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He cast a murderous glance in the direction of the banquet hall, wondering which ones had propositioned her. The stair orgy alone . . .

“Now, now, sorcerer,” Pearl said with a laugh. “Remember, no violence is allowed in the castle.” At his look, she said, “I don’t have to be a mind reader to interpret that scowl.”

“No violence planned.”Liar.

Enti waved to a nearby table. “Sit for a moment?”

No, he didn’t want company, but he also didn’t want to cross this female unnecessarily. Silt had doubts about her, like a vague memory that wouldn’t surface. So he sank down into a chair. “What?”

“I feel like I’m failing in my duty as a hostess.” Enti signaled to a passing wine bearer, who hastened over with a bottle and three goblets. The buxom female poured, failing to elicit more than an indifferent glance from Silt before she sashayed away.

This clearly puzzled Enti. “I’m supposed to make your dreams come true, yet I know you’re more unhappy than you’ve ever been. Your pacing would have worn a hole in the carpet of your room had I not used sorcery to repair it,” she added pointedly.

Even after his parents’ treachery, he hadn’t been this miserable. Revenge whispered,Because I gave you hope.Will you abandon me?

Enti’s eyes appeared to swirl as she read his mind. “Have you set aside your quest for vengeance?”

To break the hallowed chain of pain? “It’s complicated.” His answer of the week.

Revenge had made him chase Kosmina across Nightside. It’d spurred him to barrel headlong into a pack of wendigos and made him fight to save her from drowning.

But what if ithadn’tbeen revenge? Chills erupted over his skin. What if all along it was . . . some kind of connection?

“Have you changed your mind as well about going with her?” Enti asked.

No matter how much Kosmina affected him, she wouldn’t be worth dying over. “I’ll never follow her into that hive.”

Relief flickered over Enti’s expression. “Yes, I can see that now. Sometimes reading you is difficult.” She tapped her temple and said, “Everything inside that head of yours seems conflicted.”

Apparently.Self-reflection must not be his strong suit—he felt unpracticed with it. The investigation intoSilt Hareacontinued.

Pearl sipped her wine. “You just need to bed that vampire to get her out of your mind. But you had better hurry. She will likely leave tomorrow.”

He glanced over at Enti. “You finished the weapon?” Then the princess might have a shot.

“No. I failed to create it. It’s not in my wheelhouse.”

Pearl said, “She set our room on fire last night. Xodin had to use his wings to put it out. After that, we made her call it quits.”

Enti raised her palms and shrugged. “I’m going to tell Kosmina after dinner.”

The princess had dreamed it; Enti should be able towillit into being. Unless the sorceress was weakening?

He considered making a play for her tempting sorcery, but she would detect his plans before he ever got a chance to strike. “Aside from that weapon, is there anything else that can neutralize a primordial’s blood?”

Enti nodded. “In theory, the magic of an entire coven of witches should do it. Nightside is one coven short. Without a weapon or witches, I think one’s best bet is never to fight a primordial. Evasion is the only hope.”

“Let me inform Kosmina about the scythe in a few days. If she asks, tell her you’re still working on it.”

“To give you time to seduce her?” Enti adjusted her mask. “That sits ill with me. The princess doesn’t have much time left. When I said she could last for years more, I hadn’t considered her young age. She will succumb quickly.”

Bile rose in his throat. “In a year? A month?”

“Days. Already her eyes are reddening more, and her aggression is getting worse. Though her chance is billions to one against the primordial, she has zero chance against her illness. I will have to exile her soon. She’ll become a threat, and I take very seriously my promise of a haven here.”

“Your powers can’t help her retain lucidity?”

“Maybe outside this realm I could attempt to stabilize her, but not here.” Seeming dispirited by this, Enti slid his goblet closer to him. “Things fall apart, don’t they?”