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The Thief laughs, looking disturbingly unfazed. “I warned you I had precautions put in place.”

My stomach tightens with dread and disappointment.

Too hasty. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

The Thief’s form flickers and fades.

An instant later, he reforms from the shadows, and when he does, something in his face changes. Maybe it’s confusion, maybe it’s surprise. Whatever it is, it’s a dead giveaway that Euribios’s precautions are not working as they should.

He glances at the dark corners of the room.

“The shadows—” the Thief accuses.

“—have betrayed you,” a familiar voice finishes.

I jolt, my eyes darting up, towards the sound.

And there he is.

Des.

Chapter 44

Des.

My heart thumps painfully.

Dear God—Des.

He’s right there, a stone’s throw away.

The Night King has draped himself over Euribios’s throne, his back leaning against one of the armrests, his legs propped up against the other, lounging like he wasn’t all but lost to me only moments ago.

My connection throbs, just as it has since the Thief exposed his true power and identity.

It must be a trick, a cruel, calculated trick.Euribios holds Des’s life in the palm of his hand.

Only, the Thief is looking a bit startled too. He swivels to face the Bargainer, even as he still struggles against my command.

Never have I seen a creature withstand my glamour this long.

Des lifts his eyebrows. “Didn’t expect the shadows to fuck you over, did you?”

The Night King hops off the throne and saunters over to the pool. Briefly, his eyes touch on mine, and I see a thousand things in them. Most of all, I see yearning, so much yearning.

It matches my own.

My Bargainer.

I stare at him like he’s an apparition. All that pain I’d been working on overcoming just to function—it’s like the wound reopened. But now there’s hope to accompany the pain. So much hope I can barely breathe around it.

Maybe thisisa trick … but perhaps I’m not the one being played.

The Thief fights against my glamour and the pull of the dead who still cling to him. It’s now his turn to attempt to escape this pool, wading towards the edge.

“You’re to stay in this pool, Euribios,” I command from behind him, the full force of my glamour folded into my words.

Beyond him, Des sways a little towards me, even as he stares at Euribios. I can tell my mate is trying hard not to look in my direction. He’s no longer immune to my glamour, and I’m no longer holding my powers in check.