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Gods he was insufferable.

“What I am trying to say—if you would shut your mouth for five seconds—is thank you.” The words sounded strained as they rolled off my tongue, like they had to be pried from my lungs to make it out of my mouth.

His brows furrowed as his eyes connected with mine and I cleared my throat, forcing myself to continue. “I wouldn’t have survived my injuries if it weren’t for you, and I know you never left my side while I was in the infirmary. So, thank you, for not letting me die when you could have.”

A smile slid onto his face, and for the first time there was pure, genuine sincerity in it. No mischief, no games, just kindness. Something behind his eyes flickered as he pulled them from mine and glanced down at his hands.

“I would never leave you to die,” he said quietly, the playful undertone in his voice replaced now by something much more somber. “I have caused you immense pain, I see that now. Your torture may not have been done by my hands, but it happened because of me—because I allowed it to. I did not know you then as I do now, and if I could go back and stop it, I would.”

My heart beat against my chest as he spoke, my pulse pounding between my ears as he brought his gaze back to mine. The oxygen stilled in my lungs at the emotion exploding behind his irises.

If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he cared for me.

“I am sorry for the things I let happen to you—for the anguish my actions have caused.”

His jaw went taut at the words, as if expressing sincere emotion was just as painful for him as it was me.

“I made you a promise in the infirmary, and I will keep it.”

We stared at each other from across the table as silence settled. Something sparked between us in the quiet and my chest heaved under the weight of it.

No.I stood abruptly, pushing away from the table.

I refused to let anything other than hate fill me when I looked at him.

“Glad to see you finally taking accountability,” I said, snatching my tarot deck from the table and shuffling them to busy my hands.

He leaned back in his chair, that arrogant smirk reappearing across his lips as he studied me. “Oh, how I have missed your charm.”

I scoffed as the seven of swords card slipped from my hands.

“I have places to be. So please, scurry off to whatever hole you came from,” I snapped, bending down to pluck the card from the floor and tucking it back into the deck.

“Same place as me, I assume,” he said, standing as Cyloe trotted out of the bedroom. She meandered over to me, pressing her head against my legs before sitting at my feet.

I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath and expelling the annoyance from my body. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Islidintothechair next to Cin as Andrues took the seat beside me, casually lifting his arm and resting it on the back of my seat as our thighs brushed together. I could feel his eyes scanning the side of my face and I turned toward Cin to avoid his stare.

His presence was intoxicating. And it wasn’t allowed to be.

“I’m just going to warn you now,” Cin started, a sheepish smile spreading across her face. “You are not going to like this meeting.”

I groaned, already knowing where this was headed. “He has so much faith in me not to kill him.”

Cin’s smile widened, her eyes flickering to Dukovich across the table. “Let’s not pretend like he isn’t growing on you.”

A scowl seeped into my face as Landers cleared his throat, quieting the room.

“The ceremony will end right around dusk, we will only have twenty-four hours to get into Ammord and get out if we want to use the celebration as a cover. Preferably, I would like us to be back in Ithia by sunrise,” Landers said, leaning forward on the table. “Ataliia, Dukovich—you will be the first to leave immediately after the ceremony ends.”

My teeth clamped around my tongue as Dukovich flashed me a smug smile from the other end of the table.

“Your task is to make the biggest scene possible, with the least amount of risk in Sethros to distract the House of High and War Council, while also finding out as much information as you can about the creation of Daemons. You will have until midnight to complete this.” Landers leaned forward, his eyes locking on mine. “Least risk possible, do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.” I deadpanned, my lips crooking upward as I shrugged.

He turned to Dukovich, raising a brow in his direction. Dukovich nodded once and Landers continued. “Once the chaosin the city has started, you will meet the rest of us on the outskirts of Camp Bane. Your arrival there will be the go-ahead we need. Gimara, do you think you will be able to slip out of Ithia unnoticed?”