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“Exactly what he wants you to think.”
What reason did I have to not trust her? She’d guided me to this point, given me no cause to doubt her. But Aidan’s words. Man, they were a poison. Caer needed me, and I needed her. We were a team here, united against the golden prick.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I… He’s…”
“I know. I understand. He’s a virus.”
“Good way of putting it.”
Why couldn’t I shake the suspicion, though? Why did it lurk on my perimeter, a predator waiting for the opportunity to smash through a weak point?
Fuck. This is exactly what Aidan wanted. To mess me up, to break me.
To break Silvanus.
I got to my feet, refusing Declan’s help. “I’m sweetcream.”
“Yes, and I’m a buttercup,” he retorted.
I snorted. “What?”
“You’re not sweetcream.”
“I won’t be until I get to Silvanus.” The ball of dread filled me with nausea.
He can’t die.
The alpha placed his hands on his hips. “There’s no way back without the snake.”
Dammit. This was supposed to be a super magical glade. Could nothing be done to get me over there? I tried asking Caer, but she didn’t answer.
Oh, yeah. She insisted the vampire had chosen his fate.
Team or not, that fucked me off, my anger still boiling away.
Okay, time to think. There were always options, always solutions to problems. And if I believed that tripe, I’d believe anything.
Did Pearl find a solution?
Did the people of Oreflame rotting in the streets find one?
Like hell they did.
I paced, scanning the trees again. Silvanus was more than capable of looking after himself. That thought wasn’t a comfort right now, but at least he wasn’t made of rice paper.
I belong there.
Ugh. Those words wouldn’t leave me alone. Somewhere in the distant corners of my mind, the song still played, and the white corridor flickered behind my eyes. Calling to me, beckoning me to come unlock a chest of secrets.
I belong there.
Aidan’s filth. Aidan’s lies.
She’s hiding something.
A portal opened nearby, Medusa running through. “Sugar!”
I sprang into action, running toward her. “I—”
