I pictured Conan crouched by my side, scratching his cheeks and whispering,“Stats over impulse.”
And just like that, I made my choice. I found my way out.
“Victor… I want this, I do,” I whispered, voice soft but steady. “But my alignment isn’t stable yet. We… we could fracture it. My mind is still a mess, and I want it to be real. Don’t you?”
I felt the dice, smooth and cool in my mind, and let them clatter across the table, echoing like a memory.
Victor hesitated, tilting his head. The aura around him flickered.
“Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But… I understand. You’ve made tremendous progress, and I’d hate to ruin it.”
Nat 20.
Success.
Crew intact.
Mission status: Ongoing.
I gave him a smile and a tentative, soft kiss on the lips as a teaser. An offering. A false promise.
I could play the long game.
Captain’s Log, Cycle 54
You’ve escaped by the skin of your teeth, negotiations put on pause while you gather the survivors and repair your ships. Your distress signal is still out there, but if no one comes, you’ll be ready.
46
A Piece of Cheesecake
Ronan
The motorcade glided through the desert like a procession of shiny, black beetles set against the ochre backdrop.
The sun was high, but we’d be rolling into Noctis closer to ten p.m. for the meeting with Victor. Asmodiel, the Premier of Ignareth, sat beside me, checking his phone. The hum of the road, the soft tick of his nails as they hit the screen, and the rustling of fabric were all putting me on edge.
I should have brought headphones—I couldn’t stand this sort of silence.
When my knee began to bounce, my dad cleared his throat from the other side of Asmodiel, and I stopped.
I was thirty-one years old, and he was still correcting my fidgeting.
And I was still letting him.
“So,” Asmodiel started, clearing his throat. “How exactly did your mate end up with Victor?”
A low growl punctured the air, and Asmodiel stiffened beside me.
“Does it matter?” my dad answered, crossing his legs. He took out a vaporleaf roll, but didn’t lower the window as he lit it, filling the space with thick, pungent smoke.
It didn’t bother me, because my lungs were already burning with need to fry that vampire fuck to a crisp for what he’d done to my mate, but Asmodiel coughed slightly. “No, I was just curious what Corvane’s goal was. I heard he was bringing back Blood Consorts, and I was wondering if I should bother bringing it up during our meeting.”
Blood Consorts? I quickly took out my phone and checked the news.
PREMIER CORVANE STUNS SYMPHONY CROWD
NOCTIS—Victor Corvane stunned the Grand Symphony last night by bringing his newly claimed witch mate, Sage Hexwood, while still married to Madam Accalia Corvane, mother to his son, Alaric.
