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I shifted my position, coming to rest before him, propping my palms on his knees while also pressing my breasts together. “That will depend on whether I decide if you are trustworthy.”

“And how would a male go about earning this trust?” He lifted a swirling lock of my lavender hair from the water, letting it slide over his fingers.

“For starters, you could answer a question for me.”

“Go on.”

“That sigil on the dagger. The way you reacted… I think you’ve seen it before.”

He pursed his lips as though fighting a smile. “Think so, huh?”

I inched closer, settling my frame between his knees, whispering, “I do.”

“I may have seen it around.” Thorne relaxed deeper against the pulsing jets, a male content to watch the show—curious to see how far I was prepared to take this.

“What is it?”

“It’s the mark of a religious sect that believes the prophecy is true. They just disagree on the interpretation.”

“You mean the prophecy about the lost king returning to Carcerem to set us free?”

“Yes. Except they don’t think the lost king is our savior. They believe he is the beginning of the end. One destined to destroy, not save.”

I tilted my head. “Isn’t Idris already destroying us?”

“Sure, but his style is more death by a thousand cuts. According to this sect, if the lost king defeats Idris and claims the throne, what’s left of Carcerem will be destroyed.”

“If that’s their concern, then why did they attack Victor? He’s a simple vampire, not some lost demigod returned to smite us all.”

His sparkling blue eyes darkened, his expression shuttering. “Case of mistaken identity, perhaps?”

“Perhaps.” Or maybe the shifter knew more than he was willing to say despite my gentle seduction.

“How long have you known him?”

I hitched a shoulder. “Not long.”

“Come now. You have to give me more than that. Do you think I don’t know when a beautiful woman is playing me to get information?”

Touché.

I smiled. “Don’t act like you’re not enjoying the game.”

“How did you meet Victor?”

“My partners and I captured the vampire after his realm banished him.”

“He’s from the mortal world?”

I failed to see the harm in answering. “More or less. He was born in Carcerem and sent to the mortal realm in his youth.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t a clue. Maybe because even as a child, he was annoying as hell.”

“Runa?”

Speak of the devil.