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Aidan released a gargled whine.

Blood dripping off my chin, I paused, sobbing as I watched him rasp.

I wiped my face with my sleeve, drawing some deep breaths.

Calm down…

He went to speak, a death rattle escaping his disgusting mouth instead.

“I’m going to stop,” I said, still straddling him.

No answer, more rattling.

Maybe I should make a run for it. But why bother? He’d only pop up again to kick my backside. He was going to be my damn shadow until I found a way to cut what tethered him to me.

He tried to speak again, crimson bubbles foaming from his lips.

I shook my head, hot with anxiety all over.

Run.

Just run.

It didn’t matter where, as long I put distance between us. Never mind the temporary reprieve and his penchant for teleporting. At least it would give me some space to think, to untangle the messes in my head.

After saving Silvanus.

Damn. My heart. It needed to be near him.

Another boom shook the ground, drawing a squeak from the poor woman still on the bridge.

“Help me,” she pleaded. “There’s so many… There’s so many dead.”

Her words were a poker to my inner bonfire. I snarled down at Aidan, pressing the tip of my stakeblade to his Adam’s apple.

Hal’s Adam’s Apple.

“You’ll pay for this,” I seethed.

His lips spread into a wicked smirk, his voice still choked by bloody bubbles.

The curse. Somewhere in the city was the source of my curse.

I flashed to the vision of the mermaid I’d met on this bridge and the guy who blew magical dust into my eyes. They’d done something to me, which ended up with me in the Albion River frostbrood nest downstream, and my first fake death.

They had to be involved, right?

Ugh. When I thought about it, nails hammered into my brain. The truth wasn’t quite ready to be revealed yet.

Cursed. Unkillable.

Doomed to murder my true love.

This can’t be real.

Yeah, denial didn’t suit me. Especially nowadays.

Aidan made a pathetic sound, lifting his left arm a few inches off the ground before it collapsed again.