“Did I?” He inspects his nails, his mouth curving. “I recall a bargain—your servitude for her safety. And she was safe, wasn’t she? Right up until she wasn’t.” His eyes flick toward me, waiting. “That’s on you, Huntsman. You should have played a better game.”
A growl burns the back of my throat, but I don’t take the bait. He wants me angry. Sloppy. He wants me to forget my purpose.
“You let the Baron slaughter Vespers,” I accuse. “You let him force Florienne’s Hunt early. You let him break the game.”
Kasaros exhales long and slow, rubbing his temple as if I’m giving him a headache. “And what should I have done? Punish him for ambition? How dull. Need I remind you that you wouldn’t be here without him. He’s a man who saw a prize within reach and took his chance.” His gaze sharpens, amusement curdling into something more dangerous. “Much like you, hm?”
I refuse to rise to it. “Florienne isn’t supposed to be here. I held my end of the bargain. You owe me.”
Silence settles like a thick fog. For the first time since he arrived, Kasaros studies me—not as a petulant pawn, but assomething else. Something worth his attention. His lips part. He inhales. And then, slowly, his smirk spreads across his face, unnaturally wide.
“Ahhh.” His eyes gleam. “So that’s it. That’s why she intrigues me.”
A chill laces my spine. No.
No, no, no.
Kasaros hums, slipping from his perch to prowl toward me. Dark mist coils at his feet like eager pets. “You always were a clever little shadow protecting his rose. But you didn’t account for one thing.” His fingers twitch, as if fighting the urge to touch me. To taste me. “You gave your years to me. And in doing so, you gave me your blood.” He tilts his head. “And now I see why hers sings to me.”
I lunge before I can think, grabbing the front of his embodied doublet. “You leave her out of this.”
He only chuckles, low and indulgent, letting me grasp him like a fool who believes he holds power. “Maybe I want to play for a while. It’s been a while since I felt this kind of—” He cuts off, dark clouds flitting across his features. Then he meets my eyes. “You want to protect her? Then enter the Hunt. Win her. Become King.”
I shove him with a scoff. “She’ll never let the Huntsman near her, let alone claim her.”
“Of course she won’t.” Kasaros raises a brow. “Not when she believes the Huntsman is a monster. But what if he isn’t?” His fingers snap, and shadows pulse around me. “What if he’s something different?”
He knows I overheard them make their wager. He knows I’ll never pit myself against Flori. Her safety has always come first.
Games upon games. Lies upon lies. I’m sick of it.
“What if he quits, right here, right now?” I throw down my weapon. It splits the shadows and clatters on moss-riddledstone. Next is my bow. My quiver filled with arrows. Daggers. A sword.
Amused eyes call my bluff as I divulge every weapon he’s given me. But when the painted mask flutters to the ground, he deadpans.
Quiet death vibrates the air around him. “I own you, puppet.”
“You did,” I agree, “until you failed your end of our bargain. That’s how it works, right?”
A beat passes. We hold each other’s gaze, and then he bursts out laughing, rich and deep. “Well played.”
“This isn’t a game,” I growl.
“Is it not?”
My pulse races. My eyes dart about, searching for a solution—anything. I stall on the discarded mask. With it on, I am the Huntsman. I am the thing she abhors. Despite every corner of my being crying out to be the one who claims her, it won’t keep her safe. It will gift wrap her in a pretty little bow for Kasaros. But perhaps I can use the mask to stoke her revulsion and protect her at the same time.
I heard her bargain with Kasaros. She wants to conquer the Labyrinth and free herself… and every other bride in the process.
“Don’t you want to protect your little rose?” The God asks, his tone like silk. “Don’t you wish to ensure her freedom? Is that not what you’ve wanted all along?”
My resolve hardens. “Very well, Kasaros, I accept your offer.”
“What terms shall we barter?” Kasaros stares, waiting. Expectant. As if he can’t just pluck the answer from my head.
“To remain in the Labyrinth,” I say around gritted teeth. “For me to stay and join the hunt.”
“Ah, but I said theHuntsmancould.” He leans in. “I saidhecould claim her and be king.”
