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“And my debt to the Aces?” Sylas asked, swallowing hard.

“Your debt to the Aces will only be settled once we confirm they’re safe in the camp.” Raziel crossed his arms. “Any deviation from our plans, and I’ll make you pay your debt in full myself.”

Sylas’s face turned green. “I understand.” He glanced around. “I must go. Don’t forget, two a.m.” He hurried off, vanishing into the crowd without another word.

“Fucking rat,” Raziel hissed, glaring after him.

“What do we do now?” she whispered, chafing her fingers against the hem of her dress.

“We have some time. Let’s get a drink.” Raziel turned without another word and stalked across the room, heading toward a lavish bar decked with silver pillars and a marble counter.

Her feet didn’t move. Neither did Takeshi’s. They remained rooted in place, staring after their mysterious companion as the clock to their arrest ticked down.

“Why does it feel like we’re making a huge mistake?” she voiced.

“Because we likely are.”

“And yet, we’re still doing this.”

His black eyes flickered to her, lifting a brow. “Are you having second thoughts?”

She was. But it didn’t matter.

The moment Winnie wrapped Khalani in her arms, there was no turning back.

“No. We keep moving forward, like we always do.”

Khalani stood taller, letting the statement not just be words escaping the tongue but a belief within her mind. She recognized the tingles of anxiety coursing through her stomach, her chest, the tips of her fingers.

But no matter how deep her fears ran, she refused to let those negative thoughts paralyze her any longer. If Khalani was entering chains once more, she was going to do it with her chin lifted to the surface.

Takeshi tilted his head. “Spoken like someone who hasn’t given up fighting.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Who said I ever stopped?”

Without waiting for a response, Khalani started toward the bar. After a few steps, she subtly glanced over her shoulder to see Takeshi still standing there, his brow lowered, but an unmistakable flare of desire ignited in his eyes as Khalani sauntered away.

Likeshewas the one about to set him on fire.

People cast admiring glances at her as she passed, their lewd gazes traversing down her body. Khalani stared straight ahead, gaining more confidence with each step. She sent a silent thank you to Serene for ensuring she didn’t look like a cockroach with red lipstick plastered on.

She felt Takeshi’s presence quietly following in her wake.

Khalani found herself swaying her hips slightly more as she walked, somehow managing not to trip in her heels.

At the bar, Raziel leaned casually on the counter like he owned it. The other guests gave him a wide berth, and the bartender’s face was stiff as he set a glass of amber liquid in front of him.

“What’s your drink?” Raziel asked Khalani.

She sputtered, not knowing what to say.

“For her, nothing,” Takeshi interrupted in a deeper tone as he approached the bar. “I’ll take whatever you have that’s strong.”

“Now just hold on.” Khalani turned on him. “You don’t speak for me.”

“Funny. I just did.”

“You’re hilarious. An absolute riot. Stories should be etched in stone detailing your incredible wit and charm.”