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"You had a death wish." He stepped into a sliver of light, showing the hard, scarred beauty of his face. He didn't look like a hero. He looked like a predator who had cleared smaller vermin off his territory. "Hide your scent. There are bigger things than low-level scavengers hunting in this city. Next time, I might not be in the mood for a rescue."

Before I could demand to know his name, he was gone. He didn't vanish like a warlock’s teleport, though. He just melted into the darkness as if the shadows were his own skin.

Present Day

I rolled onto my side, the memory making my skin prickle. I had spent three weeks wondering if I’d dreamed that shadow in the alley, only for him to march into my life today and demand a seat at a table he hadn't been invited to.

Violet jumped onto the bed, kneading the blankets beside my hip. "I shouldn't go," I murmured into the quiet room. "He’s not like Lucien, Violet. Lucien is a chess player. I can see the board. But Kael... Kael is the fire that burns the board before the game even starts." I’d spoken to him only twice, but the raw intensity of that night at the docks had told me everything I needed to know. He didn't follow the rules of magic. He followed the rules of the hunt.

Violet didn't answer. She just curled into a ball, leaving me alone with the realisation that despite the danger or perhaps because of it, I was already counting the hours until eight o'clock at the Iron Fox.

Sleep came slowly, dreams coiling hot and dark. Kael was there. His voice low in my ear, his hand pressing against my waist, dragging me flush against the heat of his chest. I dreamed of his mouth grazing my throat, his fingers gripping tighter as though he’d never let go. My pulse thudded, legs tangling in the sheets, a whimper caught in my throat. Just as the dream was about to tip into something deeper, I felt a sharp, deliberate scratch on my ankle.

"Ow! Fine," I muttered, rolling over to give the cat more room. Laughter bubbled up helplessly through the ache of the interrupted dream. “But if I die of frustration, Violet, I’m blaming you.”

Morning at Moonveil

The next morning, I unlocked the front door of my bookshop, sunlight spilling across the shelves and casting long shadows through the shop. The bell jingled cheerfully as if nothing in the world were complicated. I let the sound steady my pulse, humming softly as I slipped into routine, unboxing new stock, straightening plants, arranging books in tidy stacks.

Normal. Simple. Safe.

If only my chest weren’t still tight with the memory of last night.

Violet dashed across the counter in her usual chaotic fashion, tail lashing like a whip. She batted a pot of paint to the floor, sending a splash of blue smearing over the tiles. I sighed, dropping to my knees with a rag. “You’re judging me, aren’t you?” I muttered, mopping the spill. “One late night and suddenly I’m the villain in your story.” Violet purred smugly, then flicked her tail across my cheek as if to confirm it. I laughed despite myself, brushing dirt off my hands and smoothing my dress. She will hate me even more after tonight’s late-night escapade.

My eyes drifted to the back room, where the floorboards hid my precious charge. Violet’s golden gaze followed mine, settling pointedly on the exact spot beneath the flower fridge where the shard is tucked away. I leaned down and tapped her velvet nose with a tired sigh. “You know far too much for a creature who doesn't pay rent,” I whispered, a small, sad smile tugging at my lips. “Keep those eyes to yourself, Violet. If the Sisters catch you looking at the floorboards like that, we’re both going to end up as garden ornaments.”

She blinked slowly, the feline equivalent of a shrug, and began to groom a paw as if the fate of the world weren't buried six inches beneath her.

My mind drifted toward Kael and the date. His voice was like gravel dragged over velvet. His radiating heat pulled at me like gravity itself.

I stacked books by colour, but my eyes glazed over the spines. I arranged yarn displays, but my fingers twisted the balls too tightly. Finally, with a frustrated sigh, I wiped my hands on my apron and grabbed my phone. One ring, two...

“Ivy Thornton,” Aggy’s voice purred, smug and amused, “you never call this early unless you’re in trouble. Spill.”

“I’m not in trouble,” I whispered, glancing at Violet. The cat gave me a look that screamed liar. “I just… may have agreed to a date tonight.”

Aggy gasped dramatically. “Another one? Didn’t you just… oh gods, this is the other one, isn’t it? The stormy, broody one?”

“Maybe,” I admitted, trying and failing not to grin.

Aggy cackled. “I knew it! Okay, outfit strategy. What are we aiming for? Seductive enchantress? Innocent bookshop girl? Or ‘oops, I didn’t mean to melt your brain with my dress, but here we are’?”

I pressed my forehead to the counter, laughing softly. “Gods, Aggy. I need… something that says I’m in control. Not desperate.”

“Mmm hmm,” Aggy drawled. “Control. Right. Black silk dress, smokey eyes, and for the love of the moon, wear the boots that make your legs look illegal. Trust me.”

Violet meowed in agreement, the traitor.

“Fine,” I muttered, though my pulse quickened at the thought. “But if I combust in public, I’m haunting you.”

Aggy just laughed. “Please. If you combust, he won’t know what hit him. Now go run your shop like the innocent little witch you are.” She ended the call. My stomach was in knots, equal parts dread and desire. By the time the shop began to fill with the usual morning customers, I had poured coffee, chatted with a few locals about new releases, and carried in boxes of paints. My mouth moved, and my hands worked, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Kael’s smirk. His hunger. His claim.

Excitement mingled with nerves, but beneath it all was a cold, calculated focus. I could feel the thrum of the shard under my skin, matching the secret hum beneath the floorboards. It was echoing my restlessness like a ticking clock. I had to hold onto the shard until the Winter Solstice. If I could perform the Nexus Rite and anchor its power directly into Ebonvale’s ley lines, it would make magic free. Make it a permanent part of the city's atmosphere that no one—not the Council, and not these high-tier warlocks—could ever cage again. It would be a new world, and it would make me the most hunted woman in history.

My heart was still racing, adrenaline sparking in my veins like lightning. I couldn't afford the luxury of a crush, but I could certainly use the distraction. Kael and Lucien were more than just two handsome threats. They were the most powerful players on the board, and as long as they were fighting over me, they weren't looking at my floorboards. I just had to make sure I didn't get caught in the crossfire of the very storm I was brewing. Every touch, every lingering glance at dinner, it was all part of the misdirection. Or at least, that’s what I kept telling my treacherous heart.

I pressed my palms to my burning cheeks and whispered under my breath, “Tonight… I must keep the mask on.”