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“I won’t.”

He nods. “You need to pick another girl. Someone we can keep secret until the anointment ceremony.”

I shake my head. “It has to be Ava now. Both Kane and Gabriel need to learn they can never take what’s mine.”

Hunter stares at me for a long while. “Will you be willing to give her up after solstice?”

Something itches deep beneath my skin. Something restless and crawling. “We’ll finish this in the morning.”

Hunter sighs. “Damian?—”

I turn and walk out, my feet carrying me as if they have a will of their own. The moment I make it to her door, I know she’s awake. I feel it.

When I open the door, she doesn’t move, but her eyes are open, fixed on the ceiling.

I cross the room in three strides and sit on the bed beside her.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

She swallows. “How’s Kane?” Her voice is hoarse.

If I weren’t so unsettled, I’d probably smile. Those two words would have made me murderous a few hours ago. Now I find them sweet.

“He’s alive,” I say. “Imprisoned. He can’t hurt you.”

She frowns. “He’s in jail?”

A smile tugs at my lips. “No. He’s in the Thornecroft dungeons.”

Her gaze snaps to mine, filled with horror. How is my precious girl surprised at anything after what happened tonight? After she saw that side of me?

No one has seen it before. Not even me.

I force a smile. “We take our historical cosplay very seriously at Thornecroft.”

She looks away, lips pressed together. A long, weighty silence stretches between us.

My chest grows tight. This isn’t my girl. Where is the fire? Where is the righteous indignation?

“The doctor said you show no signs of a concussion,” I say. “How does your head feel?”

She turns slowly, her face shadowed, unreadable. “Damian, when are you going to kill me?”

The words strike me like a meteor. I stare at her, uncomprehending.

“You didn’t kill me tonight. Even when you thought I betrayed you.” She swallows, but the movement is labored, as if her mouth is dry. “You need me for some cult ritual. Does it involve…killing me?”

For a moment, I can’t breathe.

She must have heard. She heard my conversation with Rhett all those weeks ago. I wasn’t careful. I didn’t really care if she heard. I thought she would be an easy conquest, that a little taste of me and what I could offer her would be enough to make her turn her back on her moral code.

But she hasn’t. And now, she’s terrified.

She grimaces. “Will it be…” Her voice is just above a whisper. “Will it be quick? Will you hurt anyone else or just me?”

The agonizing ache subsides in a rush, and I’m filled with an unaccountable rage that burns through my veins. She has so much power over me, and she doesn’t even know it.

AndIhave so much power in the world. Through my dad and in my own right. There’s so much she could do through me. And I’d let her have whatever she wants. If she’d onlyuseme.