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“Atticus is searching for him. Turns out, we have a contact on the inside. Brandon.”

“Who is he?”

“A Legion soldier whose brother was locked inside Calico when it sealed shut. He was part of our group, when we went in search of Valdys.”

“He lives in Szolen now?”

“Yes. Seems he took up with a woman named--”

“Gwen. The spy.”

“Yeah.”

“And, so what of Jack?”

“It’s believed he left for a raid, according to Brandon. Hasn’t returned yet.”

“So, what happens when Atticus finds him?”

Brows lowered, Titus looks away from me. “He plans to kill him.”

“No. No! Jack is my kill, Titus. Mine. He murdered my father.”

“He sentenced Atticus to hell. He’s just as bent on revenge as you.”

“Don’t let him do this. Don’t let him take this away from me.” Tears gather in my eyes all over again. God, how many tears does it take before they dry out? I swore there was nothing left in me, but there must be. “I couldn’t fight Remus. I tried, but I couldn’t. I need this, Titus. I need this vengeance.”

“You’re in no shape to kill a fly, let alone a seasoned Legion soldier.”

“I’m not weak! I’m broken, lost. I’m angry. But I’m not weak. You, of all people, should know that!”

“You’re not weak. We’ll find him. And you’ll have your revenge.”

“Promise me. Promise me that I’ll be the one to end his life.”

“I promise you.” He leans forward to plant a kiss to my forehead, the sensation turning my stomach inside out.

Behind my shuttered lids, I see Remus’s mouth clamped to my throat, sucking my skin as he pounded out his climax.

I kick my head away, and the agony of my rejection hits me like a stab to my heart. That I could possibly be repulsed by Titus this way tears a gaping hole in my chest that brims with the hate I feel toward Remus. As he pulls away from me, I roll over in the bed, turning away, and I let the misery drown me.

* * *

I watch through my window as the light of day fades into the darkness of another night, when my nightmares will surely come alive. When the shadows step down from the walls and stand over me, waiting for my most vulnerable moments.

Nighttime is when Remus visits me. When he crawls out of hiding to torment me with his whispers and phantom touch. Not even closing my eyes can make him disappear.

But I do, anyway. I close them, and soon, I’m drifting on clouds, caught between sleep and consciousness.

“Thalia.” The sound of his voice in my ear is like a razor blade across my skin. I want to carve his words out of my skull and burn them. “Thalia, wake up!”

“Leave me alone. Leave me alone!”

“I never told you … Jack promised you to me. Did you know that?”

I’ve heard this before. These words. Remus spoke them during one of his torments. Screwing my eyes shut takes me back to that moment.

He pushes the hilt of his blade roughly up inside of me. “How does it feel to be fucked by the knife that cut out his eye?”