“Irene. Finally.” I let out a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob.
“Alex.” She turned her palm up, but I didn’t take her hand.
“I’m sorry. I lost control.”
The words rushed out of my mouth as if they were in a hurry. A mere human had stabbed someone I should have protected because he’d been faster than I.
“I’m not angry with you.” Her voice was a whisper. “I tried to cheat death, and now he wants to claim me.”
“To hell with that. You aren’t going to die. We must find Sean, and your revenge is my revenge. Riley and Sean are the same person, and he possesses magical powers as we supposed.”
Her reaction was a mild sigh of surprise.
“We need to go hunting,” I said.
She licked her bottom lip. “I feel too tired to live. How can I kill anyone?” She exhaled. “I thought you would have left me there, but you carried me to the carriage.”
“I would have carried you with one arm. I would have crawled over the cobbles if needed.”
Her smile was weak, but it had the strength to lift my mood. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me when I’m the reason you’re here.”
She shook her head. “You endured a lot of pain to carry me. You saved me.”
“Your kindness distorts reality.”
“No, it makes me see things more clearly.”
The door inched inwards, and Graves peeked inside. “Ravenhill, may I?”
I composed myself, pressing my lips together. “What do you want?”
“Miss.” Graves gave a brief nod to Irene. “I have an idea to help Miss Harlowe make her first kill without straining her.”
“Go on.”
He shook his head. “First, you must promise me you’ll help me bring Knight down and get my house back to me.”
The annoyance within me was welcomed because it erased the last body tremors and reinvigorated me. “Are you blackmailing me?”
“No.” He glanced at Irene. “Sod it, yes.”
I bared my teeth. “How can I promise anything if I don’t know your idea is good?”
“It’s good. Trust me. I know you’d rather get a tan than trust me, but that’s the deal.”
“How can you bargain with me when Irene’s life is at risk?” I shot up so quickly Graves took a step back.
“I’m desperate.” He thumped his chest. “You made me desperate because you don’t want to fight the Moon Court. And a desperate person isn’t afraid of becoming a monster.”
That caught me off guard. I worried about being a monster. Had I pushed Graves to become one?
“What do you care more about?” he asked. “Miss Harlowe or a werewolf?”
The wolf had a point, but I wouldn’t start a war with Knight and put everyone at risk. I’d done enough damage.
“Miss Harlowe. Now speak.”
