About an hour later, we’d all assumed our positions in hidden parts of the clearing. Hansa was out in the open, sitting in the very middle of the path with a self-inflicted cut on her thigh. Silvery blood dripped from it, gathering in the dust beneath, as she leaned onto her hands and waited. She was getting bored, occasionally clicking her teeth just to break through the silence.

We’d used ropes and trees nearby to set some snare traps. There was a wide circle around Hansa, buried in the dirt, ready to snap as soon as a daemon caught the scent of her blood and got close enough for Jax to pull and release the trap.

Caspian and I were hidden behind a slab of limestone just forty feet away, with our backs against the stone and one of the snare ropes in my hands, waiting for a daemon to come by. My True Sight was constantly on, and I looked around, expecting to see the air rippling sooner or later.

Blaze, Caia, and Jax were somewhere on the other side of the path, holding onto their own lengths of rope. Half an hour had gone by with no sign of hostiles. We knew it was going to be a waiting game, though.

Caspian was standing so close to me that I could smell his fragrance of choice—a nose-tingling mixture of musk and spices that made my stomach tighten with delight. I casually looked up and found his gaze on my face, intense and cloudy. He lowered his head so slowly that I barely registered the movement until I realized that our lips were mere inches apart.

I held my breath. Time stopped as we looked into each other’s eyes, and waves of gold emanated from him, subtle shades that persisted in my field of vision. My heart thundered almost painfully with anticipation, until my senses came back into focus. Raindrops started falling, almost instantly evaporating as they hit my face.

Caspian blinked several times and seemed to regain his composure. What is going on here? What… What is this between us?

“I thought about that one question,” I whispered, trying to steer myself back into reality. Hansa was still out there in the middle of the path, and I needed to stay sharp. Caspian seemed to smile with just his eyes as he waited patiently for me to continue. “Have you ever spoken to daemons? Do you know any daemons, and have you ever been to their underground cities?”

“That’s more than one question.” He smirked.

“They pertain to the same topic.” I rolled my eyes. “Come on, man, after all we’ve been through, I deserve some answers! We all do!”

He thought about it for a couple of seconds, then let out a muted groan in surrender. “Yes, I’ve spoken to daemons.”

I froze, the entire picture of him suddenly revealed anew, now brighter, more nuanced, at such a revelation. He looked away, and I registered the change in his expression: his gaze darkened, and his eyebrows pulled closer together.

“Yes, I know plenty of daemons,” he breathed. “And yes, I’ve been underground, too. It’s why I suggested this side of the gorge in the first place. There’s an access tunnel not far from here, but it’s hidden with a cloaking spell, and we’ll need a live daemon to open it.”

“That means… Wait, cloaking spell,” I murmured, putting two and two together. “Swamp witch magic, right?”

He nodded.

“They’re very resourceful,” he muttered, his disdain obvious. At least I knew he didn’t have a good relationship with the daemons…

“The original cloaking spell requires the blood of someone who was in the protected space when the magic was first cast,” I remembered. “In this case, however, assuming it has to do with using slightly different ingredients from Neraka, it needs a live specimen. Correct?”

“That’s right. Hence why I thought laying a trap was a good idea,” he replied, the corner of his mouth twitching. “You and your team continue to surprise me in a most positive way.”

Something heavy weighed on my chest as I stared at him, a mixture of frustration and… well, attraction swirling through me. I liked Caspian. A lot. More than I’d originally thought possible, but he was so secretive at a time when any sliver of information could make the difference between life and death. I was conflicted.

“I can’t help but wonder if you’ll ever share your secrets with us. With me.” I let out a long, tortured sigh, just to relieve some of the tension gathering inside my ribcage. “I honestly think you’ll be the end of me and my team if you keep hiding these things from us…”

My burst of honesty was inevitable. I’d known I’d cave in at some point and just voice my thoughts to him, and I actually felt a little better after I let it all out. But Caspian continued to surprise me. He gripped my chin with his thumb and index finger, and turned my head for me to face him.

“I won’t let anything happen to you or your team, Miss Hellswan, I promise you,” he said softly, and my limbs tingled at the sound of his raspy voice, his breath warming my face. “It’s why I am here, with you. I’ve been trying to stop you from walking into a disaster from the day you arrived on Neraka, but, since clearly I can’t get you to leave this place, I will do my best to keep you all alive. Although, technically speaking, as of last night it seems that Neraka doesn’t want you to leave, anyway…”

We stayed like that for a while—it seemed like forever. I allowed myself to sink my consciousness into the deep jade green of his eyes. For a moment, the whole world disappeared as we looked at each other, while I tried to figure out what it was that sparked such wildfires between us.

“I can’t come forward with everything I know, not yet, anyway,” he continued. My whole body felt warm, and I feared his proximity might become addictive. “There are still pieces of my plan that I need to put in place, pieces that require more time on my end. But I assure you, as soon as everything is where I need it to be… as soon as I secure the safety of those innocent of any crime, I will tell you the truth. All of it.”

It was the most I would get from Caspian, for the time being. It was better than nothing, and it confirmed what I’d already been suspecting. He was protecting someone with his secrecy—more than one person, in fact. He’d said it before, but it was starting to sink in now.