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I saw red. My chest heaved. Nero really brought out the worst in me.

I’d always prided myself on my restraint, but this man shattered it with infuriating ease.

My hand flew up, only for him to catch my wrist mid-swing.

His grip was firm but not painful, his thumb brushing over my wild pulse before he brought my fingers to his mouth.

His lips pressed against my skin, warm and deliberate, and I shuddered. The sensation shot through me, treacherous and electric. For one dizzying second, I feared my knees might buckle, exactly what he wanted. To see me unravel. To play me like a damn instrument.

“You’re a stalker,” I spat, yanking my hand back the moment he released it. Regret spiked through me immediately. I should’ve let him keep going, should’ve used him and taken what pleasure I could before throwing it back in his face.

Nero’s smirk was pure sin. “Of course,” he said, his voice a silky scrape. “You’re too irresistible, baby.”

The words coiled around me, mocking and intoxicating in equal measure. I hated how they made my breath catch. Hated how, despite everything, part of me still thrilled at the chase.

A scowl on my face, I spat, “You actually think you’re charming, don’t you? I hate to tell you. That might work on others, but it’s wasted on me.”

His lips curved. “Is that so? I’ve always enjoyed the chase. Tell me, do you like being stalked?”

I scoffed. “No sane person would. Fuck off.”

“My virtuous maiden,” he crooned, the words dripping with dark amusement. My skin burned even as fury spiked through me. “Always so demure and polite.”

“How many women have you stalked?” I demanded.

His smile didn’t waver. “Only one in every lifetime.”

The admission confirmed what I already knew.

He was immortal. And it sent my thoughts spiraling to the murdered redheads spanning centuries.

Had he pursued them too, only to end their lives?

In every death dream, he’d been there, watching.

Yet I still couldn’t reconcile the man before me—the one who guarded the academy’s walls, who fought hunters and monsters—with a heartless murderer.

“Then I suggest you find someone else to torment in this lifetime,” I said icily.

The memory of him with Morrigan flared, sharp as an ice spike. I wouldn’t be that woman who shared, who settled for scraps. Even as the words left my mouth, the thought of him turning his attention to another sent acid churning in my gut.

I smothered the nausea, the jealousy, the rage. Better to endure this sharp, fleeting pain than a lifetime of slow poison. Whatever hold he had on me would fade. I wouldn’t let him twist me again. Never again would I allow him to have power over me.

His gaze darkened, that infuriating smirk never wavering. “Too bad I’m only interested in you.”

I exhaled sharply. “Why me?” The question tore free before I could stop it.

“Why not you, little pale flower?” His voice was mocking and tender all at once.

“I’m pale , as you said ,” I bit out, my jaw clenched. “Frail. You saw me humiliated when I was gasping for air. The entire academy talked about me being the weakest student. I’mnothingspecial.”

His fingers brushed my chin, tilting my face up. “Are you certain of that?” The way his lips curved, fond and knowing, sent heat spiraling through me.

“Stop playing games,” I snapped.

“I don’t play.”

“Is it the hair, then?” I yanked a strand of my red hair, the copper catching the orbs of light. “You have a type, don’t you? Redheads.”

His gaze locked onto mine, piercing and enigmatic. “Not just any redhead.”

The faces of the dead women, their features mirroring mine, flashed behind my eyes. The evidence was there.Hewas here, all but confessing.

“Did you—?” The words choked me, as if some unseen force clamped down on my throat. I couldn’t voice it. Couldn’t accuse him outright. The truth hovered between us, heavy and suffocating.

My breath came in shallow bursts, my body caught between the heat of his presence and the cold shelf digging into my back. Every nerve was alight, hyperaware of him, the way his scent wrapped around me, the way his voice curled under my skin.

“You know what?” I forced steel into my words. “This redhead isn’t interested. Go find another.”

The moment I said it, guilt twisted in my gut.

I shouldn’t have thrown the others to him, even in anger.

And worse, the thought of him turning his attention elsewhere made my chest burn.

And he was already with someone else. Why did I keep forgetting that when faced with the devastating pull of him?

His laugh was low, knowing. “You’re good at many things, little Bloom.

Lying isn’t one of them, especially to yourself.

” His fingers brushed my collarbone, igniting a trail of icy fire.

“I’d believe you if your pulse didn’t race when I’m near you.

If you didn’t hold your breath every time I touch you.

” He leaned in, his voice a dark promise.

“We’re drawn to each other. Like gravity.

Not even the fucking Fates can get between us.

You can run, but I’ll always find you.Always . ”

The words should have terrified me. Instead, they sent a thrill down my spine, and I couldn’t deny a terrifying, intoxicating pull toward him.

The memory of that night surged back, cutting me deep. “I might have believed you if I hadn’t walked in on you with yourgirlfriend,” I hissed, the words dripping with venom.

His brow furrowed. “Girlfriend? Unless you’re referring to yourself, which seems unlikely, given your current stance, I have no idea what you mean. What’s gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten into me?” My voice shook with fury. “You’re a liar! I saw her. Her hands were fucking all over you in your study.”

His smirk returned, infuriatingly calm. “You left too soon. If you’d stayed, you’d have seen how it turned out.”

I wanted to strike him. “There wasnothingleft to see. You disgust me, Ravencrux.” I shoved against his chest, but he didn’t budge. Instead, his thigh pressed between mine, trapping me further.

“Do I really disgust you?” he purred, a possessive edge creeping into his voice. “Or are you just furious that you didn’t stay and see it through to the end. I was waiting for you to come in and join me, but you ran away before I could get up from my chair.”

“Join you?” I spat. “What kind of woman do you think I am? You’re the most despicable man. Sebastian’s right about one thing?—”

A growl rumbled in his chest. “Don’t say that fucking punk’s name,” he warned, his eyes on fire, his voice lethal.

The air crackled between us. “I don’t cheat.

I don’tshare . And if you’d stayed that night, you’d know the only hands I want on me areyours .

” The raw possessiveness in his words sent a shiver through me.

“Were you seriously accusing me of cheating?” His voice dropped low, dangerous. “I’m incapable of cheating on you.”

“I think any man would cheat, given the right temptation,” I said, my jaw clenched.

“A weak man cheats,” he said. “But I’m nota weak man, not when it comes to you.

” His voice turned rough with something deeper than anger.

“I would never cross that line. Not just because I know you’d never forgive it.

” He trailed off, a sudden spasm of pain twisting his features, as if what he was going to say was forbidden.

“I was beyond the walls earlier,” he continued, his words clipped.

“A mutant lizard got its claws and venom into me before I tore its throat out. Morrigan washealing me.”

With a sharp tug, he ripped open the top buttons of his shirt. My breath caught at the vicious wound marring his chest, a jagged gash the size of my fist above his heart. Something primal twisted inside me at the sight, as if his pain echoed through my own ribs.

Before I could stop myself, my fingers lifted, drawn to the injury. His gaze burned into me as I traced the edges, the heat of his skin searing my fingertips. A stupid, reckless part of meached to take the hurt from him, to bear it myself if it meant he wouldn’t suffer.

His hand covered mine, pressing it flush against the wound.

“No lies between us.” His voice was gravel. The pulse of his heartbeat thudded against my palm, steady and relentless. A truth we couldn’t outrun.

“Does it still hurt?” I whispered.

“Pain is nothing to me,” he murmured, his hand tightening over mine. “You’re worried about me.”

“Because if you’re not at full strength, the monsters could breach the walls,” I said, pulling my hand away. “Innocents could die. So yes, youshould take care of yourself. But that still doesn’t explain why Morrigan sounded like she was in the middle of an erotic scene whilehealingyou.”

Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Jealousy looks good on you,” he said, his thumb brushing my lower lip. “All that fire.”

“Leave me alone.” I jerked back, but his grip held firm.

Yet as I searched his winter-green eyes, I found no deception, only that infuriating certainty. Was I seeing what I wanted to? After losing Mom, I’d sworn never to delude myself again.

“Staying away from you is the one thing Ican’t do,” he admitted, his voice rough with emotion.

“I’ve tried. Failed every time.” His fingers traced my jawline.

“Morrigan’s a siren. Healing draws out her nature, the sounds, the touch, and the scent part of it.

It means nothing to me.Her siren power doesn’t work on me.

Never has.” The sincerity in his voice and the raw need in his eyes broke through my defenses like water through a dam.

“There is no one else. There never has been. I’ve waited lifetimes for you.

Do you think I’d throw that away foranyone? ”

I swallowed hard. No lies, no games. Just a hunger so vast it terrified me.

I nodded, accepting his truth. “I have a few more questions. And I want you to answer me truthfully.”