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“I would never let her—” his words broke off as if he were choking, his hand moving to his throat. “I would never. Let. Her. Kill. You.” He spoke each word separately, as if the strain of speaking them was a physical thing.

My eyes narrowed on him.

“I’m not sure you have a choice in the matter.” My gaze met his once more.

“There is always a choice.” He clenched his teeth together, and a muscle feathered in his jaw as he spoke, the sharp points of his fangs visible amid the glow of the lantern.

“You are Noctani,” I reminded him, placing the book on the cot beside me. “You are devoted to Donika.”

A long moment passed before he answered. “Yes.”

“Then I’m not sure why we are even having this conversation. Donika wants my magic, and she wants medead. And if she can get you to do it, all the better for her. She takes a sick pleasure out of turning my loved ones against me.”

Nik’s gaze dropped to his boots as he gripped the iron bars before him, hanging his head.

“Everything is so… confusing.” He bit his lip, and I could see his blackened eyes moving back and forth in thought.

He was at war with himself. The Nikolai that stood before me absolutely didn’t reconcile with the Noctani I had encountered previously, and what I knew of the Noctani from dream walking and seeing Corian’s creations.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my gaze intent on him as the wheels spun in my mind.

If our bond was allowing him to fight Donika’s compulsion, I could certainly use that to my advantage.

He lifted his head only enough to peer at me beneath his hood. “My heart tells me one thing, my brain another.”

He pushed back from the iron bars with startling speed and stepped back to the end of the hall. If I had blinked, I would have missed it.

“Where are we?” I asked, moving to stand. “Tell me where we are!”

“Enjoy the books,” he replied as he reached for the iron handle of the door.

“Nikolai, where are we!?” I cried, rushing to the front of the cell and gripping the bars as he had moments ago.

But he didn’t answer, the only sound in response was the heavy wooden door shutting between us.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Nik had last visited the cell, but it had to have been days. Meals were brought to me on a steady rotation, almost always the same thing. I wasn’t able to discern where we were or get any information out of the Noctani who came to monitor me. They were able to hold conversations as Nik was, but their answers were vague and controlled.

But something else wasn’t right. At least a week had to have passed since I was captured, but we hadn’t moved yet. Weren’t his orders to steal my magic and bring me straight to Donika? What was he waiting for? Why were we still here? Did he have something else in mind for me?

I passed the time with the books he had brought me, and when I finished those, more were brought with my meals. He hadn’t returned, and the Noctani that were sent down to the prison cells were strangers, I recognized none of them. I hadn’t seen Antonia Finch since that fateful brawl on the training field. I was hoping she might come down so that I could see if I could appeal to her, having known her in the mortal realm.

I had no idea how long I had been knocked out for when I had been taken here. I had no idea if we were still in Prins or if we were in Akra. Wherever we were… it had an underground dungeon. With no windows or light to break the monotony, I was going stir crazy. At least the last time I had been held prisoner I had Tess with me.

I hoped she was safe, somewhere far from here. I knew she wasn’t stupid enough to try to track me down and break me out with only Puck at her side. I prayed she stayed on task and completed the antidote, returning to the seaside cabin to regroup from there.

A chill had crept into my bones deep enough that I wasn’t sure I would ever be warm again. My fingers were turning a ghostly shade of white. No matter how hard I tried to warm myself by the lantern with the single blanket I had been given, a shiverracked my bones.

I was almost done counting the marks on the ceiling when the door at the end of the hall opened. My head turned, surprised to find Nikolai there.

“Where have you been?” I asked, teeth chattering.

“Missed me?” he replied, that devilish smirk lifting one corner of his mouth showing off one fang.

A shiver ran down my spine for an entirely different reason. It was a combination of fear and longing. He wasright there, but at the same time he wasgone. It was all too confusing.

His eyes roamed over my body, taking me in. “Are you cold?” A note of concern entered his tone.

I simply nodded—my hands still tucked beneath the blanket.