Chapter 406

Whether it was the drugs or some ring-induced trance, the Appraiser wouldn't answer any more questions. She also wouldn't return the diamond, holding it to her chest and cooing, "Beware the blood."

Drio flashed over to her and froze. His forehead wrinkled and he balled up one fist, glancing at me. Then with a half-swallowed curse, he slammed his hand on her left hip and fired his Rasha magic into her.

She gasped and disappeared in a shower of gold dust, dead.

His eyes met mine. I dropped the hand I'd been rubbing over my own left hip. "You killed my contact."

"I couldn't leave her alive." He brushed gold dust out of his hair and I tried not to flinch. "She'd been feeding off her employee. The woman was sweaty, pale, and her lips were blue. Classic blood loss symptoms."

Fine. He'd saved a human, but he'd killed a half-demon in front of me like it was nothing. No, that wasn't fair. It had bothered him and that was almost worse.