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"A difference of opinion when it comes to navigating war," Effie said quietly, all playfulness gone from her voice.

"I don't understand. You're all so desperate to stop Sídhe. What about him is so repulsive that you draw the line there? What am I missing?" The words came out in a hiss. They were doing it again—giving answers that only led to more questions.

Vexa's eyes darted to Aether, who stood like a statue, before turning back to me. When she spoke, her voice trembled with barely contained rage. "What he—what his people do to sustain life is... blasphemous. Outlawed across the entire realm. A disgusting rite that goes against everything we are as Kalfar. The defilement of essence is the biggest heresy one can commit, yet he's raised a sizable army of them."

"Of what?"

"Damphyre." The word fell from Aether's lips like a curse.

"They no longer require food," Vexa continued, her voice dropping lower. "They take their sustenance straight from the blood of others. They consume the essence of other Kalfar."

Horror crawled up my spine. "You mean they feed on people?"

Their silence was answer enough.

"But—I don't understand—how is that sustainable?"

Vexa drew a shaky breath. "They provide their... volunteers with a life of near luxury. You'd be surprised what people subject themselves to when everything is taken from them. Since the Damphyre have no use for food, there's more to go around for the Kalfar they drain from."

"So what does that do to their tethers?" I steadied myself against the wall, suddenly dizzy.

"It strengthens them. Makes them more powerful than before the drought."

The pit in my stomach grew deeper.

"And they want to join the Umbra..." The realization hit me like a physical blow. "To join the fight against Sídhe..."

"Plenty of bodies brimming with essence, and no restrictions on how many they can kill." Vexa's voice was bitter. "The void burns are just an added bonus. It makes Valkan look better when he tries to usurp the crown."

My body went still.This is why they wanted me. This is why they were so desperate. I was the alternative to?—

"What do we have here?" The voice drifted down the corridor like silk. Valkan stood against the wall, watching us with those unsettling milky eyes, his perfect features arranged in an expression of curiosity.

Effie's sharp intake of breath made me look down. The black was fading from my hair, retreating like smoke being pulled into the air. White locks began to appear.

"Valkan." Aether's voice had dropped to something terrifying. He moved in front of me, his form suddenly seeming larger, more dangerous. "You have no business here. Leave."

Valkan's lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile. "I'm simply curious about your new friend, Aether. Don't be rude—it's unbecoming of you."

He took a step forward, those dead eyes fixed on me with horrible interest. Aether moved with him, maintaining the barrier between us. "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough," he growled. "Leave, before I make you."

"No need for hostility." Valkan raised his hands in mock surrender, but his voice held something darker. "It's a dinner party, after all. Where are your manners?"

In a blur of movement, Valkan was against the wall, his feet dangling as if held by an invisible hand at his throat. But that terrible amusement never left his face. Aether stepped closer, tilting his head, arms folded carefully behind his back. "I guess we'll do this the hard way then."

"Oddly protective, Aether. Who is she to you?" Those dead eyes found me again. "You're lucky I'm in my best suit. Otherwise, I might have to retaliate against this vicious, unwarranted attack. How would your Urkin explain that one?" His smile widened, showing too many teeth.

"Vexa. Get her out of here. Effie, find Rethlyn and do the same."

"But Aether?—"

"I won't repeat myself." The shadows around him seemed to writhe.

Vexa's hand closed around my arm like a vise, pulling me down the corridor. I could feel her pulse hammering where our skin met, matching the frantic rhythm of my own heart.

"Until next time, dear." Valkan's voice followed us as Vexa shoved through a heavy door into the gray air. We ran across the field where the Vördr waited, the sound of our boots on frozen grass nearly drowning out the thunder of my pulse.

Nearly.