Page 28 of I Am the Wild

I glance at Liam, who looks toward me, as if he knows I'm thinking about him, then he returns his attention to Dracula. "We are paying our debt to you now. We will keep you from being buried alive for all eternity, and you will leave us the hell alone. Forever."

The tension is so thick in the room I can barely breathe. Everyone is frozen, breaths abated, waiting for what will happen next.

"If you deliver justice," Dracula says, "then our blood debt will be cleared. You will be free of the sire bond."

The brothers exchange glances and everyone nods. Well, nearly everyone.

"I need to hear him say it, first," Liam says. "I need to him to look me in the eyes and tell me he didn't do it." Liam walks over to Dracula and stands inches from him, their eyes deadlocked. "Tell me you didn't kill Mary. Convince me of your innocence."

Dracula's face changes, morphing from calm and collected, to monstrous in his rage. And I realize I'm seeing Vlad the Impaler right now. He lifts Liam by the cuff of his shirt and pushes him forward, slamming him against the wall in much the same way Liam did to me earlier. I can't help but feel a little bit gloaty about that.

But when I see the crack in the stone from the impact of Liam's body, I cringe. Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

Dracula growls at Liam, his teeth elongated, full on vampire mode. "I did not kill my wife. I would never harm her. She was my heart and my soul. I am nothing without her."

With those words, the anger and rage seems to drain from Dracula, and he drops Liam to the ground and sways back on his heels before righting himself. He seems to come back to the awareness that he is not alone, and his face, previously so full of raw emotion, clamps down instantly, the mask so effective it's tempting to think I just imagined anything but the haughty, cold, measured way he assesses everyone and everything.

Dracula looks at all four of the Night brothers. "Prove my innocence, and you will get what you want. Fail, and I will not be the only one suffering an eternity of torture. You have my word on that."

Dracula turns to me and bows. "Miss Oliver, a pleasure." He shifts to Matilda. "Madam Night, good evening." And then with a click of his heels, he turns and marches out.

Apparently, he knows his way around the castle.

As soon as he's out of earshot, the room seems to exhale the breath it has been holding for far too long.

"This was a mistake," Liam says. "We will either be freeing the monster who murdered Mary, or we will be at war with Dracula himself. Neither option is optimal."

"We have no choice," Derek says with a shrug. "He pulls our strings until he breaks our sire bond. Until then, we are beholden."

"Is that how it works?" I ask, breaking everyone's focus. Four sets of eyes move to meet mine, as if just realizing I am still here. "If you turn someone, you can control them?"

"Not entirely," Derek says. "But close. It's a compulsion that's hard to resist. And if you resist too long, it can cause serious pain. But it takes energy from both parties, so it's not used as often as you might imagine."

"But he's using it now? For this?"

Derek nods. "He's been formally charged with murdering his wife and unborn child and draining them both of blood."

I gasp. "Why would he do that? Why would anyone do that?"

The silence that greets my question tells me all I need to know.

"If he’s been charged, that means there will be a trial. Are you defending him?"

"Yes," Elijah says.

"What if he's guilty? Will you really work to prove his innocence to save yourself?"

Liam glares at me. "We have no choice. It's not the pain that's the problem. Eventually the compulsion will work. No one is strong enough to resist, especially not when it's Dracula himself. And besides, it’s not our job to determine guilt or innocence. After all, who are we to judge?"

"Then let's get to work," I say. "I need to bone up on my knowledge of your legal system. Where do I start?"

They all stare at me, and a flicker of a smile appears on Matilda's face. "Elijah, dear, why don't you take Eve to your study and give her an overview, then direct her to the right books so she can get started."

Elijah nods. "Would you like to change first?"

I look down at my formal gown and nod. "Yes. I would, actually. Thank you."

It doesn't take more than ten minutes for me to change and find my way to Elijah's office. It's a cozy room with wall-to-wall books and a few comfortable chairs in the center near the fireplace. There's a desk to one side piled with more books, and ladders to reach the highest books.