Riven nods. “No monster can pass through unless their beast has been bound first. It’s a security measure to prevent escaped monsters from getting to the mainland to retaliate.” He tilts his chin toward the night sky where the shifter realm looms among a blanket of stars. “I can key in the Fringes a million times, but Luca won’t make it through.”
“Send them without me,” Luca says.
“No.” Celine’s response is immediate.
“The fuck is wrong with you?” I snap at Riven. “There must be another option. Malach, hit him until he tells us another option.”
Riven holds his hands up. “I swear I’m telling the truth. Do you think I would look like this”—he points viciously at his own expressionless, amber-coated features—“if there were any other alternative?”
“If you won’t leave without me,” Luca says calmly, “then bind my basilisk.”
Celine grabs his hand. “You told me your parents were never the same after they were bound.” She lifts her chin. “And I’m not willing to lose any part of you.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Luca snaps. “Better I make it off this cursed rock as a shifter without a shift than watch you die because of me.”
Shouts ricochet below us as dark, shadowy figures run along the icy ground. A monstrous beast chases after them, stopping only to bite the slowest one’s head off. I cover us in a nightmare, my hands trembling as I stare at the blood-streaked snow. “Is there a safer venue for us to have this argument?”
“There’s nothing to argue about?—”
“No, Luca,” Celine says. “This isn’t a sacrifice you can make. It’s my fault you’re here. Do you think I would survive watching your love for me turn to resentment over time? Don’t do that to me.”
“I wouldn’t?—”
“I have a place,” Riven says. “It’s secret. No one knows about it.”
“Why does no one let me talk?” Luca demands, running his hands through his hair and wincing when he finds ice sticking to the strands.
“B-because you’re spewing b-bullshit,” Alistair says.
“Riven is telling the truth.” Celine sounds convinced, and I know she’s a magical lie detector, but shit, there are lots of ways to tell the truth and lie at the same time.
I should know.
I study Riven through my watering eyes. Our jailer. The one who hunted us down, tore us apart, and forced Celine to fight tooth and nail to get us back. His living mask makes it hard to tell what he’s thinking, but if he leads us into another cell, we’re going to regret trusting him.
“We need to know his motivations,” I say. “Malach, can you do the thing?”
For a moment, I’m not sure he heard me, then he blinks and focuses on the veydra. His magic isn’t visible, but his runes are. They light up, golden and bright, the markings covering his face, neck, and hands.
After a breathless wait, he shakes his head. “It’s a mess in there,” he says grimly. “But his current motivation is to help.”
“What else did you see?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at Riven.
“Am I entitled to no privacy?” Riven hisses. “I’m risking my life to help, and you’re picking me to pieces like a meal that isn’t to your liking.”
Luca laughs bitterly. “That’s rich, coming from you—the guy who hunted us down for a payday.”
Celine glances at the scurrying figures below, then flinches as a scream comes from one of the other cabin cells. “We’re out of time.”
Malach clears his throat and fixes his eyes on Riven. “He isn’t risking everything to helpus,” he says quietly. “He’s risking everything to help Celine.”
For a moment, there’s complete silence, then Alistair chuckles. “T-that I can believe. I vote we take the deal. It’s the only option.”
“That dinosaur found us last time, even with my magic,” I remind them. “How can we be sure he won’t track us to your safe house?”
A vicious snarl erupts behind us, and everyoneflinches. “Gather around,” Riven says, narrowing his eyes. “We’re out of time. Make sure everyone is touching.”
We shuffle together, and I snuggle into Celine’s neck and whisper in her ear, “I’m getting spooky déjà vu.”
