandon nodded, and Muriel went upstairs to retrieve it.