“Don’t lie to me,” Balthazar murmured, his lips brushing too close to my ear. “I can smell a lie, Marcellious—even from miles away.”
I fought against his grasp, but his fingers remained locked around my throat, vice-like.
I couldn’t breathe.
“Okay, okay,” I wheezed, vision spotting. “I’ll tell you what he said—just let me go.”
Balthazar released me. I staggered back, gasping, coughing so hard my ribs ached.
“I’m listening,” he said, his voice unnervingly calm.
When I finally caught my breath, I croaked, “James said Malik is aliveand in the Catskill Mountains. Waiting. Planning. Biding his time… to kill you.”
I ran a hand over my throat, wincing. There’d be more than bruises there tomorrow.
Balthazar’s brow furrowed, deep lines carving across his forehead. “How is that possible?” His said more to himself than to me. “I killed him. I watched his body burn. He’s been dead for centuries.”
I observed his reaction carefully. The way his hands curled into fists, the way his jaw twitched—he was rattled.
“There’s more,” I added. “James claimed Alina found one of the missing blades—the Sun or the Moon Dagger. I don’t remember which one, but she had it.”
Balthazar stiffened, his nostrils flaring. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, catching the dim firelight.
He was afraid.
“There’s no way,” he shook his head. “They’ve been missing for thousands of years.”
I narrowed my eyes. So, the great Balthazar—so smug, so unshakable—could be affected after all.
“I knew Alina was up to something when I was hunting her,” he muttered, pacing again, his agitation palpable. “That’s why I need that damn journal. I knew she would find a blade; I could feel it. And if she did, she would have written down where she hid it.”
His eyes snapped back to me, glowing like embers in the dark.
“What else?” He asked in a low, dangerous growl. “Tell me everything James said.”
I stroked my jaw, pretending to think. I already knew what I would say, but I let him stew in the silence a little longer.
“James said Alina hid the blade somewhere safe,” I finally admitted, watching his every twitch. “And she gave her journal to Malik for safekeeping.”
Balthazar stopped pacing.
A predatory smile curled his lips as he straightened to his full height, his shadow swallowing mine.
He leaned in slightly.
I squared my shoulders, adjusting my trousers as I met his gaze.
“You’re going to help me find Malik,” he said, voice dripping with dark promise.
His tongue flicked across his lips like he could already taste the blood.
Excitement thrummed through me as power rippled off Balthazar’s body, an intoxicating force that sent a shiver down my spine. This was why I followed him. This was why I served him. The sheer thrill of plottingwickedness and carrying it out, the exhilaration of standing beside true darkness.
A surge of exultation washed over me.
“Of course, I will help you,” I said, my voice reverent. “I will always be of service to you.”
I stepped closer, my pulse pounding with anticipation. “Olivia went to find Malik—she had the map John James gave her. I glimpsed it while she studied it. I know where to look.”
