“Lose control.” A bitter laugh escapes me. “That’s a pretty turn of phrase. I found a pair of young Eternals howling in the ashes of their dead kingdom, and my choice was simple: bind part of their power and aim their rage where I needed it until they were emotionally stable, or put them both in the ground. No other options. An Eternal in agony is a walking extinction event.”

Three thousand years ago, one of our strongest succumbed to madness, and it took five of us to put him down after he shattered continents and boiled seas. We barely contained the damage. In the end, we had to unmake him completely.

Two Eternals in that kind of pain would have wiped out half the realm.

My grip tightens, fingertips pressing into her throat until I feel her swallow against the pressure. They’re so small, these mortals. So fragile. It never ceases to confound me, the trouble they cause.

“The funny thing about immortality,” I murmur, “is that it just gives us more time to go mad. With infinite years, you run out of new experiences. That’s why we can’t leave you humans alone. You burn so bright. You remind us what it’s like to want and hunger. And in the end, that made us all into fools courting our own destruction.” I stroke my thumb across her skin. “I have to admit, I’m curious about your soulbond. Does it hurt? Having your soul tied up with his?”

Bryony is silent for a moment, inscrutable as she searches my face. “Does it hurt,” she returns at last, soft as a sigh, “to have all those voices in your head, and still be so alone?”

A sharp, startled laugh leaves me. Oh, but this one was wasted in her role of sacrifice. She has teeth. I could almost admire Evander’s taste if not for the enormity of the mess it’s made.

My eyes cut briefly to the shoreline past her shoulder, the narrow causeway stretching into the mist. The silhouette of the Onyx Keep juts from the glassy water, still a striking sight even in its ruins, with fog swirling lazily across its surface.

It’s been three centuries since I’ve stepped foot across the bay. Back then, that building was grand, a neutral territory where all the Eternals met to debate and intimidate and settle our shit. Now it’s gathering dust.

But Severin likes to keep an eye on it. It’s the closest point of entry into Nyholm, one humans tried taking ruthless advantage of once. It’s the perfect test for an arrogant little human who thinks she’s worthy of an Eternal.

“Alone, am I?” I say in a low voice, a plan taking shape. “Interesting choice of words, all things considered. How would you like to spend your next trial finding out what that feels like?”

Her eyes flare wide. “What?”

Ah, there it is. The dawning realization that she is well and truly fucked. It’s too perfect. I didn’t think I had any appreciation left for the poetry of small cruelties, but it appears I was mistaken. I should do this more often.

I flash her a grin and reach for my power, letting it pour out of me until the air thickens and lightning skitters across my skin. My magic snakes through the metaphysical weave of her soulbond and sinks into the strands that tether the Devaliant to her Wolf. And all I have to do is—

Snap.

The girl screams and staggers away from me. I watch as Evander’s mark on her wrist blinks out of existence, leaving nothing behind but smooth skin. Empty.

“There,” I say brightly. “Isn’t that better? No god’s power keeping you safe. No mate to come charging to the rescue. Just you, Princess. Soft and fragile and completely alone.”

She rips her knife free of its sheath and shoves the weapon against my jugular. “What did you do?”

“Put the knife away, Princess. It’s temporary. Not even I can break a soulbond permanently.”

“Fix it. Now.”

My expression goes dead. “The knife, little girl. Before you do something stupid and make me fucking show you just how bad your life can get.”

But she keeps it in place, chest heaving, eyes wild with the kind of desperation that makes mortals so dangerous.

I sigh and flex my power, sending the dagger clattering over the rocks. “Now that we’re done with the dramatics, listen carefully, because I hate repeating myself.” I gesture across the bay. “See that fortress? That’s the Onyx Keep. It’s abandoned now, but it means something to the Dark King. It’s also where we keep every treaty between Eternals. Your test is to slip in there without Evander’s mark protecting you, find a small chest in the atrium without Severin skinning you alive, and I might be convinced to reinstate your Claim.” I spread my hands. “Simple enough?”

She jerks as if slapped. “That’s a death sentence.”

“Probably. But you’re resourceful, aren’t you?” I pause, considering her. “You know, there’s a singular truth between the lines of every fable. If you want something of value, earn it. With blood, with pain, whatever it takes. Nothing worth having comes cheap or easy.”

She glares at me. “What’s in the chest?”

“You’ll find out when I’m ready to show you. It’ll be on a table with some old scrolls. You won’t miss it. Unless you die first, of course.” I start back up the beach, gravel crunching beneath my boots. “Take the boat,” I say, pointing at the rickety thing at the end of the pier up ahead. I’d optimistically call it seaworthy. “My power will hide you until you reach the shore. After that, you’re on your own. I’d wish you luck, but. Well.” I shrug. “Try not to die, et cetera and so forth.”

I keep walking, the wind snatching at my wings. After a few moments of weighing her options, the girl growls in frustration, walks to the pier, and climbs into the boat.

With a thought, I cast it away from the shore, watching until the mist devours her and I can no longer discern the glint of her hair from the silver of the water.

A familiar presence tugs behind my eyes, then.

Bastien.

Whatever you just did, Evander is ready to tear this place apart, his mental voice informs me.

Temporarily severed the soulbond for her test, I answer shortly. He’ll get over it. Or not. I don’t particularly care.

Next time, try giving me some warning. Even with the chains on, it’s taking three of us to hold him down.

Put him in the cell before he rampages through the palace and ruins my day even more, please. Tell him he’ll have plenty of opportunities to destroy things when he faces his challengers tonight.

I can practically feel the Blade sorting through a dozen scathing retorts, but he settles on, As you say.

He withdraws, and I’m left alone with the gravity of what I’ve just done. Because now there’s a Devaliant loose in Nyholm, a feral Eternal straining at my leash, and an inevitable confrontation with Severin. Which would mean seeing him after three hundred years and not breaking every bone in his body for his betrayal.

This had all better be worth the effort, because it’s giving me a damn headache.

I don’t turn at the rustle of wings. I’d know Zephyr’s presence anywhere—the cadence of her breath, the way the air changes and sharpens when she’s near. The way my skin prickles with awareness even after all these years.

“If you’re here to scold me, Whisper, save your breath.”

“You could have asked me to get the chest.” Her voice carries that edge I know too well—the one that says she sees right through my bullshit. “You could have had Wraith bring it.”

I give her a look. “I’m not interested in dealing with Severin until I have no other choice.”

“That doesn’t mean you should toss the girl at his feet. Wraith’s territory is in uproar over his missing demis. If he catches her—”

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” I say. “And she’ll either talk her way out of it, or we’ll be scraping what’s left of her off the walls. If she wants what’s in that box badly enough, she’ll get creative. This is about more than just retrieving an object.”