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A single bottle of Wyldeberry wine with a note fastened to the neck.

The tingle of ancient magic prickles beneath my fingertips as I untangle the twine and read the parchment.

I snort. “Bastard always has to have the last word.”

Do try not to disappoint me, brother.

I crumple the note in my fist, a smile playing at the edges of my lips.

Rory draws near and wraps an arm around my waist. “What did it say?”

“Nothing important.” I hold up the blade. “Mihal will have felt the creation of the blade, as would the rest of the Seven. We’ll venture to the Sanctum of the Seven in the morning.”

Risna scoops Florin up and nuzzles her face into her fur. “And tonight?”

The door to the castle bangs open, and Carver’s voice drifts down the hallway and into the receiving room. “Tonight, we’re going to celebrate.”

Chapter 39

RORY

If anyone would’ve asked me if I ever imagined myself hosting a last-minute party for a castle full of creatures, I would’ve laughed in their face.

Yet here I am.

Hosting a last-minute party for a castle full of creatures.

Carver’s arrival this afternoon had included arms full of supplies, along with the promise that everyone who’s anyone will be stopping by throughout the evening to congratulate Quill on acquiring his votes.

He hadn’t been kidding.

The dining hall is alive with creatures, both living and dead, all of whom can’t help but fawn all over my mate. Not that he’s noticed. His gaze has been on me throughout the night—watching, wanting. It lingers at the slit on my thigh, at the deep V of my bodice. I’m painfully aware of his lust as I kneel to pick up a pearl earring. I set it on a table, hoping whoever’s wearing its twin will find it.

Cress waves me over to where she’s deep in conversation with Risna and Avaline beside another table laden with food and drink.

I make my way toward her, a smile stretching across my face. “You made it!” I say, pulling her into a fierce hug. After we separate, I offer Avaline a polite nod. “It’s good to see you again too.”

“Oh, Rory. You must allow me to apologize for what happened in the Mocking Woods,” she says. “I⁠—”

I hold up a hand to stop her. “It’s fine. We’ve all been forced to say and do things we never would’ve done due to our circumstances. I can’t fault you for that.”

“T-thank you,” she sputters.

Cress hooks her arm through mine. “I was just telling the girls about our little idea.”

“I’m happy to help wherever you need.” Risna’s eyes track a black blur across the floor. “But first, I have to catch Florin. She really shouldn’t be down here. Someone could trample her, and then I’d have to gut them.”

She slips away without a backward glance, calling out for Florin as she goes.

“You know,” Avaline says slowly, “I’ve known Risna for a very long time, and she was never much an animal person.”

“But she can shift into them,” Cress says, seemingly shocked at this revelation.

I bump her hip with mine. “Perhaps that’s why.”

Carver dances over to us and flashes that roguish grin of his at Avaline. He tilts his head toward the couples swaying to the hauntingly beautiful music drifting from the animated instruments in one corner of the room.

“Dance with me, Ava,” he says.