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He glanced toward Mab upon her throne as we danced, our bodies moving from one song to the next as more and more of the Fae arrived in the throne room. He leaned closer, moving our bodies so that they very nearly touched so that his words could be soft. We lost eye contact as he towered over me, everything in me going taut with the sudden tension in his body.

“Did you really believe my sister suddenly stopped torturing you out of the kindness of her heart?” he asked, and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

“Of course not. She threatened to murder human mates if I didn’t behave,” I said, sinking my teeth into the inside of my cheek. It had seemed too simple, and I’d waited for the other shoe to drop. But if she wasn’t getting anywhere with hurting me physically, it made sense to punish me using others.

“And has she?”Rheaghan asked, tilting his head to the side in question. He wrinkled his nose ever-so-slightly, the only hint of his judgment for me having believed her story. Suddenly faced with the reality of how naïve I had been, I grimaced.

“No, she hasn’t,” I said, swallowing as I glanced toward her throne.

She watched those dancing on the floor that had been cleaned by the Llaidhe, her chin raised high as if she were above her people.

Above the Gods themselves.

“She wouldn’t want to kill a mate for every time you defy her. She’ll save that for the moments when you embarrass her so much that she has no choice but to punish you publicly,” Rheaghan answered, his knowledge of his sister’s behavior coming through in every word he spoke. He’d had centuries to get to know her, her actions and motivations and weaknesses.

If he could be turned against his own flesh and blood, he’d be a valuable asset.

“Then what has she done to punish me in the meantime?” I asked.

We both knew I’d defied her in small ways, challenged her verbally without ever crossing the line. But for the Queen of Air and Darkness to have not retaliated against me physically, who was bearing the cost of those moments?

“Your mate is not one to sit idly by while you suffer. He cannot save you from Mab’s violence, not when she can kill him with only a thought. That does not mean he has not spent the entirety of your time in Tar Mesa negotiating for the end of your suffering,” Rheaghan said, sweeping the rug out from under me.

I stumbled our dance. He caught me, making the misstep look intentional. “What… what did he offer her?” I asked. My breath shuddered. My ears rang, nearly drowning out the sound of Rheaghan’s words.

“Estrella—” Rheaghan started, interrupting me as my anger—my horror—rose.

What had Caldris done?

The male was insufferable, incapable of listening to what I might want. My throat felt too dry, my words caught on the lump in my throat.

Rheaghan pulled me closer, plastering my chest against his torso as he held me tight enough to suffocate. It was a makeshift hug, soothing as his free hand trailed up my spine in a light, comforting touch.

“What. Did. He. Give. Her?” I demanded, slowly enunciating the words as I ground my jaw.

The joy of the music had left me, the movements feeling suddenly hollow. That creature inside me rose, and I felt her dance behind my eyes as I stared up at Rheaghan. A flash of gold flitted across his skin as he pinched lips together and sighed out his nose.

The God of the Sun hesitated as his chest dropped. “He took your place. For every defiance, he is summoned to Mab’s rooms so that she and Malazan might use him to punish you.”

Nausea churned in my gut.Malazan.If she’d violated him….

Rheaghan read the tension in my body, shaking his head subtly. “The torture is not sexual in nature. The mate bond forbids such a thing, and my sister is no fool as to tempt the wrath of the Fates. But sex and violence are not so far apart for Malazan. The latter is merely her form of foreplay, so after she’s donewith him, she is in the habit of making Caldris watch as she fucks another one of Mab’s children. The guilt of that alone is worse than the physical pain.”

The throne room disappeared, swept out from under me. There was no music, no dancing around me. Only the memory of watching Lord Byron fuck the Ladies of the Night—watching them service him. At the time, I hadn’t known he was exposing me to the things he liked—the things he would expect of me one day. It hadn’t made it easier to deal with.

I was going to be sick.

“Breathe,” Rheaghan murmured, that soothing hand working to keep my nausea at bay.

“I haven’t felt his pain through the mate bond,” I said, shaking my head. It wasn’t possible. If Caldris had been suffering, I would have felt it.

“He’s had centuries to master closing himself off from those around him. Closing himself off from you is another part of that. I imagine you’ve discovered hints of how to do it. Is it so hard to imagine he can do the same with you? That he would do it to protect you?” Rheaghan asked, his voice quiet.

Anger rushed through me, a sudden, vicious need to make thembleedcoursing through my veins. The monster within me roared, having connected with his so intimately only the night before—all while he was feeding me yet another lie.

“What does Mab gain from this? If she wants to punish me, then surely, I need to know about it.”

Rheaghan’s voice became monotone, resignation leaking from him as he pulled back to stare down at me. “You’re thinking too short term. Mab isalwaysplaying the long game. Her greatest interest lies in driving a wedge between you and Caldris. If she can control the narrative, determinewhenyou learn of the sufferingyou’ve caused and the secret he’s kept from you…”