I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,61

on them. "How—"

"You have the eyes and the hands of an artist," she says, leaning forward. She reaches for a parchment and hands it to Derek. "The Van Helsings are out for blood. They want me to say what I just told you. With as much emotion and wringing of the hands as I can muster."

I wondered when I'd see the corruption creeping in. You can't have a legal system without corruption. It's partly why I chose business over law. Both are corrupt, but at least business doesn't try to pretend it's upholding something sacred.

"What did you tell them?" I ask.

"I haven't decided," she says. "There are so many sides to the man you call Dracula. Who am I to say what's the truth?"

"What's the other side?" I ask.

She winks. "All in good time. First, tell me, what are you?" Her gaze is locked onto mine and I hold it, playing this game of wills with the oldest vampire in the world.

Lilith smiles at me like a cat playing with a mouse and she walks over, sliding up against me in the couch, draping her arm around my shoulders. "You are a curious creature, are you not?" She slides a finger down my cheek so gently I almost don't feel it, then licks her finger, closing her eyes.

"Curious. You are a tasty little mystery, aren't you, my dear? What I wouldn't give for just one true taste, to know for certain—"

Derek stands and pulls me against him, leaving Lilith on the couch alone. "That's enough. You know the rules, Lilith."

She licks her finger one more time and stands, sighing. "I wasn't going to hurt her, Derek. Not without consent. You Night brothers are all far too serious."

"However," she continues, turning to us with another mischievous smile. "I will make a deal with you. Give me a taste of your blood willingly, my dear, and I will tell the court the story of a loyal and kind man who was the love of my life. But for his desire to have children I could not give him, we would have spent eternity together. But I loved him too much to tear him from his fate of fatherhood and so I set him free. He will make a strong and yet tender father, just as he did a husband. I will have the jury and judge alike eating out of my hands. What say you?"

"Which story is the truth?" I ask. They are both entirely too compelling.

She laughs. "The truth? Why, all of them. And none of them. We are each a truth unto ourselves."

I realize I'm willing to say yes, despite the warning Liam gave me, despite my own revulsion to the idea, despite the fact that I don't know what game she's playing. I'm willing to do it, if it helps our case. Because her testimony could make or break us. And if it breaks us, the Night brothers will be forever tormented.

Derek must see how close I am to offering myself up, because he stands between us once again and shakes his head. "No deal. You know I can't allow that."

I tug at his sleeve. “But we need—"

“No deal.” His eyes are hard.

I nod.

Lilith pouts and reclines back to the couch. "Pity. See you in court then."

We sit in the carriage in silence. I'm breathing heavily. Everything feels surreal.

"Why didn't you let me do it?" I ask.

"It's too risky. You could have died. You could have become her obsession, in which case we couldn't protect you. She'd turn you and you'd have no say. Also, it's not ethical. It would be considered buying a testimony. We could be disbarred."

"Those are a lot of good reasons," I say, breathlessly. And I'm an idiot, I add silently. I clearly have no self-preservation instincts. What the hell is wrong with me?

When we get back to the castle, I excuse myself to my suite to collect my thoughts. And to sketch.

I first draw Lilith, the way her neck curves in just such a way, and the way her large cat-like eyes take everything in. She misses nothing in the going-ons around her, and I suspect she's always several steps ahead. Her and Dracula must have been quite the potent power couple.

And then I draw Derek the way he looked when he was refusing Lilith to protect me. My hands fly across the page as I capture his stance, the strength in his frame as he stands between us, a living barrier to whatever