I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,62

mischief Lilith had planned for me should I have agreed to her offer. I don't think I could have imagined any of the Nights as white knights, but something in the way he holds himself brings that image to mind, and I know there is more to all of them than I have yet imagined. I know he gave the argument of being disbarred as a reason for turning down Lilith's offer, but their legal standing isn't going to matter much if they lose and become tormented until insanity by their sire. He was protecting me, at the cost of everything, possibly.

The trial is starting soon and our case isn't yet strong enough to guarantee a win. We need more.

When I finish Derek's drawing, I admire the determination in his eyes, the slope of his nose, the way his jaw tightens when he's serious.

Pulling out of my self-induced trance I realize it's time to find Elijah and head to his contact to study the letters.

I'm putting a lot of unearned hope that this will be the clue that breaks the case.

And hopefully in our favor.

The Graphologist

She's mad but she's magic. There's no lie in her fire. ~ Charles Bukowski

I find Elijah in his study, surrounded by books, which is not surprising.

His pale blond head is bent over a large leather-bound tome, and he mumbles under his breath as he reads something in Latin.

"Not summoning any demons, I hope?" I ask jokingly, and then I realize we are in a world that likely has demons and all manner of other creatures, and suddenly my little joke isn't so funny.

"Not at the moment," he says, in all seriousness. "That requires more candles. And a virgin sacrifice."

It takes me a beat to realize he's joking. He winks at me, and I exhale and then laugh awkwardly. "Ah, the classic virgin sacrifice joke. Good one!" I clumsily punch him in the arm, then step back and screw my mouth shut and plaster my arms to my side, because I am being entirely too weird.

"It was a joke, yes?" I ask after a moment.

"Yes," he says with a softer smile. "We don't use virgins anymore. Too hard to find." I frown at that, and he tugs at one of my braids. "Don't take it all so seriously or you'll make yourself crazy."

"Right. So, where are we off to today?" I ask, as he grabs a cloak and drapes it over his shoulders.

"I have a contact. She's a graphologist—of sorts—and will be able to tell us about the letters. When they were written. How old they are. Possibly who wrote them."

"That reminds me," I say, pulling a piece of paper from my satchel. "Here is a writing sample from the butler. As far as we can tell, Dracula, Liam, and the butler, Leonard, were the only three men who came in contact with Mary in the months leading up to her death. But the author of the letters may not have seen her in person, so that might not be very helpful."

"Any new information is helpful," he says, taking the paper from me. "It all gives us information with which to narrow down our defense."

"And what is the defense going to be for Dracula?" I ask, as we walk through the castle and out the front door, into a cold evening still damp from rain.

I shiver and pull my cloak more tightly around my shoulders when I realize we won't be taking a carriage this time but will be walking instead.

"Lily is taking Derek and Sebastian to the courthouse tonight, so we will be on foot. I hope that's okay?"

I nod. "I could use the exercise. Is it always so cold here though?" As I ask, flakes of snow form in the sky, landing on my skin and dissolving into tiny puddles. I can feel the cold in the back of my throat and I inhale a deep breath.

"Winter is nearly upon us,” Elijah says, as we walk briskly down the cobbled path to town, tall trees lining each side and reaching towards each other above us form a living tunnel through which we walk. "It's only going to get colder. Soon we will have the Midwinter Festival. You'll enjoy that. There's all manner of food, live music, dancing and huge bonfires as we welcome winter. It's traditionally a gift-giving time in our world as well."

"Sounds like Christmas," I say. "Without the dogma."

We make it into town, and despite the snow, booths are set up and