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Is it the news from Adelphi? Or is it something more? After reuniting with her friend, does she wish to leave the Shore of the Damned? As much as I want her to stay with me, I didn’t save her life for her to exchange one cage for another. I’m desperate to know what she wants, and I can’t stop myself from asking her mind-to-mind.

Do you want to leave with Cress?

Her brow furrows only slightly as she shakes her head.

Thank fuck.

“Enough, heiress.” Ash slides his hands into his trouser pockets. “Rory and the others fall under Quill’s protection per Challenge regulations.” He tips his chin at me. “I will speak to Alyvia on your behalf, and should she wish to meet, you will receive word.” Eivor and Risna lurch to their feet. He holds up a hand to halt them. “No need for an escort. We’ll see ourselves out.” Trailed by his second, he pauses beside Cress. “Make it quick.”

Collectively, we wait until the castle doors open and then groan shut.

Carver settles deeper into the overstuffed couch beside the window overlooking the shore. “I’ve met feral hounds more sympathetic to our cause than Ash.”

Florin leaps from Risna’s arms and dashes across the room toward Rory, the little bell around her neck jingling with each step.

Risna mutters something that sounds a lot like, “Traitor.”

“Don’t worry about Ash,” Cress says. “My aunt knows how much Rory means to me, but even if that isn’t enough to convince her, as heiress, I’ll demand her endorsement. Just… do whatever you can to secure Nerissa’s and the others.”

Rory bends to scratch behind Florin’s folded ears and croons, “Hi, pretty girl.”

Cress watches her fondly, an endearing smile playing at her lips before her attention snaps to me. There’s a warning in those brown eyes: If anything happens to her, you’re dead.

Rory straightens and hugs Cress tightly. “I’ll see you soon?”

Cress nods. “Next time, I’ll bring Lowella. And I’ll look into sourcing…” She trails off, her eyes cutting to my kindred and then back to Rory. “Don’t worry about that other thing we discussed. Just leave it to me.”

“Thank you,” Rory says hastily, offering me a look that says she’ll fill me in later.

They slip from the receiving room, arms linked and skirts brushing against the floor. My heart tumbles in my chest as Rory continues to make decisions for herself without the debilitating fear of the possible consequences. In the past, she made herself small, desperate to keep herself dainty and docile in the light, but in the shadows… that’s when she came alive.

Magnificent and bold and perfect.

“What is Nerissa’s message?” Risna asks, crossing the room to scoop Florin back into her arms. The cat squirms but doesn’t escape her. “Stop it, Florin. I’m trying to love on you, dammit.”

“If you’re finished,” I say drily as she fixes me with a glare.

Carefully, I open the clamshell and hear Nerissa’s voice.

“Quill, I have made my decision. Come to Wynterhaven for breakfast.”

“She’s going to back you, then,” Eivor says, running his hand over his scalp. “This is great news.”

“It seems that way.” The sun is just starting to descend across the pale blue sky. Only a handful of hours until nightfall. “Rory and I will leave tonight to prepare the cottage for Nerissa’s arrival. Will the three of you pay Eliphas a visit and set up a meeting?”

Risna buries her face in Florin’s neck, Eivor’s hand falls to the carved hilt of his axe, and Carver… Carver grins like a wild man. “Absolutely.”

Rory drains another jar of blood, her smile bloody and sharp as she wrinkles her nose. “I really don’t like the taste of fox blood.”

I chuckle. “It’s quite… dry.”

“Exactly!” She licks at the crimson stain on the corner of her lip. “Do you have a favorite?”

“I do.” I cross the kitchen to a locked icebox and press my ring against the indentation located there. The door swings open to reveal several bottles filled with blood. I reach for one from the middle. “Come here.”

“It must be rare if you keep it under lock and ring,” she teases as she saunters up to my side. She’s lighter today. As if seeing her friend removed invisible weights from her thin shoulders.

“Hardly.” I match her mischievous grin. “Risna is lazy when it comes to hunting. If I left it unlocked, she’d drain the dregs dry.”