A Council of Betrayal by Kim Schubert

Jerry
offered.
    “So how did you know to eat the heart?” Ali
asked in the corner. I had forgotten about her and Grant.
    That was a gross visual. I needed to spit. “I
wasn’t trying to eat it. I just didn’t have a free hand to slice
it. The heart of a clone contains the blood of the djinn. Spilling
it kills all the clones created with that blood source.”
    “What happens if they give each clone its own
blood source, and how did you know that one had the blood in it?”
Grant asked.
    “I didn’t, it was a lucky guess. As to the
other, I don’t know. I’ve never met a djinn that powerful,” I
answered, grateful when the doors to the elevator opened.
    Grams swiped her finger over the print reader
and I headed to the shower. As I closed the door behind me, I spied
my phone blinking at me. I swiped it off the nightstand before
going to stand next to the tub, turning on the faucet to warm the
water up.
    Are you okay? Logan asked.
    I’m good, just a little sore , I
replied.
    We are leaving , came the instant
reply.
    NO! I sent back quickly, before
drafting another message. You already showed how important I am
to you by needing to have Hudson restrain you.
    He did NOT restrain me , he
replied.
    I laughed. By having him talk sense into
you? Better, Alpha?
    Mildly .
    I rolled my eyes at him. The water was warm
on my feet. I flipped the lever to start the shower, resting my
phone on the top of the toilet.
    Who had I pissed off badly enough that they
would find and make a deal with the djinn?
    My stomach dropped away. Zachariah. Shit. I
slammed my fist against the tile. Of course, he did tell me he was
coming after me and mine for killing his vampire, Gabrielle. He
deserved it for kidnapping Tommy, and I would make the same
decision again if I had to.
    I had to admire Zachariah’s timing. Attacking
me at the Conferences was smart. Violence was expected, and if I
was weak enough to be killed or allow members under my protection
to be killed, then I didn’t deserve my post and should be
replaced.
    There would be no retribution by my allies,
and they couldn’t help me here.
    I sighed. Zachariah was just one in a long
list of Supernaturals I had pissed off. It might be him, it might
not. Either way, someone was after my ass, and not in a fun,
let’s-play-all-night kind of way.
    I massaged my head, wincing as my fingers
brushed over the goose egg forming there. The gray goop ruined the
washcloth and was in danger of clogging the drain when I finally
stepped out to dry off. Wrapping myself in a towel, with another in
my hair, I padded into my room and threw on clean yoga pants and a
pink tank top.
    Making my way out of the room, I collapsed
into the navy chair, closing my eyes. “Jerry, any chance you have
that healing potion for head injuries?”
    “I do. But are you sure you want a witch’s
potion?”
    I smiled, keeping my eyes closed, leaning my
head against the high arms, “You’re a mage, Jerry, and my friend.
That makes you far superior to the fucking witches.”
    He laughed, “Don’t let them hear you say
that.”
    “Ugh, I guess that’s one benefit of being
attacked so soon. All my mingling time got canceled.”
    Jerry pressed the mixture into my hand and I
gulped it down, cringing at the taste.
    “Thanks,” I muttered, before heading back to
my room. I needed sleep for my body to heal, especially given there
was a very high probability that tomorrow I’d be fighting for my
life or the lives I was responsible for.
    …
    I was being shoved over in the soft cocoon of
blankets. I huffed, blinking up at Logan, surprised I hadn’t woken
up instantly when my door opened. Either I had misjudged my
injuries, or the potion Jerry gave me was more powerful than I
realized.
    “What are you doing?” I grunted.
    “Checking to be sure you are alive,” Mark
announced.
    “Mark, what are you doing here?” I asked,
refusing to open my eyes, letting Logan check the bump on my
head.
    “I think I gave you the wrong