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T he large wooden table was shoved to the far wall. Asher ordered Bane to bring up multiple bottles of spirits he called Dragon’s Breath from the cellar—Bane’s own sadistic brew he had been creating while in exile.

One sniff of it made my eyes water. It wasn’t easy for a fae to get drunk but it seemed Bane found a way to make it possible and I wondered if it was because of the one shifter in the room he continued to watch with simmering anger.

I glanced at Penina who stroked the throwing knives on the table, ignoring Bane’s blatant stare. “Why silver?”

I picked one up and raised it in the light. The metal gleamed and I studied my own reflection within its metallic depths. “Silver is symbolic of feminine tranquility, awareness, and intuition. Wisps are particularly attracted to these attributes.”

I passed her the throwing dagger which she took eagerly, testing its balance in a series of spins and flips .

I continued. “But more importantly silver represents strength, clarity, and persistence, the wisdom of self reflection.” I snatched the dagger she tossed mid air and balanced the pointed tip on my finger to hold it at eye level.

“Every fae must be able to look at their reflection one day and live with the blood that stains their blades. If you cannot, then you don’t deserve the silver you killed with. ”

“I need a set.” She whispered reverently.

I laughed, shaking my head. “Your king has already pointed out that I don’t believe in coincidences.

I have eight blades. There are eight of us here.

One of these has your name on it, Penina Sythe.

” I reached for her hand and placed the silver knife into it.

Curling her fingers around the sharp blade.

“May you always accept who you are in your reflection.”

I glanced up at Emon and realized that this was what he had done for me.

He destroyed the mirror, the horrible reflection of myself that I had defined myself by and then he made it anew.

Piece by piece he stole my shattered heart, glued back my soul, and then forced me to look in the mirror again—to see that the darkness was also the most beautiful part of who I was.

I studied those golden eyes so full of warmth while he spoke to his father and I swallowed down the burning gratitude I felt for the shifter that had stolen a piece of me I didn’t realize I had left.

Penina’s boney elbow shoved into my side and whispered. “Asher is convincing Emon to take you somewhere. I suggest you go with him tonight. You won’t get another chance to be alone once we set out for the Sanguine.”

Startled, I looked down at her still flipping the blade. “How do you know that?”

She shrugged, her look far away from anything happening in this room. “Shifter hearing.”

I hummed, studying her profile with scrutiny.

She couldn’t fool me. I knew that distant look.

I had seen it many times reflected in the turquoise eyes of my last lover.

The seer sight had plagued Deirdre too and from Penina’s cryptic words and actions, her sight was extremely powerful.

She saw timelines…not just glimpses of the future.

I dropped my voice. “Care to take your own advice and make amends with Bane?”

Penina's lost look snapped to me with surprise .

I smiled at her knowingly. “I know my former master well. The colder his eyes, the deeper he cares, the deeper he feels. Feelings make him angry and his eyes have not left you this whole night.”

She glanced at the swordmaster who stiffened at her regard, then she turned back to me. “Some things cannot be amended. Especially with that old fossil.”

Scrunching my nose, I stated slowly. “I can’t believe I am going to say this but…Bane will be an asset in the Sanguine. He is a fire elemental and like you, has also navigated those lands. Plus no one wields lightning like Bane does, nothing flying above us has a shot in Sheol of surviving him.”

Penina chewed on her bottom lip, glancing at the moody elemental. “I have not considered that, but you are correct.”

Tyr whistled low at us, picking up one of the silver knives. “Damn Beauty, who’d you fuck to get yourself a set of these and can I get in on that?”

Emon’s head snapped up and the very air seemed to be sucked out of the room. He took a dark threatening step towards his friend, his eyes bleeding with murderous intent.

Xi beat the king to him and slapped Tyr hard upside the head.

“Idiot.” She hissed and walked away, shaking her hand out.

“Goddess damn it, Xi. That’s the second time today!” Tyr called but instead of turning angrily towards her, he was looking at Penina with worry in his eyes.

There was pain on her face, pain she masked well but was still there, threatening to surface. Penina was hurting fiercely and Bane was the cause of it.

“Just for that you’ll be dodging my blade tonight.” The tiger shifter grinned widely, now turned towards Xi and pointing the knife at her.

Xi rolled her uncovered eye and started to pour a tall glass of dragon’s breath, squinting hard at the three jugs. “There might not be enough of this shit for me.”

Sliding a knife out for myself, I spun it in my hand. “Despite what you may think, Tyr, I forged these myself…in the Argenti Caves. There was no fucking involved.”

Emon hissed across the room.

Tyr crossed his arms over his chest. “Gaib Castella doesn’t allow anyone near those caves.”

I arched a brow, rolling the blade over my knuckles.

“Gaib Castella had no problem letting me in the Argenti Caves. He just wouldn’t let me out until I forged the perfect blade exactly eight times.

He was insistent on that number.” Winking at Penina, I continued.

“Not a single one could be off balance, not a single one could be blemished, not a single one’s edge too dull. ”

The sound of the shifter king prowling towards me captured my attention and my voice trailed off. Licking my lips, I became lost in the way his sculpted body prowled towards me.

When he deftly plucked the blade from my hand and rolled it over his claws I sucked in a ragged breath. Tossing it upwards, he followed its movement before slicing down with his claws, sending it hurtling towards the far wall. It embedded in the stone and the thud echoed around the room.

Fiery eyes turned towards me. “Absolutely perfect.” He said, running an extended claw down my cheek and then back upwards to tuck away an errant strand of my hair. I shivered at his deadly touch and felt a flood of heated desire pool deep in my gut.

“Well, before we all burst into flames…” Penina snickered next to me. “Let’s play!”