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Viktor won’t be there, I reminded myself, trying to relax. Theo would be all right. What was one more blightborn? Florence Shen was blightborn. Everyone’s eyes would be on her tonight, not on Vaughn and Theo. As long as we could keep them safe, a nagging voice in my head said. Safe even from ourselves. But one night wouldn’t cut it. We didn’t just need a few nights of freedom from Viktor’s threatening presence—we needed a lifetime.

I thought of the book on the table, belatedly realizing something. Was that what Rodriguez had drunkenly been hoping? That if I did the spell, if I merged with Vorago, I’d finally be strong enough to stop Viktor?

Would it be worth the price, if I were?

The refectory hall was already mostly full when we got there. Swaths of jetblack silk looped between pillars. Silver lanterns in the shape of crescent moons had been hung from the cavernous ceiling. Avari midnight and moongray silver were the reigning colors, relieved only by the warm gold shimmer coming from the hundreds of candles in the castiron chandeliers dangling overhead. Even the bloodwine being handed around had been poured into silver flutes. Black dragons were displayed everywhere: embroidered on banners alongside the Avari motto, decorating the napkins, even appearing as tiny black sculpted sugar candies decorating each table. A dragon—that bore no resemblance at all to Nyxaris—sat in midsnarl atop a massive cake displayed on the stand. Blightborn musicians wearing shiny black suits played on a raised stage at the back of the hall. It was clear Lady Avari had spared no expense on the spectacle.

We’d barely cleared the threshold when my friends vanished. Vaughn pulled Theo towards the dance floor, while Visha snatched two goblets of bloodwine from a passing waiter’s tray and muttered something about getting some air. I watched her stride towards the terrace doors, nearly bumping into Lady Avari walking with Kage’s mother, Natsumi. The younger Avari woman was draped in a long gown made to resemble silver scales. Elaria glared after Visha, then turned back to murmuring with her daughter-in-law.

As Visha disappeared onto the terrace, I threaded through knots of chattering guests, making my way towards the bar. I was trying to catch a bartender’s attention when Kage Tanaka stepped up beside me, clearly intent on doing the same. I sideeyed him. He looked as if he’d been carefully crafted to match the same mono-chrome palette as the decor: black jacket, silver satin vest, collar fastened with a curved sliver of silver. His white-blond hair was swept back, and the sides had been freshly razored. His dark eyes looked more brooding than usual.

We regarded each other like rival blades laid out side by side. “House Avari certainly knows how to throw a party.” I reached for the drink I’d ordered. “Congratulations, by the way. Florence Shen is … well, she’s brilliant, isn’t she?” I finished lamely.

I should have been used to this. Most highblood matches were arranged affairs. And yet there was something especially awkward about this one. Maybe because Kage and I both knew blightborns typically married for love. They also didn’t do triads.

“She is. But you congratulate me as if the choice was mine,” Kage said shortly. It wasn’t like Tanaka to sulk. I looked at him in surprise as he grasped a flute of smoky champagne and tilted it back.

“It’s a good match,” I said uncomfortably. “Shen will benefit from your house’s protection.” I lowered my voice a tad. “Gotta say, it’s a weight off my shoulders knowing you’ll be shielding her from Viktor.”

“Well, if it’s benefiting you, Drakharrow, then that changes everything,” Kage drawled.

I smirked. Now we were back on more familiar ground. “Seems to me we’ve been here before.” I gestured to the bar. “Last time was a little different.”

“It was,” he agreed, taking another sip.

“Was that invite back then just to make me jealous?”

He looked at me. “Why don’t you tell me. Did it work?”

I chuckled. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“Good. Maybe I’ll try it again.”

I eyed him coldly. “Don’t even joke about that. Besides, you have your own triad to worry about now.”

He winked. “Sure do. And there’s room for one more.”

I knew he was just messing with me. I sighed. “Look, let’s cut—”

But before I could say more, a fanfare sliced through the air, and conversation came to a halt. Everyone pivoted to face the entrance of the hall.

Florence Shen appeared, stepping slowly into the room from the hallway. Her black hair was swept up with silver half-moon combs. Her gown was a sleek affair, all satiny liquid moonlight that clung to her slender curves. She looked every inch the startled, timid fairy-tale princess whose carriage had suddenly turned into a ravenous beast.

Behind her, a step back and to her right, came Pendragon. I sucked in a breath. Pendragon wore Avari black, but it wasn’t the black of the night sky. This was a starlit river. The gown shimmered as she moved, covered with tiny glimmering pearls. A plunging scooped neckline revealed the freckles that dusted her collarbone like scattered flecks of autumn leaves. She’d left her hair down, and it fell loose around her shoulders in a riot of brilliant copper. A circlet of onyx lay across her brow, nudging her hair back just enough to reveal the tips of her pointed ears.

And at her throat gleamed the black dragon pendant I’d given her a few months ago—marking her as unmistakably mine.

Ours, something inside corrected. My newly healed eye pulsed.

I gave a low, possessive growl and felt Kage looking at me strangely. I cleared my throat, shutting my eyes for the briefest moment until the sensation had cleared. I looked back at Pendragon: She was fucking radiant. Brilliant as a falling star. I felt dizzy just looking at her. Beside me, Kage set down his glass. I glanced at him, noticing the tension in his shoulders; he wasn’t so cocky now. No, the Avari leader looked like a man about to step off a cliff.

“Good luck,” I murmured.

He nodded as he stepped past me, moving towards where Florence waited nervously by the door. Across the hall, Pendragon turned her head, and our gazes met. Something lit up in her emerald eyes, hot and secret. She smiled slightly, and my chest tightened. For a moment of reckless whimsy, I considered sending her a new pendant the next day. A red one, to match the beast that slept beneath my skin. Then I pushed the idea aside. Pendragon’s smile was pure sunlight, warm and fearless. But the dragon inside me didn’t know light, he only knew the darkness of eternal hunger. If I let him slip out, he’d destroy me, destroy her. He’d shatter everything in blood and fire.

Pendragon started walking across the grand hall towards me, the crowd parting, and all I could think of was the dragon fighting to get out. If I let that happen, my girl would be in the arms of a monster, not a man.

Kage reached Florence’s side, offering her his arm and leading her onto the dance floor. For a moment, I envied him; he might have two bodies, but at least he and his wolf shared a single soul.