“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t come with good news. ” He leaned close and sniffed the air around me. “But I’m pleased to see you may once again be in a position to survive. ”
“Survive?”
He patted my cheek gently. “How soon the memory of things fade in youth. ”
I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
“Your mother is the least of your problems now. ”
“What does that mean?” Desmond asked.
“Fuck me,” Holden answered, obviously coming to a conclusion I wasn’t able to reach. “The lifeline lock. ”
“The…” My eyes widened. Oh Jesus. In Brigit’s passing, I’d been so caught up in losing my friend I hadn’t thought of the bigger consequences. Brigit had stood up for me, using her life as the tether that kept Alexandre Peyton bound. The one person other than my mother who would want me dead the most.
Because of me he’d been locked away for over a year, starved and cuffed in silver. The council had determined his punishment needed an end date, so we’d locked his door with Brigit’s blood. Now that Brigit was dead…
“The door is open,” I said at last.
“Yes. Alexandre is free,” Sig replied.
“And still within the council?” I asked hopefully.
“You believe I’d be here if you were so lucky?”
“He’s…”
“Yes. ” He crossed his arms and frowned, showing more emotion than I was used to seeing from him. “Peyton is gone. ”