So I say nothing.

He gives his head a sharp shake as if to dislodge the memories. “I’ve answered you honestly. Now it’s my turn.” His eyes rake over me in a slow, deliberate sweep of my body. “Have I lived up to all those sordid stories your people tell about me?”

Under any other circumstances, I’d assume he was fishing for compliments. But right now, I recognize it for what it is: armor. He’s trying to reestablish our usual push and pull. Our familiar roles.

I’ll allow it. Just this once.

“I suppose you’ve shown a flash of legend from time to time,” I say.

His mouth lifts in genuine amusement. “Well, now I’m intrigued. Elaborate for me? Unless you’d like to use one of those vetoes.”

“The bards had plenty to say about you. I think it started with all the girls who got wet just looking at your face in the temple murals. But they left out some details. I never heard a single story about how the Wolf likes to fuck the women he’s planning to butcher.”

Something in his face shuts down like a door slamming closed. “No,” he says. “You wouldn’t have. Since you’re the first.”

It’s hard to think past the sudden roaring static in my head. The reckless, destructive need sharpening its claws in my chest, as if I’m standing at the edge of a precipice and counting down to the fall.

You want to know how to hurt a Devaliant? Let her think she’s special.

Evander shifts. The aetherlight dances over his wings, catching the top gold feathers. A drop of water glides down his cheek as he stares at me. “What are those five scars on your inner arm for?” he asks quietly.

“I’ll trade you my scar stories if you tell me what’s behind the door with the obsidian seal.”

His hands curl into fists beneath the water. “No.”

“Then my answer is the same. Ask me something else.”

The water laps against my skin in the silence. A few seconds pass in silence.

“What we do together in my bed,” he says finally, his thigh brushing mine in the water. “These games we play. Do you enjoy it? Does it make you feel good?”

As if he needs verbal confirmation of what he can undoubtedly scent on my skin—arousal, the lingering musk of sex, all of it betraying me more than any confession. And with it, all the complicated emotions.

Inhale. Exhale. Shove the truth down deep and bury it.

“I like everything you do to me,” I whisper.

And right now, I hate him for it.

A pleased smile tugs at his mouth. “Good.”

I need to hit back hard before he crawls any deeper under my skin.

“Why are you and your brother bound to Alexios?” I ask.

His body goes rigid. Something dangerous flashes across his face. Don’t, that expression tells me. Don’t even fucking think about it.

But I don’t stop. Can’t stop. “I thought Eternals were all equal. So, how did that happen? Why don’t you rule territory if it’s Scillarian practice for demesnes to pass to the remaining Eternals after one dies?”

Sparks dance across his wings. His beautiful face hardens into something ancient and terrible. “That,” he says, his voice dangerously soft, “was a whole fucking inquisition crammed into a transparent attempt to knock me off-balance.”

“Feeling overwhelmed?” I smirk. “Fine. I’ll be nice. Pick one to answer and I’ll save the rest for later.”

“Non-negotiable. To all of them.”

Dark satisfaction rises. First blood to me. I’ve found a chink in his armor, and the ruin-hungry creature pacing in me thirsts for more—more chaos, more destruction.

More truth.

I close my fingers around Evander’s wrist. “What happened to your mother?”

“Non-negotiable.” A warning snarl.

A smarter person would retreat, but he’s going to kill me anyway. Might as well burn everything down first.

“Why do you hate my family?”

His hand tightens on my wrist. “Non-fucking-negotiable.”

Power lashes from him in blistering waves, and a sudden pressure compresses my lungs. The sea churns and hisses. But I don’t so much as flinch. We were always heading here—every touch, every night together, every damn day, was just the path leading to this inevitable cliff.

“Why does my skin glow like this?” My voice rises, almost shouting now. “You want to know all my secrets? Want to pull me apart? Then give me something back.”

I’ve seen the older sister. You know why they glow like that.

“Non-negotiable! Fucking stop.”

I laugh bitterly. “That’s really rich. You get to poke around in all my broken places, drag out every ugly thing inside me. But the second I touch yours, it’s non-negotiable?”

He shoves me against the sea rocks, irises blazing with inner fire. “Shut your mouth. Or I swear to you, this ends with my teeth in your throat.”

But it’s too late. I’ve already hurled myself off the cliff. My rage burns higher, hotter, consuming any shred of sense. And now there’s nothing left but the freefall and the promise of impact.

“You know what? Let’s change our negotiation. We both know how this ends, so just do it already. Kill me.” Angry tears burn my eyes, but I blink them back. “You’ve had your fun, right? Fucked the stupid Devaliant princess until she forgot what you are? Was I a good piece of ass, do you think? Worth the effort?”

Evander’s eyes widen just a fraction. His lips part. No sound comes out.

Now he gets it. Now he knows I heard him talking to his brother about using me up and throwing me away when he’s done.

“Say something,” I whisper, hating how unsteady I sound.

Nothing. Just the sound of waves between us.

“Right.” I let out a bitter laugh. “You wanted to know the stories they tell about you in Vartena? They love warning us about the Wolf’s cruelty. How you make your victims scream and beg before you finish them. But they leave out the real artistry, don’t they? The part you love most?”

He doesn’t react beyond the slow clench of his jaw.

“Those stories never mention how much you get off on mindfucking the women you screw.” I slam my palm hard into his chest. “Telling me that you’re trying out giving a shit? You really know how to lay it on thick, don’t you? All those perfect words. Those calculated touches. The way you look at me when we’re alone. But I’m nothing to you, right? Just a disposable fuck-toy to pass the time! A nice piece of ass dumb enough to bend over for her executioner!”

His chest rises and falls too fast for someone trying to look calm.

“You think I don’t see it?” I step closer until my chest touches his. “Give the Devaliant bitch a knife, and let her think she matters. Let her think she has control.” I grab his arm when he tries to turn away. “No. You look at me.”

His golden eyes meet mine, unreadable.

“Because what else would a woman who’s only known blood and death want more than a taste of power? That’s the real trick, isn’t it? Convince her she’s special before you gut her. Make her death so much worse than anything she’s known on that altar. I have to hand it to you, Wolf. Breaking someone before you kill them? That’s skill.”

Evander’s face is cold, but I catch the nearly imperceptible flinch, there and gone.

Good, I think savagely. Bleed for me. Feel it. Hurt.

“I was so wrong,” I say. “When I said you were just like Alexios? Turns out, you’re actually worse.”

I push him away and wade to the beach, where I yank my chemise over my head.

“We’re done here. Take me back to the tower,” I tell him. “Now.”

*   *   *

We touch down in the gardens, and Evander sets me on my feet. He turns away. Done with me.

But I’m not done with him.

“Your room,” I call out, and he freezes mid-step. “You failed the game on the beach. I want what I won.”

His shoulders rise with a deep breath, and I can almost hear him counting to ten in his head. When he pivots halfway, the look he gives me could skin a person alive. Like he’s calculating how small the pieces should be when he’s finished with me.