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“But they’re in you?”

“Yes.” He nods against my forehead.

“They talk to you?”

“It’s more like I sense their thoughts and feelings. And I have memories from all of them—who they loved, things they did and said, places they went. They’re part of me now, as if I were the one who spent thousands of years in a cage and lived all the lives after. I remember every minute of every life like yesterday.” Pain pours from his eyes.

“That’s…”Disturbing. Creepy. Torturous.“Fucked up.”

This man of endless fortitude simply smiles, accepting my broken form of comfort. “Such a way with words.”

I snort a quiet laugh, taken from the moment. “You only like it when I sayfuck.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t let anyone take that from you.”

His conviction rattles me. He’s wrong. My foster father took my voice. And Mallace with the serum. And the man in the woods. But with Eli, I’m not afraid to stand my ground. I look away, something much too close to affection stirring in his eyes, and I can’t handle that. “So your mother that you won’t talk about—she’s your father’s…”

“Lover,” he whispers.

“But that means—”

“I know. But I’m not my father, not completely. He’s just here. In me.”

“And she killed him?” I ask.

His eyes confirm with heartbroken blinks.

Before I can embrace the compassion sneaking up on me, a wall slams into place, and it’s gone. I try to pull away, now realizing why he locked me in. He knew I’d want to get away.

“Of all the realms, Elivander. Fuck. This is one messed up lie.”Or a truth I don’t want to believe.

He pushes me onto my back and lowers himself over me. Our wet clothes mesh into a thick, unwelcome layer between us, and he puts his face in mine. “It’s not a lie.” The warmth is gone, the caressing breeze, the fresh scent of dawn—replaced with the taste of blood and fingers on my neck and back.

“Why are you telling me this?” I try to roll out from under him. I want it to be a lie.

“Because I need you. Whatever’s inside of you, I need it to fix the mistake.”

I rake in musty tunnel air. “You need me to fix you? Why the fuck would I? I don’t even know how to fix myself.”

“Because…” His voice shakes. “You’re my only godsdamn chance. I’m stuck like this without you.”

“I don’t have what you need.” I reach a hand up to his cheek and slide it back through his hair, dropping my voice to a whisper. “I’m not even a Hollow.”

“I know.”

“What?”Shock zips through every nerve in my body, and my hand falls away.

His legs hug mine, trapping me in place. “From the day I saw you touch that seedling, the way it lit up, I knew. I was around before the Separation, back when Hollows and Vaile lived together. I know the Centress is lying to everyone—Hollows can’t take magic from plants.”

“And you let me believe I was a Hollow and put me through all those triggers for nothing?” I try to shove him off of me, but it’s like trying to move a wall.

“I had to go along with it. And triggers are how we wake up magic. It was the only way to get it out of you, Hollow or not. Youdohave what I need.”

“And what is that exactly?”