Chapter 68 

~Raphael ~ I watch them. Those two witches. One of the three is missing. They hurt Valeria when she came to me in my dream. For that, I will kill them. I’ve waited all day for one of them to be alone, the moment to strike. But they cling to each other as if they were attached. Their magic makes it impossible to face them both at once. Frustration burns as my gaze drifts to the far side of the ballroom, where Astaroth speaks with my father and Godfrey. The crowd’s chatter rises too loud, drowning out their words. I want to move closer, to hear, but I can’t. Florence’s arm is locked with mine, holding me fast. She has me trapped. “A winter mating ball does not sound bad. What do you think?” she asks. “I don’t like winter,” I tell her, keeping my voice void of all emotions. “Well then, we can always forget about a ball, and then you can just mark me. We could do it now.” I grunt. Jade suddenly stands in front of us. “How quickly you moved on from my sister.” “Jade!” Albert scolds her and