I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,67

She blows smoke and it coalesces into the shape of a dragon storming the sky with billowing fires. "It will soon be time to set the worlds on fire, Eve. I wonder if you'll be ready."

I swallow, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. "Ready for what?"

"For the role you will be asked to play. And for the role you are destined to play. Women with great power make sought-after targets. Men do not like to yield power to anyone, let alone a woman. And women who have chosen to align themselves with the enemy in order to gain favor above their sisters do not like the system they have erroneously chosen to be toppled, so you will have many enemies, even amongst those you think are trustworthy." She snuffs out the cigarette in a crystal ashtray I hadn't noticed before.

"I don't think I am who you think I am," I say. I know I'm different, but I'm definitely not the explosive powerhouse she's painting me to be.

"You have no idea who you are," she says plainly. "But then, I don’t know either. I assume that will be your next question and I'm sorry to say I don't have an answer for you. Though that in itself is its own kind of information. I know much of many beings. But I do not know you."

My heart is beating hard against my chest and I feel heat pulse through my veins. "What does that mean? If you of all people don't know what I am, how can I ever find out?"

A new desperation fills me. This has been eating at me like a cancer, not understanding the core of my own being. Having a sense of something living in me but not understanding what that means and having no one outside of Adam to share that with. And now he's gone and there is no one.

A flash.

Just a blink.

Did I really see it or just imagine it?

Isn't that always the question?

The woman with the silver freckles. The silver horn glowing in the soft swirls of the Dragon's Breath colors.

A cooling of the heat.

A calmness.

Lilith smiles. "So she has visited you. Good. You are not as alone as I had feared. There might be hope for you yet."

The Courthouse

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ~ Aristotle

When I return, all four brothers are waiting for me.

"Well, did you get anything useful?" Elijah asks, without preamble.

"She confirmed the letters were hers, written to Dracula," I say, giving a recap of the conversation.

Derek paces the library, thinking. "It's risky, but we could cast a shadow of a doubt on her. She has means and motive," he says, with a frown. "But she's a powerful enemy to make."

"She didn't do it," I say. "She was at a ball that night. She gave me a list of individuals who can confirm her presence. It should be easy enough to check."

"Then we've still got nothing," Liam says, with a clench of his jaw. "We still don't know who killed Mary or why."

Derek shrugs. "While it would be useful to identify the actual killer, it's not necessary for our purposes. We just need to prove Vlad didn't do it. And we don't have much time left, so let's get to work."

We spend the next few days diving into law books, preparing for Dracula's legal defense. We've sussed out all the evidence we can, and at this point, his guilt or innocence will largely be circumstantial. The final verdict will rely on compelling testimony and closing arguments.

Derek is lead counsel, which is how I find myself alone with him late one night in his office, as he practices in front of me.

"Feel free to speak your mind," he says, after going through his opening statements.

"I don't know your legal system well enough to give helpful feedback," I say, biting my lip.

He cocks his head. "That's rubbish. I can tell you have thoughts. Speak them. You won't offend me." He offers up a charming smile as proof that his feathers won't be ruffled.

Of all the brothers, he's the easiest to be around, I've found. Maybe it's the water element in him, but Derek is less rigid than Sebastian, less volatile than Liam, and less mentally distracted than Elijah. With Derek, I feel I am the center of the universe when he looks at me, like I'm drowning in him, but not unpleasantly. His dimpled chin and ocean blue eyes pull me in, and his charisma