Nyx's lip curled faintly.
"Irritating." She said bluntly. "Every second spent with them was torture. But I needed to know if they knew anything, anything at all about what Julius was doing to my sister."
"Julius might be impossible to crack, but his little circle of followers, who were all married since they were his age?"
"They're weaker. Easier to manipulate."
"So I sweet-talked them."
She shrugged like she was talking about pawns that could be disposed of at any time.
"I flirted with them. Laughed. Let them think they had a chance. Let them think I was the insatiable succubus everyone said I was."
"And they talked—oh, they talked plenty."
"But it was all small things. Petty gossip. Nothing that pointed directly at Julius. He doesn't trust them enough to share real secrets. Everything important, he keeps to himself."
Luca nodded slowly as he said,
