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Ethan set down his portfolio and pulled on cotton gloves. “May I?”

“Please.”

The bond hummed with Ethan’s focus as he opened the case. Rook couldn’t see the manuscript clearly through the body cam, but he felt Ethan’s recognition spike. Clearly he wasn’t looking at an alchemy text, but rather something else…something worse.

“Fascinating,” Ethan murmured. “These aren’t alchemical symbols at all. They’re binding sigils. Specifically, sigils designed to contain and redirect essence.”

“Is that so?” Pope moved closer. “What sort of essence?”

“The manuscript doesn’t specify, but the complexity suggests something powerful. Something that would resist standard containment.” Ethan looked up. “This is an unusual piece. Where did you acquire this?”

“An estate sale. The previous owner was quite the collector.”

Liar, Rook thought, and felt Ethan’s agreement pulse through the bond.

“The binding’s deteriorating,” Ethan continued. “If you want it preserved, I’d recommend using climate-controlled storage and minimal handling. I can provide a full assessment report with restoration recommendations, if that’s helpful.”

“Excellent.” Pope smiled. “Tell me, Mr. Park, have you ever considered expanding your practice beyond authentication?”

Here it comes. Rook tensed.

“I’ve recently become interested in new opportunities,” Ethan said carefully.

“I have several associates who require specialized services - acquisitions, discrete transfers, documentation that doesn’t attract unnecessary attention.” Through the camera, Pope’s eyes were cold. “Someone with your particular skills could be very valuable. And very well compensated.”

The bond flared, Ethan had found the primary ward seal. Rook felt his mate’s triumph like champagne in his veins.

“That’s a generous offer,” Ethan said. “But I prefer to keep my work legitimate. Pure authentication doesn’t have any gray areas.”

“Such a pity.” Pope’s smile didn’t waver. “Though I suppose that’s why you’ve attracted such interesting friends. The legitimate types always do.”

Ice flowed through the bond as Rook - and Ethan - came to the same realization. Pope just confirmed he knew about the guardians and the beacon bond.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Ethan said, but his heartbeat was hitting double time on the monitors.

“Don’t you?” Pope stepped between Ethan and the door. “Tell me, how does it feel to be bait, Mr. Park?”

Chapter Sixteen

“I’m not following.”

Ethan kept his voice level while his mind went into instinctive threat assessment mode. Exit routes were the main concern. Pope was blocking the hallway, and therefore the main door. There were two windows behind display cases forty feet away, and the only other door was where Pope’s study likely was, which wasn’t going to be useful. His pulse hammered against the bond, and somewhere two blocks away, he knew Rook would feel it.

Pope laughed. “You’re a terrible liar. Then again, that’s what makes you so perfect for this. Apparently, you’re brutally honest, pathologically accurate, and bonded to something that will tear apart my wards the moment you’re in danger.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The shadow marks on your throat and wrists suggest otherwise.” Pope gestured at Ethan’s neck. “I’ve studied Eldritch entities for forty years, Mr. Park. I know what a completed bond looks like. I also know that your mate is currently losing his mind somewhere, probably within a mile of this building, ready to come running the second you’re genuinely threatened.”

Ethan’s hand moved toward his phone.

“I wouldn’t.” Pope pulled a small device from his pocket. It was silver, compact, covered in the same sigils Ethan had seen on the warehouse door. “This will create a suppression field, localized but effective. One press, and your mate’s shadows won’t make it through the door.”

He doesn’t need the door. The bond blazed with Rook’s rage. Ethan felt it like heat against his chest, sensing Rook’s desperation to reach him.

Stay back, Ethan thought, hoping the bond carried intention if not words. He’s expecting you. Don’t give him what he wants.

“You’re going to kill me to lure Rook here,” Ethan said. “Is that the plan?”