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“She can make me lose my trust in him,” I said, running my tongue over my teeth.

My feet still moved in the habit of the dance, but my mind was on the queen sitting on the throne. I was too busy imagining all the ways I would kill her and her friend for what they’d done.

“Especially given that Caldris has been in a room while a woman he’s been intimate with has gotten naked and fucked someone while he’s made to watch—”

“He wasn’t intimate with her,” I snapped, my tone leaving no room for argument. “She raped him, and she violated him. There is no intimacy in that.”

Rheaghan studied me for a moment before he nodded, conceding my point. “Fair enough.”

I sighed, resisting the urge to hang my head as I tried not to let on what I knew. I didn’t know what to do with the new information, but for once I needed to think it through. “I don’t understand why he would keep this from me.”

“It was the only way my sister would agree to the deal. The devastation on your face was always her end goal. She cannot break you when you two stand united against her, but if she can convince you that you’re alone, she could stand a chance,” he explained, spinning me in a circle as the music shifted to something more upbeat. He leaned in again when I came around to face him once more. “Play the long game if you want to win. Cunning over wrath.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek and cleared my throat. “Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked, a knot forming in my belly. If it was a lie, all one of Mab’s games, behaving rashly could be playing into hertrap. I listened intently, tilting my head to the side as I waited for his response.

“I’ve made my fair share of mistakes with my sister. Don’t think I am unaware that I could have stopped all of this,” he said, swallowing as his face and neck became unnaturally still. His feet continued to move to the rhythm of the dance, as if they were enchanted in the way the humans would be if allowed to attend. “I didn’t, and now Alfheimr has suffered because of me. I just want a chance to make it right.”

“And if that means your sister has to die? What will you do then?” I asked, probing further. I needed him to say the words. Especially after Mab had tricked me with our deal at the Labyrinth, I couldn’t allow any vague half-measures to interfere in what could be—what needed to be.

He huffed a laugh, glancing toward the fires burning in the cages above us. “Gods know I am not strong enough to do it myself, but I won’t get in the way when the time comes. There can be no peace with Mab on the throne. I want there to be peace again, no matter the cost.”

I nodded slowly, taking in his response. I didn’t know what to make of it, would need time to decide—time that I didn’t have in that moment.

Rheaghan’s eyes swept toward the doors to the throne room where my mate entered with a slow gait, his eyes tracking over the crowd as he searched for me. Malazan strode by his side, another male next to her as she waved him off. She turned to my mate, smiling up at him in what I knew now was victory.

My jaw clenched as Rheaghan touched my face, turning my gaze back to his. “Long game, Estrella. You know nothing of Caldris’s deal.Dance,” he murmured, guiding me through the motions.

“Why should I pretend I know nothing and allowit to continue?” I asked, my fury rising all over again as Malazan took Caldris by the hand and guided him to the middle of the dance floor. My mate kept her at a distance, scowling as their hands touched, and searched for me.

I turned my attention away from him, focusing on Rheaghan even though I wanted nothing more than to kill Malazan where she stood.

“Because if you do not know, no one will suspect you when she turns up dead. I look forward to playing the game with you, Princess.”

He spun me, releasing my hand as I turned in three rapid circles. The troubadours swept into the next song immediately as another pair of hands caught me. They settled upon my waist, guiding me into the start of a dance I wasn’t familiar with. I looked up into his amaryllis eyes, distracted by that faint hint of pink at the center of the pale silver.

“Estrella,” Soren said, his gaze turning knowing. “You look as if you are ready to sever heads from shoulders. As much as I am certain my cousin would enjoy the sight, those games are much better done in private.” His black hair shone in the firelight, illuminating the subtle hints of purple that streaked through it.

I nodded, forcing a smile to my face as I let my body fall loose. I tried to find that place where I’d sunk down into the music with Rheaghan—feeling it move within me. For his part, Soren shifted our dance whenever needed to make sure I didn’t need to watch my mate dance with his abuser.

“He’s a big boy,” Soren said softly, his gaze soft and encouraging, despite the harshness of the words.

My mate might have been capable of defending himself under normal circumstances, but this was the one place where he couldn’t. Where that woman could lay hands on him, and he would know that as she cut his skin or bled him, she’d save that memory to then fuck another male.

I wanted to riot. I wanted blood and death andvengeance.

“Revenge comes to those who wait. Let her have this night,” Soren said, leaning in to whisper in my ear. My body went solid, the feeling of eyes on my spine—watching the contact. “She has no idea it will be her last, does she?”

There was a smirk in his voice, a challenge for me to get past my own anger. To know that I would take care of her in time. I smiled, my lips spreading wider than they had in weeks. Laughter tumbled free, staring at the male who may have been under Mab’s command, but worked to undermine her all the same.

How many of them were there?

“Enjoy your evening,” he said, smiling knowingly as he spun me into the arms of the next dance partner.

The male who caught me stared down at me with indigo eyes that shone out from a stern face set into skin the color of crushed autumn leaves. It danced with a myriad of colors, warmth radiating off the subtle brown hues. His copper hair fell to just above his shoulder in slight waves, thick and shining.

I swallowed as he backed me up a step in our dance, not hesitating to place his hand on my waist to guide me through the music that increased in tempo from the previous song.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said, swallowing back my nerves as I forced myself to smile up at him.