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My relief vanished in an instant, almost like it never was. The unease doubled, and it suddenly struck me that it wasn’t just my response to Kolis. It was also Sotoria’s. The feeling was stronger now than it had been when Attes was here. She was more than aware. Maybe actively listening in. I…I instinctually knew I was right, and I also knew she was wary. Very much so. A great sense of foreboding slithered up my spine like a slow-creeping vine.

“I doubt you’d have known that removing the kardia can be done.” Kolis stood. “And it sounds like something Nyktos would do.”

“It does?”

He nodded. “You see, I know my nephew better than he knows himself.”

I doubted that, but I wisely kept my opinion to myself.

“He’s likely convinced himself that removing his kardia prevents me from hurting him by striking at someone he loves.” The kind of smile I was familiar with returned, and, gods, there was something off about it. Like it was an expression he’d learned but didn’t quite understand. “What do you think?”

I pressed my fingers into my knees. “I think…I think what happened to his parents would’ve drawn him toward such a conclusion.”

Kolis’s laugh was short and flat. “Possibly, but it’s not the real reason, my dear.” He knelt. “It’s because he fears turning into me.”

The breath I drew in got stuck. Nektas had said something similar.

Kolis’s gaze tracked over the tangled length of my hair. “And he fears that because he knows he would do the same as I did if the one he loved were taken from him.” He lowered his voice. “He knows he would be capable of worse.”

Maybe Kolis was right. If Ash still had his kardia, perhaps he would be capable of worse. But he was also wrong in a big way.

Sotoria had never been his to lose.

That was the godsdamn crux of the whole issue.

“Do you know how I know he fears becoming me?” His tone turned sly as if he were sharing a secret. “I made sure of it.”

Fury surged through my veins and poured into my chest, stoking the Primal essence. It hit me so hard and fast there was no tamping it down. My skin tingled, seething—

“So, yes, I believe what you said about Nyktos.” That hollow smile remained. “Calm yourself.”

I jolted, only then realizing I had stood.

“Pull it back in.” He spoke softly as a fine sprinkle of dust and plaster floated from the ceiling. “Now.”

Looking down, I saw the glow of silver filling the veins of my hands. My heart stuttered with trepidation as my gaze flew to Kolis.

“Sit,” he ordered.

I sat, my heart pounding as I struggled to rein the power back in.

“The eather is a part of you.” His voice had thinned, the smile fading. “Show some restraint and will it back in.”

Show some restraint? He had no idea the level of restraint I was already displaying. My chest rose with a deeper breath, and I told myself to, well, to knock it off. The essence was a part of me. I could control it.

After a moment, the glow faded from my skin.

“Good girl.”

My narrow-eyed gaze shot to his before I could stop myself.

Kolis chuckled. “As I was saying,” he said with a smirk, “I believe what you said about Nyktos, but what I don’t believe is what you’ve claimed about how you feel. I know for a fact you’re lying, and it’s not only your behavior just now that confirmed it.”

“I—”

Kolis was suddenly in front of me, causing me to gasp and jerk back. I didn’t make it very far. He grabbed my wrist, lifting my hand so he held it between our faces—my right hand.

“This,” he sneered, forcibly turning my hand so the golden swirls of the imprint faced me. “This tells me you feel far more than fondness for my nephew.”