Gage couldn’t help but think “this is a bad idea” the entire time he, Danica, and Nik walked to the room where the witch informant was waiting.

Nik had advised them both not to make a sound, thus the silence had stretched so taut that Gage thought his nerves would snap altogether.

This part of the palace was infrequently used. Though everything still shone with fresh polish, it became clear from the tomb-like silence enveloping them that the only visitors in this wing were palace staff and the occasional patrol.

Nik paused by a wall, glanced in either direction, and lifted up the flap of a tapestry to reveal a door. It nearly blended in with the stone walls; someone was a remarkable artist. The tapestry’s surface had been painted in the same shades of blue and gray to match the texture of the stone around it.

A cool draft smelling of damp earth greeted them as they followed Nik inside the hidden tunnel. A flashlight beam split the darkness, lighting the narrow, winding staircase as they went deeper into the earth.

“Hardly anyone knows about this passage,” Nik said quietly. “Alara said back during the wars, the royal family kept their prisoners down here.”

“Charming,” Gage said dryly. In a way he found it fascinating. The inner architectural geek in him wanted to explore the old parts of the castle, but his enthusiasm would have to wait. Now, he needed information. He needed to find out why this woman who had cost him so much had suddenly decided to seek him out and supposedly help him.

The stairwell ended in a long corridor with no lights. Rusting prison bars shone in the sterile light of the flashlight.

Danica clung to his hand, her nails biting into his skin. “They don’t still keep people down here, do they?” she asked with a quaver in her voice, staring warily at the darkness within each cell as they passed.

Nik grinned at her. “Nope. But wouldn’t it make a kinky place to mate? Each cell already comes equipped with shackles and a cot.”

“Nik…” Gage warned.

“All right, all right. Just saying.”

Gage shook his head. He was hoping Nik’s more carnal tendencies would settle down once he’d mated, but he could see that wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

Once past the dungeons, Nik led them to a small room with sparse candlelight. It might have been romantic, had shackles and an Iron Maiden not been in the corner of the room.

The hairs on the back of Gage’s neck stood on end, and he raised a brow. “We’re meeting the informant in a torture chamber? Really?”

Nik shrugged. “This place gives what few people know about it the creeps. Naturally, they try to avoid it. Alara thought it to be the least likely place you’d be discovered.”

Danica looked around her with a morbid sense of curiosity. “I can’t imagine why this place would freak anybody out. It’s so homey.”

Gage snorted.

Nik whipped out his phone and texted someone. A moment later, the door opened and four figures stepped inside.

Alara lowered the hood of her cloak, her brown curls tumbling out over her shoulders. Two guards flanked her, perfectly stone-faced.

Nik went to his mate and gave her a surprisingly tender kiss on the cheek. “You all right?”

Alara nodded. “I’m fine.” She glanced at Danica and Gage. “You ready?”

Gage glanced at Danica, who nodded with a firm squeeze to his hand. He looked back at Alara. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s hear this groundbreaking testimony.”

Alara nodded and stepped aside, motioning someone forward. A smaller, robed figure hesitantly stepped into the room, and two frail hands lowered the hood that cloaked her face in shadow.

Gage blinked. Judging from the state of the cabin in the woods, he’d been expecting more of a fairy tale witch, complete with brittle white hair, warts, and a snaggletoothed leer.

What he received instead was a beautiful, pale woman with flowing light-blonde hair and big violet eyes with sooty lashes.

Danica shifted her weight. Gage squeezed her hand to let her know he wasn’t the least bit interested in the woman and that he was merely surprised.

“This is Violet,” Alara said. “Violet, this is—”

“I know who they are,” she said with a soft voice bearing quiet strength. Suddenly, she fell to her knees and bowed low. Words poured from her mouth. “Please forgive me. Oh God, I didn’t have a choice. She said if I didn’t do as she asked, she’d kill my family—”

“Whoa, whoa.” Gage knelt and reached for her. The second his fingers brushed her shoulder, she flinched like a dog expecting to be beaten. Glancing at Danica in puzzlement, he withdrew his hand but remained kneeling before her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The woman trembled. “But you want to,” she whispered. “Anyone would want to after what I did.”

Gage’s hand tightened into a fist as anger surged through him. Violet was right. Oh, how he wanted to hurt her. He swore he’d never strike a woman, but he was sorely tempted to make an exception. He wanted to kill her, to cause her as much pain as she had caused him. “You were coerced?”

She nodded, still trembling.

He sat there, unsure what to do. Comforting women had never been his strong suit.

Luckily, Danica was an expert. Her nurturing instincts must have kicked in because she knelt beside him. “It’s okay,” she said gently. “You don’t have to be afraid. We’re not going to hurt you.”

Something in Danica’s voice soothed Violet’s tremors. She slowly looked up with those wide, violet eyes that were no doubt her namesake, and stared at Danica. Tears brimmed along the rims of her eyes and fell in silent streams down her pale cheeks. “You’re more beautiful in person,” she said, reaching out to touch a strand of Danica’s hair.

Gage instantly grabbed Danica and pulled her up with him, keeping her out of reach of Violet.

Violet let her hand drop and ducked her head in shame. “I deserve that. I can’t blame you for not trusting me.”

“That’s an understatement,” Nik muttered under his breath.

Alara elbowed him and gave him a stern look, then gazed at Violet. “Why don’t you start at the beginning? How did you get involved with Mistress Black?”

Violet blinked away her tears, her child-like face becoming more businesslike as she nodded. “Of course,” she murmured, standing. She clutched at her cloak as if to drive away a chill while her eyes grew distant. “I’ve always tried to stay away from witch politics, but the scope and depth of my powers have often forced me into the spotlight. Despite my best efforts at hiding myself away and pretending to be a nutcase, I attracted the attention of some powerful people.” She gulped. “When I wouldn’t comply with their demands, they forced my hand by kidnapping my family and threatening to kill them should I not cooperate.” Her tears started falling all over again. “Please understand. I didn’t have a choice! If there were any other options, I would have taken them. I even tried killing myself to stop the Order, but they kept watch over me day and night to ensure I did myself no harm before my job was done.” Her face grew more haunted. “And even after I finished the deed, they didn’t let me go.”

“Is that how you met Onyx? Through the Order?” Gage asked.

Violet nodded, looking miserable. “I’m the one who sold the spell to him.”

“We know,” Nik said sourly. “We found that out the day we met your wraiths. Charming, they were, especially as they were ripping our comrades to pieces.”

“Nik,” Alara snapped.

“It’s okay,” Violet said, crying uncontrollably now. “It’s the truth. They made me cast that spell before taking me prisoner.”

“How did you escape?” Gage asked.

“I didn’t—but my astral form did.”

Everyone’s brows rose but Danica’s. “What?” she said, looking around. “What am I missing? Is that a big deal or something?”

“Only the most powerful witches and warlocks can project themselves outside their bodies,” Gage said, staring at Violet. She looked so real. To be able to put that amount of detail into the spell….

He shivered at the power this young woman wielded. No wonder she’d been so attractive to her captors. He almost felt sorry for her because he knew that power was more of a curse than a gift.

“There’s more,” Violet said. “As if you don’t hate me enough,” she muttered miserably.

Gage wasn’t sure he could hate her any more than he already did, but he remained silent. Though brutally honest at times, he was not cruel. “Go on.”

Violet stood there, gathering her thoughts. Her throat flashed as she swallowed hard and inhaled a deep breath. “The High King was the one who placed the hit on Danica’s head.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Nik drawled, only to earn another reprimanding glare from Alara.

Violet shook her head. “What you don’t know is that he paid for a reading in order to find out if he’d ever be toppled from his throne.” She met Gage’s gaze. “He knew you would be his greatest threat, but he also knew that in order for you to overtake him, you’d have to be mated.”

Gage went still. “What are you saying?”

Violet seemed to brace herself as the room held its breath.

“I’m saying I’m the one who sold him the premonition that resulted in him putting a hit on your mate’s head.”

Gage stood there, dumbfounded.

Then his control snapped.

He lunged for Violet, claws aimed at her throat, when Nik and the two guards intervened.

“You bitch!” Gage spat. “I’ll kill you for this!”

“Brother!” Nik yelled, struggling to contain Gage, who’d halfway transformed into a wolf. “Calm down!”

Danica ran forward, grabbing hold of Gage’s face and forcing him to look at her. “Gage, look at me.”

His eyes stared into hers, and he started to calm down.

“I need you to hold it together,” she said firmly. “Yes, what she did was wrong on so many levels, but she risked coming here tonight to tell us the truth about what happened so we may be able to stop the enemy. Isn’t that what we wanted? Wasn’t that the whole point to this? Killing our only informant won’t do us any good, and you know damn well she’s the best lead we’ve had.”

Gage blinked and the wolf in him vanished. Nik and the guards slowly stepped away, though they lingered beside him should he snap again.

He ran his hands through his hair and over his face. God, he felt so ragged. How much more shit would he have to put up with before he could finally find peace with his mate? Why couldn’t the world just leave them alone? “I’m sorry,” he said wearily. “I couldn’t help it. Today’s been hard on me.”

Danica pressed her lips together. Gage knew she was thinking about the source of his anxiety—about Malachite—and he appreciated the fact she had enough sensitivity to not speak his enemy’s name aloud right now and put him even more on edge.

Violet trembled from her spot beside Alara.

Gage turned to her and gave her his best apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Violet searched his eyes before at last nodding.

A moment passed as the tension in the room subsided somewhat before Gage spoke again. His voice was ragged from the aftereffects of partially changing so many times today. “The High King belonged to the Order of the Sun. Do you know what they want?”

A shadow passed over Violet’s eyes as her skin paled. “To bring about the Cleansing, which Mistress Black believes she can instigate.”

“Cleansing? That sounds like some apocalyptic shit,” Nik said.

Violet began to ramble, as if driven by her fear. “She means to rid the world of those she believes to be inferior to her, both human and paranormal alike. She surrounds herself with powerful paranormals, not just in magical ability, but people who hold significant political sway. She’s everywhere, always watching. Not even the DPI is resistant.”

Gage looked at Nik, who frowned. Did Verika know the DPI was compromised? They’d have to figure out a way to reach her later without drawing attention to the fact they now knew there was a mole. Now that Violet had come forward, they couldn’t risk leaking any information that would lead back to her. Danica was right—Violet was the best lead they had.

Maybe the only one they’d get. They had to play this carefully and correctly.

Alara stepped forward. “Do you think you could find out more?”

Violet shivered, shaking her head. “I don’t think spying—”

“What if we offered you protection?” Alara said, interrupting her. There was a hunger in her eyes, a spark that thirsted for blood. Gage could understand it after what had happened to her. The Order had cost Alara her entire family. Gage would want revenge too. If Nik had noticed the subtle change in Alara’s normally docile demeanor, he hadn’t mentioned it to him.

Violet shuddered and looked away. “None of you can protect me. I’m already as good as dead.”

“Do you know where you are?” Gage asked.

Violet shook her head. “They keep me blindfolded when moving me in and out. I know it’s a city because I can hear the cars honking at all hours, but I could not tell you where.”

Great. A city. That’s helpful.

Alara grasped Violet’s hands. “If you deliver us more information, I swear to you you’ll be granted amnesty once we defeat Mistress Black and shut down the mafia.”

“What?” Gage said, anger making his voice sharp. “After everything she’s done?”

“She’s trying to help us!” Alara snapped, whirling on him. “The DPI is all but useless, and this is the only whiff of the mafia we’ve had since my family’s murder. And I will be damned if I’m letting a chance at justice slip through my fingers that easily.”

They all stared at her. Nik rested a hand on her shoulder. “Alara—”

“Don’t, Nik,” she said, shrugging him off and returning her attention to Violet. “Well? Will you consider?”

Violet looked around at them. “You swear you’ll protect me?”

“On my life,” Alara said without hesitation. “As will they,” she added pointedly, throwing everyone a look over her shoulder.

Gage growled low in his throat, but Danica calmed him by placing a hand on his forearm.

Alara’s right, Danica said in his head. We have no other connections to Mistress Black, and we don’t know if another opportunity like this will appear.

Gage silently swore. His mate was right, as usual. While he could see the sense in her reasoning, he also couldn’t help but loathe the creature standing in front of him.

The woman who’d nearly cost him everything.

And not only that, but how could he hope to protect her, a captive of the most wicked witch they’d encountered, when he didn’t even know if he could protect his mate or his pack? No matter how much he wanted her to pay for her sins, he knew they needed an insider. As much as he hated to admit it, Violet could be the key to saving them all. The chance was too sweet to pass up.

“Fine,” Gage barked. “But I want you to understand something. The moment you become a liability to her”—he gestured at Danica—“is the moment I stop protecting you.”

Violet’s eyes flickered to Danica. Her face never once betrayed any hurt she might have felt at Gage’s harsh words. Her lips twitched up into the barest whisper of a smile. “As I said, I’m already dead anyway, but the thought of you trying to save me is nice. It makes me feel not so alone in this.”

Gage winced, almost feeling guilty.

“I can’t fault you on trying to protect the ones you love,” Violet said. Her expression turned serious as she looked at Alara, who awaited an answer. “I swear to you I’ll do everything in my power to help. Should you need to reach me—” she reached into the folds of her cloak and produced a shiny glass disc, which she handed to Alara—“break this and I’ll come to you if I can. But choose wisely when to use it because you can only use it once.”

She whirled. Her eyes frantically searched for a sound the others did not hear. “I must go. They’re coming.”

With that, her image flickered out of existence, like a television screen fading away after being shut off.

Nik sighed hard. “That went well.”

“At least we have a lead now,” Alara said, staring at the disc in her hand. “Violet’s given us more hope than I could have imagined.”

“And more heartache,” Gage said darkly.

Alara gave him a brief, sympathetic glance before her face hardened once more. “I’m sorry. I understand your plight, but at the same time, I cannot allow a chance like this to slip through my fingers. I have my people to think of.”

He couldn’t fault her for that. It was the Alpha’s curse, a burden you took on whenever you assumed the role of shepherd—the good of the people came before your own personal feelings.

That principle alone made him feel a little dirty. He’d promised Violet safety, but if the time called for it, he’d abandon her to the wolves if it meant protecting Danica. Since when had he compromised his values?

From the moment you met your soul mate.

He glanced at Danica, feeling an overwhelming surge of love and protectiveness. Yes, by mating with her he’d become more vulnerable, but at the same time, her love and devotion gave him strength. For that alone, he could not resent her.

The others spoke quietly while he thought to himself. Danica touched his arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Gage said at last. “Just thinking about that girl. And about what I said.”

Danica sighed hard. “It had to be done. It seems like everything at this level of politics is ‘an eye for an eye.’”

She was right. All his life, Gage had fought to be fair and just, and that just wouldn’t cut it anymore. He knew deep in his heart that in order to win this war, he couldn’t play the game the same way he used to. The ante had been upped, and he couldn’t afford to lose, even if it meant sacrificing a pawn.

He couldn’t be “perfect Gage” anymore.

“You think we can trust her?” Danica asked him.

“It looks like we won’t have a choice,” Gage muttered, shooting Alara a contemplative look. Ever since the funeral, something had shifted in his brother’s mate.

The innocent young woman who might have been there before was now gone, replaced by a darker and more dangerous version. Gage understood that darkness, the biting, scratching urge to seek revenge. He just hoped Nik could help her tame the inner beast before it consumed what light was left in her soul.

Thinking about everything going on right now, Gage felt the pressure of his world closing in on him. If he didn’t fight back, he’d be crushed by his own circumstances, and he knew there were plenty of enemies who would love to see him fall.

He would not let that happen. It wasn’t just a pride thing. It was the principle of the matter.

He was done running. He was ready to take a stand and protect the ones he loved.

And in order to do that, he was going to need more power.

A weird sense of rightness pulled at his gut, like this outcome had been inevitable from the start. It made it somewhat easier to accept what he had to do.

“Alara,” he said, stopping their group as they began to file out of the room.

She turned, raising a brow. “Yes?”

Gage’s jaw ticked as he finally made a decision that would ultimately change his life.

“I’ve changed my mind. I’m running for High King.”