Thin, fragile. But real.
“IloveMalik,” he said, and the words hit me like a whip. “With every fiber of my being.”
A thousand knives lacerated my heart.
I stood abruptly, stalking toward the hearth, the firelight illuminating the venom coiling inside me.
“Youlovedmy father too, Balthazar,” I hissed. “And what didhedo to you? He betrayed you. Burned you. Left you bleeding. And now you stand here defending Malik as if he’s immune to the same temptation?”
He flinched.
“Malik is trying to overpower the master,” I said, my tone deadly. “It’s textbook, isn’t it? Gain the trust. Learn the secrets. Then cut the throat.”
“Howdareyou?” Balthazar rasped. “Malik wouldneverbetray me. I nurtured him with my hands. Gave him more than any father ever could.”
His face twisted in anguish as he grappled with my accusation.
“That’s exactly what people do,” I said coldly, savoring the pain in his eyes. “They exploit the vulnerable. They study the master until they learn how to destroy him.Youkilled my father to prove your superiority. Now Malik is following your example.”
Balthazar rose from the settee like a storm gathering strength. He stalked toward me, his eyes blazing—half confusion, half suspicion. He studied me intently, as if trying to pierce through the mask I wore… and perhaps sensing what lay beneath.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice low and wary. “Why are you trying to turn me against my son?”
I clenched my fists, struggling to contain the fire raging inside me. The rage. The betrayal. Thehurt. He had kept Malik a secret. A companion. A son. A piece of himself he’d never shared with me.
And now I wanted to rip it away from him.
To burn it all to ash.
“Can’t you see?” I shouted, my voice rising with feral energy. “He’s trying to outwit you. Outrun you. Malik will doanythingto get what he wants, and when he does,we—ourhappiness—will be sacrificed in the process!”
I stepped closer, the hearth flames casting shadows across my face.
“We have to stop him. HeandLayla. Those daggers are a lie. A fairy tale for fools. They bring false hope, and he’ll use them to strip everything from you. Fromus. We must strike first—before it’s too late.”
Chapter 17
Balthazar
As I looked into Alina’s eyes, her words took root, winding themselves around every doubt I’d buried. And suddenly… it all made perfect sense.
Layla.
She was changing Malik—softening him, like Cora once did to Mathias. Twisting him into something I didn’t recognize. Into somethinggood.
A foreign terror surged in my chest. My heart pounded with the realization.
Malik wants to destroy me.
The image of him shifted in my mind, warping from the loyal, eager pupil I had raised into a dark, looming presence cloaked in betrayal. His innocence was a mask. A lie. Beneath it, he was sharpening his blade.
And if I didn’t move fast, he would be my ruin.
I reached for Alina and pulled her into a crushing embrace, rocking her against me as though trying to steady myself.
“Oh, my beloved Alina,” I murmured, breath ragged. “Where would I be without your wise counsel? You’ve pulled the wool from my eyes. I see it now.”
“I’m glad you can see clearly,” she said, her voice honeyed with triumph. “Before it’s too late.”
