Page 46 of The Book of Blood and Roses

Penny wouldn’t do this to me. She wouldn’t send me here without warning me first. She isn’t a Council mole. She can’tbe.

Marcus hands me a small glass of water. I want to throw it at him, but instead I take a sip, trying to stay calm.

She wouldn’t lie. She wouldn’t hide something this big.No.

I want to scream.

“Does Aliz know what I am?” I ask, chest tight.

“Of course not.” He finishes his blood, and Marcus takes the glass away. “The heir is blissfully unaware of most things happening around her.” He says this, but now I can’t be sure. If Penny has been lying to me for four years, why on earth would I trust someone I’ve known for weeks?

Someone I was practically making out with before he calledus.

God, what have I done?

“I would stop taking the garlic if I were you,” he says. “If you do end up killing the Astra heir, you would be in serious trouble.”

“Why would I stop taking it?” I ask. “She’s not going to bite me.”

“You can’t be sure of that. The effects of the unsealed contract won’t be limited just to you. She will also experience them.”

“Effects?”

“Haven’t you noticed any changes in her behaviour? Is she more erratic?”

Erratic.I remember her lips on my neck. Her fangs, grazing my skin.

“I don’t know her well enough to noticechanges.We both said it isn’t going to happen. Plus, I can’t be compelled.”

“I know. But I don’t think you fully understand what that mark will do to you,” he says, crossing his arms. “She won’tneedto compel you. You will ask for it.”

Something tightens inside me, but I don’t let him sense it. He looks away from me, back at the door. “I told you she would start acting erratically,” he says in a lower voice. “She’s coming back for you.”

I look at the door, unable to shake the panic creeping through me. Aliz might try to biteme.

And I might let her.

“Go,” he says. “And keep me updated on your search for Ada’s library.”

I get up. Does he know that was my mission? He would have mentioned it. So maybe,hopefully,Penny is holding her cards closer than he thinks.

“Don’t give me orders,” I say, leaning on the desk. I slide the chain out of my watch, shake it, and hold the blade to his neck. Marcus doesn’t move, as though he already knows I’m not going to kill his master. “And don’t forget what I am.”

“Don’t worry,” Nocth whispers, placing his hands upon the silver. His skin turns red before a dozen tiny blisters form around the metal. I draw it back just as they burst, and a second later, his skin heals itself. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Aliz and Iwalk back in silence. My expression is enough to keep her from asking what happened. I don’t look at her. I need to be alone. Talk to Penny. Scream at her. But the angrier I get, the worse the itch on my neck becomes.

Aliz guides us up Tynarrich’s maintenance staircase, accessed through a small door in the back of the stone building. The wooden staircase creaks with each step. The lights on the wall are dim, some no longer working, forcing us to walk in shadows for two floors. Halfway up, Aliz stops and looks atme.

“What did he say?”

I keep walking, brushing past her.

“Cassie, I can tell you’re upset.”

Does she know my real name? Is she also lying?

“He said you’d want to bite me.” My voice is like ice. “The mark will make measkfor it.”