“Okay, and what happened?” Roman pressed.

Dean’s brow furrowed, but he explained, “Apparently, you started screaming out of nowhere, your eyes were black, your ears were bleeding. You killed five of your father’s men that day, and it was completely an accident. He put you on suppressants for a few years, and by the time he took you off them… It never happened again. Least not that I’ve heard of.”

Roman’s head spun as he thought it through. Tried to remember what Dean was telling him. But?—

“Why don’t I remember that?” he asked.

Dean shrugged.

‘Doyouremember?’Roman asked Sayagul in private.

Sayagul was listening intently, the dragon just as confused as Roman.‘No,’she said.

“I don’t remember taking any suppressants, either.”

“Sometimes the mind will bury things,” Dean said. “To protect you. It’s a defense mechanism. That might be why you can’t remember.”

Roman glanced in the side mirror. At Paxton’s silhouette in the car behind them, the kid grinning from ear to ear.

Would Paxton’s mind bury the events of the past few days? To protect him, the way Roman’s had? Or would he be haunted by what he’d done for the rest of his life?

“Don’t worry,” Dean said, reaching up to adjust the rear-view, his own attention shifting to Pax in the reflection. “He has a far better support network than you did at his age.”

Roman chewed his lip, wracking his brain for these buried memories Dean had referred to, but he came up empty.

“Anyway,” Dean began a moment later. “Do you think it’s safe enough to tell me now? What really went on in Yveswich?”

Roman had already thought about it last night when he’d drifted off—about telling Dean. He knew they could trust him, but it was more the idea of telling a story that wasn’t his—Darien’s and Loren’s—that made him hesitant.

But he sighed and said, “It’s a good thing we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.” He grabbed his water bottle from the cupholder, twisted the cap off, and took a swig. He swiped a drop of water off his chin and added, “This is going to take a while.”

92

The House of Violet

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

It wasmid-morning when Max rolled out of bed at the House of Violet, but you’d think it was midnight from how black the sky was. He’d slept for only about seven hours, but in that short amount of time the darkness had not just spread, but deepened, too.

Dallas was still sawing logs, her cheek covered in drool. Knowing Dal and her absurd sleep schedule, she’d be out for at least another hour. As for Max, he needed coffee, stat. And if his nose wasn’t lying, he’d find a fresh pot brewing in the kitchen. He opened the bedroom door and lumbered out.

Raina and Silas were making breakfast. All of the lights in the area were on, and yet it still felt too dark. Eerie, as if the Void were creeping in through every crack it could find to gobble up the last of the city’s light.

When they’d arrived last night, the Sylphen had given them a quick tour of the house before finding guest rooms for everyone to sleep in. While the house was huge, a few people in their group had needed to crash on couches in dens or sitting rooms. Raina and her family were very accommodating, and it was all thanks to their friendship with a certain Reaper who’d almostgotten them all killed last night with his sheer idiocy at the Black Market.

Being here, though…somewhere that still had electricity and a working spell system…somewheresafe… Max supposed he could forgive Malakai for his screw-ups, just this one time.

“Morning,” Max said as he slid onto a stool at the marble-top island. The kitchen was big, beautiful, and bright, just like the rest of the house. Max could only imagine what it would look like on a normal day, with daylight streaming in through the windows that covered almost every wall. The sun was starting to feel like some figment of his imagination.

Raina flashed him a smile. “Morning. Did you have a good sleep?”

“Fantastic.” He hadn’t even dreamt—that’s how tired he was. But when he’d opened his eyes, it had taken him a long time to remember where he was and how they’d ended up here. While half-asleep, being stuck in Yveswich had felt like some horrible nightmare his mind had dreamt up, but when he’d fully woken up and realized it was, in fact,nota nightmare…but was very, very real…

Well, he hadn’t wanted to get out of bed. That was for certain.

Silas said, “Can I get you some coffee?” He was Raina’s brother, his short hair the same rare shade of silver. They were both in their late twenties, Max would estimate. Same with Charlotte, Raina’s Third. The Sylphen were a small circle; there were only three of them.

“Yeah, please,” Max said.

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