“You’d better be up here,” I muttered as I ended the call with Michaela and continued the hike up Mt. Sousa behind our family home, the sun setting behind me.

I’d already checked the ski resort and the Dirty Knuckle, but nobody had seen Tase for hours. I drove by his place before coming to the family home, but he was at neither. I even checked the workshop. I hadn’t been able to reach him by phone, which wasn’t unusual considering our unreliable service, but Michaela’s call came through, which told me Tase was likely ignoring me.

I’d caught his scent behind the workshop and followed it up the rocky climb toward an old hunting shack Dad had built back before he had money, as a place of escape from the town’s bullshit. Or Mom’s temper, depending on the day. The scent grew stronger as I approached the one-room, dilapidated log cabin that was no bigger than our smallest bedroom at home.

“This must be important for you to track me here,” Tase said from the doorway, and I stopped about twenty-five yards away. “I already know Kasun’s looking for me.” He shrugged. “I have an alibi, remember?”

“So why are you hiding?”

“I’m not. You know me, though. I’d like to approach him on my terms, not vice versa.”

I peered at him through the descending darkness. An owl hooted from the bare branches above, and another answered in the distance.

“You’re making yourself look guilty.”

He smirked. “All the more reason—so when my alibi vouches for me, I can watch Conall’s smug grin fall right off his face.”

“You’re willing to put her through that?”

“Well, that’s the other thing. Shelly’s not in town right now, and knowing the Kasuns, they’ll arrest me just because they can.”

I rocked back on my heels. “So this isn’t about delaying the fact that Addie’s going to find out?”

He scowled. “I don’t care what she thinks.”

“Yeah, right,” I muttered. “I actually needed to find you to discuss that pocket watch.”

Narrowing his eyes, Tase’s gaze scanned the area. Then he motioned for me to come inside.

As I closed the distance between us, my mouth suddenly grew dry from the hike, and I pulled my flask of blood out of my coat pocket. I drained it before I even hit the door, but it did nothing to quench my thirst.

Inside the shack, an old oil lantern sat on a small table, barely illuminating the threadbare recliner and a bookshelf filled with an eclectic collection of “how to get rich quick” books and extremely old, leather-bound tomes, as well as a scattering of metal doodads. Little figurines and gadgets Dad had made out of boredom with scraps lying around—among them, a stag with shavings forming its antlers, a solitaire game made with a piece of two-by-four and nails, and a small metal skull, with one enclosed eye socket and one open, vacant one. I didn’t remember seeing that last one before. Tase must have made it. I didn’t care enough to ask, distracted by the empty blood bottles and bags that were littered everywhere.

I looked at Tase with brow raised, but instead of interrogating him, I simply asked, “Do you have any more blood?”

Maybe it was the scent from the bags that had obviously been stolen from the medical center, but a strong desire for human blood slammed through me. My stomach began to ache with the need.

“All out,” Tase said. “Sorry, brother. Now what about the timepiece?”

“What did you do with it?” We hadn’t been able to talk about it since he’d found it—he’d conveniently been too busy.

He shifted his weight, studying me.

“Tase?” I tried to make his name sound like a warning, but the hunger distracted me too much, so it came out as a question instead.

“I’m meeting the buyer tomorrow.”

“So you’re selling it, without us talking about it?”

“I have to. I’m committed. I’ve already told you what this means. Why the sudden interest?”

“Because Roman Bishop had a few things to say about it today while we stood in the inn’s conservatory, mostly wondering if it’d been found.” I folded my arms over my chest. “It felt like he was fishing for info, but since you’re partners with his brother, I figured he wouldn’t be so curious if he knew where it was.”

“He doesn’t. This trade has nothing to do with the Bishops, not Ronan and definitely not Roman.”

“I thought the artifact market was your and Ronan’s thing. It is an artifact, isn’t it?”

“It is, but this is a separate deal.”

I licked my lips, which felt like sandpaper. Or my tongue did. I wasn’t sure which was worse. Fuck, I needed a drink.

“So you’re going behind the Bishops’ backs? What the hell? Who are you dealing with?”

He smirked. “It’s not really going behind their backs. They know nothing about it.”

“Obviously, that’s not true.”

“They know the artifact exists. But they know nothing about the deal I have with this buyer. It’s Magda . . .” He blew out a harsh breath before he continued. “The witch who paid me to turn Michaela.”

The already tight space felt like it was closing in on us. Between the bloodlust and my rage at Tase’s simple statement, the shack suddenly became too small for me, let alone both of us.

“You’re still in contact with her?” I roared.

“I was trying to reel her in. Trying to be the hero. At first.”

“At first?”

“Then that shit went down with the girl in Montrose.”

I cocked my head. “That was her? The witch who wanted Michaela turned set you up to kill?”

“She was sending me a message with the girl. That she knew about the curse. And if I cooperated, she’d take care of me. If I didn’t cooperate, she’d ensure the curse took over fast.”

“How did she know?”

He lifted his hands. “Got me. But she does.”

“So what else does she want from you? Haven’t you done enough?”

“The timepiece,” he said as though it were obvious. “It’s called the Eye of Valerian. It’s a moroi-specific artifact. With powers.”

Shit. Michaela hadn’t told me that. Did she know? I should have never let Tase be the one to dig it up.

“That’s why she wanted to take the Petrans down,” he continued. “So she could buy out their property and find it.”

“And that’s the real reason you covered the costs of the renovations.”

He nodded. “It allowed me access.”

“I should have known it wasn’t out of the goodness of your heart.” I’d already figured this out, but shook my head in renewed disgust.

“Hey. It was a win-win situation. Michaela got everything she needed out of it, and her business is booming now.”

“So why does this witch want this Eye? You said it’s a moroi artifact, right? What can a witch do with it?”

“I’ve told you, this isn’t the kind of work where you ask questions. But it must be more than that, especially if Roman was asking about it. It’s . . . it’s powerful, Xandru.”

“So it’s talking evil to you, too? That’s just great,” I scoffed.

He shook his head. “Nah, not like that. I don’t know what the kid was flipping out about. You can just feel it has power, but nothing like good or bad. It’s not like I walk around with it in my pocket, though.”

I huffed out a breath, and that only made my mouth drier. “So where is it now? You’re not actually going to sell it to her, are you?”

“It’s hidden. But I have to.”

“What the hell? No! Not to her.”

“I. Have. To,” he growled.

“Why?” I demanded, leaning into his face. “Surely you can find another buyer.”

“Because I value my kid’s life,” he spat. “And yours and our brothers’ and sisters’ lives.” He peered at me for a long pause, and then added, “As well as the Petrans.”

“What?” I seethed.

He nodded. “She’s threatened all of you. I give her the Eye, she spares everyone’s lives. If I don’t, we’re all dead.”

“Who the fuck is she to threaten us?”

“She’s a witch! And not afraid to use black magic. She can take us all down at once from fifty miles away.”

“Son of a bitch.” I scrubbed my hand through my hair. “You’re meeting her tomorrow?”

“In Montrose.”

“Are you serious? Were you going to tell me?”

He squinted. “Why would I?”

“Because you can’t leave town unescorted, remember, dipshit?”

“Adrian’s taking me. He needs to make a supply run anyway. And you need to stay here so nobody suspects me being gone.”

I stared at him with disbelief. He’d made all these plans without consulting me, even after our agreement on Thanksgiving. “You’ll set off the wards. The Court said I must go with you.”

“Adrian can handle it. And the Abbadons have the wards handled. Setting off a distraction from me.”

“For shit’s sake,” I muttered with a sigh. “Now you’re tied up with demons, too?”

“Oh, please. Now you’re being the dipshit. You know Dad’s been doing business with the demons for decades. They owed me a favor.”

I rubbed at my burning throat. “Damn it, Tase, I don’t like the sound of this. And now Roman’s breathing down Michaela’s back about Gabe and that fucking artifact. I swear, if anything happens to her or her family because of you—”

“I know, I know. You’ll end me yourself. You’ve already told me that.”

“I’m serious. Don’t fuck them up any more than you already have.”

“As of tomorrow, the artifact will be far away, and nobody will ever have to know what happened to it. That bitch witch will be gone, and everyone will be safe and sound. I’ll make sure the Rocas and the Petrans are set up comfortably. It’ll all be good, brother. I promise.” He jabbed a finger at my chest. “As long as you can keep your fucking mouth shut about it.”

My eyes kept darting toward one of the empty blood bags, the bloodlust desperate for even a lingering taste. “I have to get out of here. I need a drink.”

I burst out of the shack and blurred down the mountain toward the lights of home and a fridge full of bottled blood. It wasn’t human, but a six-pack or so of bear blood, and a couple hits off a joint, should take the edge off enough to push through the ache. By the time I opened the back door, though, the desire had already faded almost completely.

“That was fucking weird,” I muttered as I headed to the fridge, just in case the urge returned. I hadn’t a need for human blood like that in ages. Not since we’d been at the hospital after the wreck, and before then, it had been over a year. I’d mastered that part of me a long time ago.

Tase and Adrian returned the next night without the Court knowing he had left, and he assured me it was all taken care of.

And then he began to avoid me.

I saw him a couple of times, including once when I picked up Gabe from the Academy and he was talking to Rowan Bishop. But every time I approached him, he managed to disappear from my sight before I reached him. Then he seemed to vanish altogether, not going to work or taking care of business, leaving it all for me to do. Again.

He avoided Adrian and Andrei, too, so we sent Alina after him. He always had a soft spot for his baby sisters, and she was at least able to get close to him. But then she disappeared, as well, sending a single text saying she was okay but staying with Tase. She refused to say where they were.

The only time I was able to see Michaela during this time was at the special town holiday events and once for drinks with everyone else. Except Tase, of course. I felt a wedge driving between us once again and knew I had to do something big to ensure she knew my inability to spend time with her was not by choice. That if I had my way, we’d spend every day of forever together.