Asylum (Causal Enchantment #2)(62)

“Thank you.”

I shifted my makeshift pillow under his head and eased him back.

“What happened? The last thing I remember was snowshoeing . . . and the wolf.”

I swallowed, not sure where to begin. “We went back to the chalet after . . . ” I hesitated. “After Max figured out that Valentina had been possessed by Ursula.”

Julian’s brow knit as he searched his memory. “Oh, right. She was—”

“A witch. A bad one.”

“Right.” He paused, thinking. “What happened after that? How did we get here?”

“Leo—” I choked; saying his name pulled at the already gaping wound in my heart. “He sent us to another safe location.” The giant lump in my throat was unmovable by this point.

“And my sister?” His head rolled slowly from side to side as he looked around the hut. For Valentina, no doubt.

How did I tell him that she had been torn apart by Max’s brothers? “Valentina has been gone for weeks, Julian,” I said instead, my voice quiet.

He frowned, trying to comprehend what I was saying. Realization finally clouded those brown eyes. Tears welled. “My sister’s dead.”

Max was on his feet and heading over to the door to nose aside the curtain and peer outside. This was too much for him to handle. It was too much for me, as well. “I’m so sorry, Julian,” I said, a fresh batch of tears rolling down my cheeks, the pain of watching my closest friend lose his entire family agonizing.

Julian rolled onto his side, away from me, likely to hide his tears. The action shifted the hemp blanket covering him, revealing his entire bare backside. Feeling my cheeks flush, I was about to avert my eyes when something caught my eye.

A small cross-like tattoo on his hip.

I gasped. “You’re—”

Despite his grave injury, Julian’s body stiffened and he quickly rolled back, realizing what he had just revealed: the mark that branded him part of the People’s Sentinel. But why was it not on his hand, like all the others?

Max was by my side in an instant. What’s wrong?

“You’re—” I started again but stopped to swallow, realizing that as soon as the words came out of my mouth, Julian was as good as dead. He was the enemy. Max would destroy him, regardless of whether he had saved my life.

Recognizing the situation, Julian pleaded silently with his teary eyes.

But why? How? How was the son of Viggo’s beard family part of the enemy without Viggo knowing? It explained his hatred for vampires. But . . . how? A flood of questions entered my mind then and I knew I would never get answers with Max hovering. “Probably still thirsty,” I told Max, grabbing the bowl and thrusting it toward him. “Can you go fetch some more water?”

Do not use the word ‘fetch’ with me, Max responded crisply. And have you noticed I don’t have opposable thumbs?

“You’ll figure it out, Max,” I said, trying to sound casual, but failing. “Unless you want me to go out there while you stay here and comfort Julian.”

With a grunt, Max plucked the bowl out of my hand with his teeth and pushed the curtain aside, practically running out of the hut.

I crawled over and peeked around the curtain to watch him as he sauntered among the huts, staggering slightly. He must be starving by now. The place was deserted. The remnants of the bonfire smoldered in the center of the clearing. In daylight, I could see the place clearly for what it was—a tribal village in a dense jungle. At least thirty huts formed the perimeter of the clearing. Two tigers sat outside each hut door as if on guard, their tails swirling back and forth as they watched the mammoth dog traipse through their village. Across the way, opposite our hut, sat a much larger hut than all the others. Four tigers guarded it. That had to be the Featherman’s hut. I guessed he was the chief.

When I thought Max was out of earshot, I turned and dove toward Julian, my hands landing on either shoulder, pinning him roughly to the ground.

“Ouch!” he cried.

“Shut up, you liar!” I whispered sharply.

That earned a wince. “I didn’t lie.”

“No, you’re right. You just conveniently left out an important truth. You and Max have a lot more in common than I thought!” I tempered my tone, realizing that my whisper was likely loud enough to carry in the quiet of the jungle.

“Do you blame me?” Julian whispered back. “How could I tell you? Especially after that first night, when you pretty much condemned every one of us!”

“Can you blame me? You want all of my friends to die!”

“No, I don’t! I mean, I did, but not anymore. Please, let me explain!” Julian pleaded.

With my jaw set stubbornly, I sat back on my knees, crossed my arms over my chest, and demanded, “Explain, then!”

Julian struggled to sit up. He met my stare with guilty eyes. “Two years ago, these men approached my parents with an offer. They said they’d help us break free of the vampires.” He pausing for a moment to regain his breath, his breathing shallow. “At first my parents weren’t interested. I mean, they didn’t need to do anything for the vampires except sign some papers every now and then and collect stupid amounts of money. Not exactly high-risk. But a few months later, the men came back with an offer to top whatever my parents were being paid. That, of course, sparked their interest.” There was contempt in his voice. “All we had to do was get marked—” he gestured to his hip “—and report in to a phone number if we heard or noticed anything strange. My parents agreed to it.”