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There was a moment of shock. Rotty’s eyes went to the blade in his heart, then back up to Lowe. A profound grief carved into Fredrich’s features. It went beyond pain or sadness. Like he understood something I did not. Slowly his body sagged to the ground.

“Noooo!” I leaped up the stairs to the helm, my sword ready to taste Lowe’s blood, to kill this man.

Crack!

Wood groaned from deep in the bowels, tipping the ship over more, gliding me away from my target. Landing hard on the deck, my body slid, knocking into the side, water breaking down on me.

Spitting and shaking the water off, I searched for Lowe, my blood boiling with the need to kill.

The wave had tossed him back onto the main deck, yards away from me. Getting to his feet, swaying as the ship tittered, sinking further under, he looked back at me. “How fitting. The illustrious Silver-Tongue Devil goes down. But this time into a watery grave.” A malicious smile grew over his lips. “One thing about betrayal. It never comes from your enemies. It’s always those who are closest to you.”

The neigh of a horse snapped me back to the present, my head shaking away the memories of my past, only feeling more disgusted about what I had done.

Though, in a way, it was very apropos. I fucked the person who has been fucking me for centuries.

A groan worked up my throat, my hand rubbing over my head, brushing out the straw. Tugging on my pants, I searched for my shirt, only finding hers.

Kat had mine.

A noise hummed in the back of my throat, my hand sliding over the stiffness in my pants. Why did the idea of her in my clothes fucking make me so hard? Normally, I avoid that kind of shit like the plague. It was too “couple-y,” a possessive reaction from both parties, signaling to everyone they were “mine.”

Glancing around at the four dead bodies, I sighed because I would have to get Cooper up to deal with this shit. No doubt it would circle around to why I was shirtless and barely able to walk.

Stepping into my boots and clutching the rest of my stuff, I made my way back to the inn next door. When I reached for the door, a shiver brushed up my spine, making my head turn around. The warm, humid night clung the clouds close, making it muggier. Ice wormed down into my veins, alarm dancing on my nerves, feeling like I heard my name being called, tugging at my gut.

Something felt off. Wrong.

Darting inside, I took two stairs at a time, peering behind me before I went into our tiny room, exhaling when I saw Cooper and Annabeth lying on the small bed against the window. His huge physique, which barely fit, circled around her sleeping form like a blanket. His head popped up instantly at my entrance, ready to attack and protect if he needed to.

Fear gripped me again when my gaze went over every corner, noting Kat’s sleeping pad was still rolled up and she was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Kat?”

“She left a while ago, I thought to help you,” Cooper responded, sitting up.

“She didn’t come back?” Panic plucked at my vocal cords.

“No.” Cooper watched me, picking up on my distress. “Why?”

I couldn’t even tell him why, but my intuition was screaming. I felt a pull to her, as if I knew she needed me. Anxiety whisked me around, and I ran out of the room as Cooper trailed after me down the stairs, not even hesitating.

“When did you last see her?” Shirtless, he came up next to me, sniffing the air, his eyes flashing red, an indication the Dweller was right at the surface, trying to pick up her scent.

“About ten minutes ago,” I responded, but my full attention was on every nook and cranny of the dark street. “Can you smell her?”

“I’m trying, but all I can smell of her is on you… along with blood and sex.” He peered at me, his eyebrow curving up. “Could she just be needing a moment?”

I wanted to believe, yes, that’s all this was, her needing some air after what had just happened. But the sick feeling continued to tug at my gut, my muscles itching to move. The desperation to find her had me running down the street.

“Kat?” I bellowed. The low murmurs from a bar on the corner were my only response. “Katrina?” Every second that ticked by without hearing her voice in return only drove my panic higher. A moment ago, I swore I could hear her, feel her near. Now all I could feel was empty space.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I darted further down the lane, wanting so badly for her to step out and tell me what I sensed was all in my head.

“Croygen!” Cooper’s call whipped me around, my legs already running toward his voice. My boots hit the pavement. I came up behind him. He stood at the entrance to an alley not too far from the inn.

“Look.” He pointed, my focus following his finger.

Dread bricked up the back of my throat.