S USENYOS EMERGED AN HOUR LATER, SHOWERED, HIS HAIR DAMP AND color returned to his face. Kidan ignored him, focusing on her studies by the fireplace.

He ran his fingers through his damp twists. “You can’t just come inside that room again—”

“Why?”

His jaw locked. “It’s dangerous.”

Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t believe that. Not anymore. “I was bleeding.”

“What?”

“You say your bloodlust is uncontrollable in that room. I was bleeding in there. You didn’t react.”

His brows drew tight, then smoothed out. “I was doing you the courtesy of not attacking you.”

He moved into his seat, preparing his letters, pulling out gloves and ink.

Kidan’s ears thrummed. There was something pulsing under her thumb, like she’d discovered a piece of treasure but couldn’t tell what it was. The house law stated that if he endangered the house, he would lose something of equal value. Night after night, he suffered to change it. What did this house steal from him? It had to be powerful. She recalled Dean Faris’s tea law. What were the limits to such a punishing law?

Her eyes narrowed further. “Where?”

He didn’t look up. “What?”

“Where was I bleeding?”

“Why does it matter?”

“You always notice blood. You noticed my scent was off when I was poisoned.”

“Leave it alone.” The bite to his tone startled her.

“Why…,” she began, but drifted off when his dark expression struck her. He was furious, yet underneath it, the same fog of fear from the observatory room lurked. Why did he change so much whenever that room was brought up? “Why are you afraid?”

“Kidan.” He said her name very carefully, almost like a threat. “Leave it alone.”

The lamp in the study flickered, and the walls rippled with violence. It was as if the hallway stretched out its fingers here, clawing at her throat. Do not speak.

She left her side of the room and went to his desk, leaning forward, unable to fight the pull of this thread. Why hadn’t he reacted to her blood?

“If Susenyos Sagad endangers Adane House, the house shall in turn steal something of equal value.…” She looked in the direction of the observatory and back to his thundering face. “Something you value the most… something you fight for, something that saved you from death when it came to your court…” She trailed off, her eyes widening. “But that’s not possible.”

He rose, resting his palms flat on the desk. He was inches from her nose, barely restraining himself. “Don’t.”

How could she not? He might kill her for giving life to his secrets. But she had to expel the truth from her body, let it wreak havoc on everything she thought she knew.

“There is a reason.” She breathed. “A reason why you warn me against that room. Not because it’s dangerous for me, but because it’s dangerous for you .”

The lamp’s light became erratic, a bird caged and fighting its incoming death.

“Go back to your seat.” Each word pushed through clenched teeth.

The lack of reaction to blood, how utterly weak he was in that room, almost… human.

She understood. Oh, she finally understood, and was it glorious. A slow smile spread across her face.

Kidan drew close enough to identify the streaks of his alert eyes. “This house is stealing your immortality, isn’t it?”

He shut his eyes slowly, swearing under his breath. “You just couldn’t let it go.”

Her chest filled with incredible light. “I’m right, aren’t I? The law in this house is already in effect? That room steals what you value most—”

The desk was shoved to the side with a speeding screech, slamming into the bookshelf and raining books. Kidan jumped back in shock. Susenyos loomed over her and seized her hand.

Her legs turned to water. “What are you doing?”

He wrenched her forward, a sudden force robbing her breath as his grip tugged the center of her gravity. They were moving at extreme speed. Her stomach twisted, and bile flooded her throat. She would retch if he didn’t stop . When she finally gasped for air, Kidan was on cold stone, inside the wine cellar under the house. She whirled around, touching the damp walls. Susenyos grabbed the gate and locked it.

“No. No! Susenyos!” She banged on the gate furiously. “Don’t!”

He stayed back, shoulders rising and falling, watching her with a dark expression.

“You were never meant to know.”

Fear tightened her gut. “I won’t tell anyone. Just let me out.”

He backed away and climbed the stairs, shutting the upper door.

“Susenyos! Fuck!”

She searched around the space for an exit, but there were only bottles of deep red and brown liquor. Kidan sank to the cold floor, trying to breathe through the panic. If he was going to kill her, he would have. This was good. He hadn’t decided. She just had to convince him she was no threat. But still…

Susenyos.

Human.

At least in the observatory.

Her palms spread on the hard stone, the weight of this house and its laws fully sinking in. House laws were powerful—but this? To change the fabric of life and death, strip an immortal of power, grant a mortal unbelievable strength. Was this why the children of this place killed themselves trying to inherit such a legacy? It was proof she still had much to learn.

Her family had known exactly how to punish Susenyos for endangering Adane House. Where did the term “house” extend to and stop? What did it protect? It was too vague to pinpoint. She let her thoughts eat at her, turning every interaction over and over until the web became too tangled. Exhausted, she slept on the floor, teeth chattering. With her ear pressed to the old stone, she imagined the belly of the house breathing fire so she wouldn’t freeze to death.

The upstairs door opened again. Kidan brushed away tiny gravel from her cheek and shot to her feet.

“Susenyos?”

The legs descending the stairs were leaner, below a familiar red brocade vest and sharply cut hair. Icy water trickled down Kidan’s spine.

Iniko Obu stood behind the bars, with a cool, unmoving expression. A second set of footsteps revealed Susenyos.

Kidan focused on him. “I want to talk to you.”

“I’m sure you do,” Iniko cut in. “But I’ll be dealing with you.”

Kidan held his gaze imploringly, but he shook his head, going back upstairs.

“Wait, please.”

Iniko dragged an old chair with her and sat behind the gate, cocking her head. “He doesn’t know what to do with you. I, on the other hand, have a very clear intention.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” Kidan’s voice scratched.

“That’s not something he can risk.”

Kidan glared. “If you do something to me, Dean Faris will arrest you. Do you really think he’d risk his life for you?”

Iniko’s smile was a thin, humorless curve. “He’s our leader. My loyalty cannot be shaken, and you trying to do so tells me more than you know.”

Kidan fought not to cower under her wrath. “Where’s Taj?”

“Taj doesn’t want to see what’s going to happen here.”

Kidan backed away and sat on the floor. She was screwed.

“How are the nightmares?” Iniko tilted her head.

“Nightmares?”

“They say Shuvra poisoning infests the mind, brings horrible deeds to the surface.”

Kidan focused on an old wine. “They’re fine. I’m used to nightmares.”

Not true, but June was an expert in them. She went just one day out of the year without waking up terrorized and frazzled. Parasomnia, they called it.

“Yos tells me he listens for your heartbeat. It grows more irregular each night. Your breathing is strained as well. You don’t have much time.”

Kidan hesitated. “He said that?”

“Yes. He wishes for you to live. He’s seen enough Adanes die.”

Her ears perked up, and she snuck a glance at Iniko to see if it was a twisted strategy to make her confess. Kidan cast her attention away. It had to be a lie. Susenyos cared for one thing only—changing this house law so his secret wouldn’t be discovered.

“Tell me about your nightmares,” Iniko continued.

“What?”

“I’m curious.”

“I can’t think of one right now.”

Iniko rose to her feet, her shadow lengthening like death’s scythe. “Not many people know this, but Shuvra originated in West Africa. It was given to wailing mothers after the loss of their children. Do you know what it does? It voids sleep of dreams and regulates the body for rest. Most believe their loved ones are dead because they sleep quite peacefully. No nightmares.”

Kidan’s stomach hitched. “My strain must be different.”

The gate unlocked. Kidan jumped up. Iniko walked inside slowly, so confident in her ability to overpower Kidan that she left the door wide open.

Kidan reached for a wine bottle from behind, wrapped her fingers around its neck and hurled it at her. Iniko’s arm shattered the glass, drenching her in violent red.

She frowned at her clothes. “That was a mistake.”

Kidan bolted.

She made it three steps before her arm was wrenched back. Her wrist was suddenly lacerated. Iniko brought Kidan’s hand to her mouth, tongue snaking out to lick the drip. Her fangs emerged next.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kidan screamed.

Iniko bit her. Pain erupted through her veins.

“Stop—”

Iniko’s iron hand closed around her throat. The room swirled in a dizzying dance and settled in a different location. Kidan was on a… ship. No, Iniko was on a ship, in chains, dismembering attackers with a ferociousness known to a panther. They called her the Water Demon, the one who sank pirate ships. But it was more than watching Iniko’s past. Her rage bled into Kidan’s skin and boiled to uncomfortable heat so when Iniko finally let go, Kidan slid down, gravity spiraling.

Iniko crouched, sleek hair catching fire. “Your blood is clean.”

Kidan still rocked on a boat, lips dried of thirst. She recalled Taj’s words about the connection between a vampire’s bite and memories. The wrist revealed… childhood. Had this been Iniko’s youth? Had Iniko glimpsed into Kidan’s childhood?

More footsteps pounded down the stairs.

Run , she told herself, but her legs were drained of all energy.

Susenyos appeared at the gate. He wrenched Iniko to her feet, voice urgent. “Tell me you didn’t drink her blood. What the hell —”

“She’s not poisoned. I had to prove it.”

Time itself froze as Susenyos stilled. “What?”

“She lied to us. Shuvra didn’t touch her.” Iniko spat, lips stained with blood.

Susenyos skewered Kidan with a menacing look. She rose unsteadily to her feet. She would die here if she didn’t move.

Run , her mind screamed. With a desperate bout of strength, she bolted past them and made it through the gate. Hope bloomed in her chest. She was almost at the foot of the stairs. All she had to do was climb.

A solid body slammed into her. Taj, who mirrored a wolf without his usual smile, loomed before her.

“This hurts me more than it hurts you.”

Taj grabbed her wrist and held her still as Susenyos bridged their gap.

“Wait.” Her voice hiked up in terror. “Let me explain—”

Susenyos brought her wrist forward, inhaling the scent of her blood. His stiffness confirmed it for the others. He straightened, face drained of all light.

“Taj.” Susenyos’s voice was ice itself. “Take Iniko and feed her blood from her own house. You two were never here. Hide her until her red eyes fade.”

Iniko’s neck veins contracted. Her large, golden pupils would soon bleed. When a vampire drank from an uninitiated human, they became ill, their eyes reddening for three days. Long enough to be caught and punished by death.

It took Taj a long moment to release Kidan, but he did, chestnut eyes heavy. “I’m sorry.”

His apology launched her heart into a frenzy. She was going to die.

The two disappeared with unnatural speed. Suddenly, the last thing she wanted was to be alone with Susenyos.

“Make no mistake, Kidan.” His voice slipped, unhinged. “If anything happens to Iniko because of this, I’ll put you out of your misery myself.”

His fangs emerged, eyes trained on her bleeding wrist. She staggered away, closer to the stairs and freedom, hiding her hand. He shook his head, worked his jaw, and pulled out his flask, downing it in an instant and crushing the metal. His hair and eyes caught fire, burning a striking reddish gold.

He held the cellar gate open. “Inside. Now.”

Kidan looked to the stairs. She was so close.

“Run.” His voice thickened with hunger, canines stark against dark skin. “I dare you to run and ruin us both.”

Kidan’s pulse jumped to her throat. She walked toward the cellar, to him.

“Slower,” he barked, grip twisting the gate.

Her footsteps eased, and when she moved past him, he turned his cheek sharply as if her scent was too potent. Kidan moved until her back reached the rearmost shelf of wine. He locked her in quickly, hesitating with his attention on the lock.

“You lied and used me,” he said in a low, dead tone. “And it’s entirely my fault. I believed you too quickly because I wanted to. For one weak moment, I wanted that poison in your body to be the answer to everything. It meant I wouldn’t have to kill you, it meant you were no longer a threat, it meant you’d become a vampire and you and I could be… at peace.”

An unexpected lump formed in her throat. “Susenyos—”

“Thank you for reminding me where we stand.”

He left. Kidan sank down slowly. She reached for her tie and undid it, wrapping it around her bleeding wrist. The pressure swallowed the burning pain and she fought to think.

What the hell was she going to do?

It was over. They knew her secret. He knew. Susenyos’s face flashed through her mind, the slash of shock and betrayal followed by those haunting words.

Kidan shut her eyes and reached for her sister.

I failed. I’m so sorry, June.

June didn’t answer. She was mad at Kidan for helping Susenyos, for going against her promise. Kidan drowned in the smell of fermented wine, her head growing heavy. The shards of glass called to her. Maybe she was done.

The upstairs door clicked open, and light footsteps traveled closer.

Etete’s warm face rippled with worry. “Kidan? Oh dear.”

“Etete?” Kidan rushed to the gate, grabbing the bars. “Please, let me out.”

Etete had a large set of keys and began trying each one.

“Where are they?” Kidan’s words came out hoarse.

“They’ve gone to help Iniko. We have to hurry.”

Kidan shut her eyes. She could still make it out alive. The sixth key clicked and turned. Kidan embraced Etete’s soft form, inhaling her scent of warm bread.

“Thank you.”

“Go, and never come back.”

Kidan ran upstairs. She had to get her bag and leave. The hallways scratched at her brain with needles. She clutched her head, fighting through the pain. June’s image appeared at the end of her path.

You can’t leave.

The power of June’s voice slammed into her chest, knocking her off-balance.

You promised to find me.

The world shattered, but someone supported her at the waist. With Kidan wincing, they made it to her room, where she could breathe.

Etete wiped Kidan’s tears with her scarf. But they didn’t stop. For the first time in months, they gushed out of her like a deep wound.

“I can’t leave,” she whispered. “I have to find her.”

“Susenyos will kill you if you stay.” Etete’s face tensed. “He never allows this secret to live.”

So Etete knew the house law. He trusted her this much. The Adane dranaics… Had they discovered it? Was this why he’d killed them?

The hallway light flickered. June’s honey-brown eyes were sharp as a sword.

“She wants me to stay. Even if I die trying…”

Etete nodded soberly.

One last try. Kidan owed June that much. If Iniko was caught for force-feeding, everyone would learn Kidan wasn’t poisoned. It would mean the end of her investigation. Today was her last chance to learn something useful.

Miraculously, her phone lit up with an email from Drastfort Prison. Omar Umil was ready to see her. She hugged the phone to her chest, whispering thank you to the universe.