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Then another.

And I can’t fucking breathe.

I shouldn’t be in such agony. It doesn’t matter what he decides. I’ll keep Ava no matter what. Heaven help whoever tries to take her from me.

But the Sacred Light’s permission will make things much easier and safer for her, which is all that matters.

He lets out a breath. “You know where the virgin sacrifices go, Damian.”

A muscle ticks in my jaw.

“They come to the Sacred Light for their transcendence.” His voice is smooth.

“Yes,” I say, “but not this time. You’ll anoint her at Thornecroft. Once the bedding is over, you’ll sanction our marriage.” I lower my chin. “And Gabriel Wolfe will know it. Know that you did this for me.”

A longer silence this time.

“Damian.”

I can’t read the emotion in his voice, and it’s making me want to burst out of my skin.

“You’re asking me to put my reputation on the line—my ability to interpret our laws accurately. I take it—” he lowers his head “—you have something to offer me in return?”

I nod, my chest tightening. “I have intelligence. It concerns you and your safety. I’ll only give it to you if you agree to let me marry my virgin sacrifice.”

He’s quiet for a long moment. “I see.”

My skin is nearly vibrating now. The Sacred Lights are all well protected because plenty of people want them dead. For all I know, my intelligence might be useless to him.

But he hasn’t shot me down yet.

“You’ll have to give me your intelligence first. I’ll decide if it’s worth your request.”

I raise my chin. “My father and Gabriel Wolfe are plotting against you. It’s a long-term plan. Something they won’t execute for months. Maybe even years. They both asked me to foster my relationship with you once I’m prior. My dad even said that he let me stay with you all those years ago as a way to soften you. Gain your trust.”

My pulse thuds in my ears, and heat climbs up the back of my neck. Every second of silence grates against my skin like sandpaper.

“I’m not surprised,” he says quietly. “I suspected as much the moment he asked me to take you in.”

Something sharp twists in my gut. Of course he did, and he chose to take me in anyway. Not out of kindness or belief in my potential. He took me in to see if I could be molded, and it was worth the risk of my dad’s scheming.

“Still,” he says, “you brought this information to me, even though it incriminates your own father. And I don’t think your only motivation is getting what you want. Your loyalty to me… It’s been noted.” He lowers his head. “I’ll give you what you want.”

The breath leaves my lungs in a rush. He’s giving me Ava.

I get to keep her. Marry her.

A jolt of something electric surges through my chest, lighting up my entire body like it’s been plugged into a live wire.

But the exhilaration curdles almost instantly, because something about this…isn’t quite right.

It was too easy.

I thought he might let me keep her, but marriage? I’d only proposed it as a tactic. The ask-big-get-less strategy.

And yet he gave it to me.

“As for your father and Gabriel Wolfe,” he says, “I won’t bring them to justice. Not yet. Their mistakes will take time to ripen.”