Fuck.
Her gaze snapped to mine as if the heavens themselves had pointed me out. Recognition flashed across her face, sharp and immediate, and she didn’t hesitate. She started straight for me, cutting through the crowd with purpose.
“Shit.” Ezra was moving away. “Remember, you need to pretend you’re here for her so she isn’t suspicious.”
“No…” But it was too late.
“Abram.” Loma smiled and tried to hug me, but I turned so it was barely a touch. “You came for me.”
My insides recoiled in disgust when I saw her. My gaze dropped to the bond between us, and for the first time, I truly looked at it. The edges were black, corrupted, wrong. Unhealthy.
Anger flared at the heavens for binding me to this over a single mistake, but beneath it, I understood. Vyrak were dangerous. And this was probably the worst fuckup I could have made. Her smile widened.
Soft. Sweet. Familiar. Calculated. She wouldn’t question me about the reaction to her because she probably wanted to latch onto me like the leech she was.
My wards whispered warnings, my magic humming like a caged thing beneath my skin. It wouldn't let her latch on again. Not this time. I had made sure of it. No matter how sweet her smile, how nice she tried to make her tone, I would not let her drink me dry again.
Still, I made myself smile—surprised, even pleased to see her. Because Ezra might’ve been right. I needed to play this game. She would lead me to Elowyn.I could get close then maybe I could finally kill her family. Maybe I could get my wife back.
“I thought maybe you’d come find me after that issue with yourwife,” she said, voice like honeyed venom.
My jaw clenched. “Why would you assume that?” I scoffed, but the reaction was too sharp, too revealing. I masked it with a drag of my hand through my hair.
She tilted her head, amused. “You said I was your mate.”
I stilled. The word mate made me want to throw up.
“I didn’t realize that you heard that.”
Her smile faltered into something smaller. “Did you not want me to know?”
I studied her. She was good at pretending like she wasn’t a snake.
“No,” I said carefully. “It was just... terrible timing for you to show up when you did.”
She nodded like she understood what she’dfucked up—though I doubted she actually grasped the weight of it. The damage. The betrayal. The timelines she had unraveled. Actually, she probably did. Which made me wonder how she knew where I was.
“How was your day?” she asked lightly, trying to sound casual.
My day has been hell. Visions. Fading threads. A sense that time was circling a drain I couldn’t plug. Picturing Elowyn every second wondering what she was doing. “Fine,” I lied. “Just checking in on the other realms. Making sure they are safe.”
“And?”
“They’re safe, for now.” I jabbed at her.
She twirled a piece of her hair around her finger like a child. “I did some shopping. I hung out with my friends…” Her voice trailed off, and then her eyes met mine again, calculating. “I was wondering, since we are mates... if you wanted to come to a party tonight. Meet my family. You know. Take things slow.”
The bile rose in my throat before I could stop it.
Ihatedthat word coming from her mouth.Mate.
Still, I nodded once, because I needed to see her family. I needed to look Philip in the eye and measure what kind of monster was fated to my wife. I needed to see what I was up against.
“Sure,” I said, tone flat. “But I’m not promising anything more than this.”
She smiled again, like she knew something I didn’t. Like she thought time was still on her side.
“That’s perfectly fine.”
