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She scootched over, gathering her clean, damp hair over one shoulder.

He came in and sat down on the edge of the bed. “At least tell me how your leg is.”

“Getting better. Thank gods for our healing abilities.” A few days, maybe, and it should be fully healed.

Roman didn’t say anything.

Shay swallowed. “Now tell me how you are,” she whispered. Something must have happened in the garage. Darien must have told Roman something he didn’t want to hear.

“My dad knows.” Roman’s words were so quiet, they were nearly inaudible. Shay’s stomach dipped, her mouth drying out. “About the house,” he clarified. He stared at the wall, his throat shifting with repeated swallows. “A couple of his Shadowmasters followed Pax and Eugene here while I was gone.”

While you were with me in the desert, Shay corrected in her head, guilt tugging on her heartstrings. And while Roman was doing her a favor, he’d lost something incredibly important to him. His sanctuary in the storm of his life. If Athene ever found out about Shay’s apartment… Well, she understood very well how Roman felt right now.

“I’m so sorry, Roman,” Shay whispered.

“He’s going to find out,” Roman said quietly. “If he hasn’t already, I mean.” He drew a deep breath and forced a smile. “It’ll be fine,” he said, but it was clearly a lie. “I’ll deal with it.”

Suffer for it, you mean, Shay almost said. Roman would suffer for the lie.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” Shay whispered. “Gods—I’m afraid of my mom. I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to have Donovan for a dad.”

“Hell,” Roman said, turning his head to stare at the wall again. “It’s hell, and he’s the devil.”

After giving himself a few moments alone to calm down, his conversation with Roman affecting him more than he’d let on, Darien went inside the house.

It sounded like Roman was upstairs, speaking with Shay. The others were in the living room and kitchen, including Loren, whose focus went to Darien as soon as he reached the living room—

A Surge slammed into him so hard, it felt like his brain was going to blow up.

He grabbed his head with both hands and staggered into the wall, smacking his face and knuckles into it like he had that night in Angelthene, when he was with the Reapers in that alley.

Loren stood. “Darien?”

Ivy, Tanner, and Jack shot to their feet.

Darien spun and made for the garage. “Stay away.”

They listened.

He pushed into the garage, fumbling for the light switch. It flicked on, but it did shit with the Sight blinding him.

The door opened behind him.

“Loren.” The warning was ground out through clenched teeth.

“It’s me.” It was Kylar.

Darien was panting like he’d run a marathon. “I need to fight.”

Kylar stood on the steps, one brown hand resting on the door handle. “Even after all that?”

“I have a problem,” he said. “What was the name of that place? Snake something—”

“The Snake Pit? The fighting ring at the Black Market, you mean.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Anything I should know about it?” He managed to rid himself of the Sight and saw the wary look on Kylar’s face… The way his hand gripped the door handle tighter.

“A lot of people die there, so I’d tell you to be careful. You gotta pay to participate, but you’ll win thousands if you don’t get killed.”