Page 122 of Dark Night of the Soul

“No,” I agreed. “He lost everything.”

She moved closer, wrapped an arm around my waist, put her head on my chest. I held her. One arm around her so she didn’t feel constricted.

“I wonder if it was the same for my mother,” she said. “If she felt the same as me when she—”

When she killed with a thought. But she didn’t say it. I said nothing. Her mother’s trauma went deeper. She’d lost pieces of herself and was only starting to return to who she was before everything went to hell.

“I wish I could ask her,” she said. “I wish I could tell her I understand now.”

I didn’t answer right away. My mind was already working.

Her mother was back at the manor. Inside the walls that were alive and breathing and watching. Starting to heal and learn her true identity.

Asking her to leave, to travel, to step into uncertainty again—that wasn’t something Anna could do. It didn’t mean it was impossible. It meant it needed to be handled with care.

“I think there’s a way you can,” I said.

She shifted against me, lifting her head enough that I felt her breath whisper across my neck. “How?”

There were ways to move her, to get her out, to meet in a place that was secure. Without ears listening and knowing and planning. A controlled environment where her mother could come to her without being overwhelmed.

“I’ll work on it.”

A small breath of a laugh. “You’re already planning.” Then she rose up, kissed my cheek, whispered, “I trust you.”

And then she slipped away, heading back into the deepening shadows. I listened to her movements. The rustle of fabric. The swish of blankets. When there was silence again, when she’d settled, I pulled the burner phone from my pocket.

Silas answered on the first ring.

“Vormund is dead, but we have another problem,” I said. “The manor isn’t safe.” I quickly told him what we’d found on the laptop.

“What do you need?”

“Send someone you trust from the Quiet Watch. Have him meet with Ophelia only. Then I want a full sweep. Physical, electronic. Every room. Every wall. Every fucking inch of that estate. I want to know how long they’ve been there and what they left behind.”

“How soon?” he asked.

“Yesterday.”

“Understood,” he said.

“And Silas?”

“Aye?”

“If you find anyone still breathing who had a hand in it—”

“Consider it handled.”

I ended the call, stood a moment in the darkness listening to the city breathe.

Whatever Vormund had set into motion hadn’t ended in his death. But it would end. I’d make sure of it.

As I stepped back inside, I listened to her deep breathing. She’d fallen asleep.

Tomorrow, we’d deal with what came next. Munich. The manor. But tonight, I’d let her rest.

Chapter 36 | Anna