“Where did you get it?” she snapped.
He cocked a brow. “What? The book?”
“Of coursethe book.”
Vesper’s stomach twisted. Not only did he owe her the truth, but if he had any hope of repairing this broken thing between them, his honesty might mend it. He sighed, then murmured, “Fionn asked me to give it to you.”
Her cheeks reddened again, but whether from anger or embarrassment he couldn’t decipher. “Why didn’t he give it to me himself?”
“I asked him to … stay away from you.” The confession spewed from him, like putrid water. He hated himself for it, but continued, “Seeing him would have tipped you off to everything going on. And I couldn’t let that happen.”
If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead. And not from hatred, but from the crushing disappointment in her eyes, which was so much worse.
“Wait. Wait a damn moment.” Her jaw clenched, and her hands formed into fists as she slotted each piece of information into its designated spot. “Whendid you get it?”
He couldn't look at her. “When we went to Malheim.”
Her scalding stare froze over, and the honeyed warmth left her gaze, like a smothered flame. Voice strangled, she said, “That was the day he overdosed.”
“It was.” The heavy admission dripped with remorse. In fact, he hadn’t stopped beating himself up over it since he’d heard the news. And though he’d wanted to bring Fionn to Castle Dusk, as much as he hated to admit it, Destonne was right: Fionn was in better care in Asaella.
Emmery looked like she wanted to wring his neck. Or drag her dagger across it. “Did you know? Did you knowwhyhe was there?” she demanded.
Vesper gritted his teeth. “I had no idea he was there for Bone Ash. I—I thought he’d taken my post, or maybe Destonne had sent him to spy, but—” He exhaled a long breath. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure. It’d been so long since he’d relapsed. And he was just carrying your book around in his satchel, like he thought he’d run into you. I assumed that was why.”
“Give me my fucking book. I’m leaving.” Venom clouded her eyes as she thrust out her hand.
That’s when Vesper saw it.
The rose scarred into her palm. Wrapped in thorns.
Thorns.
His stomach sank. Oh, fuck no. No, no, no.
This couldn’t be happening.Thishe couldn’t save her from. “What have you done, Emmery? You made a pactum? With him?”
“Don’t patronize me. You did the same thing.” She fisted her hand to conceal the scar.
Vesper’s racing heart climbed up his throat. “What did you promise him? Tell me. What is he making you do? What did he offer?” The questions spilled from him, and he couldn’t contain them. He—oh gods, Destonne was up to something, and he couldn’t possibly have good intentions. She was indanger.
“Unlikeyou, he’s helping me,” she snarled. “I need to retrieve my memories for this prophecy, and he’s giving me a way forward.”
“Emmery, I need you to listen to me.” She opened her mouth to rebut him, but he surged forward. “I know he can be charming and make you think he’s not all bad, but he’s a talented liar, and you need to be careful. He’s hurt people. He killed Izzy. He forced me into his service for decades. I’ve seen him do some terrible shit.” He swallowed hard. “And I want to help you with this prophecy. You didn’t need to sell your soul to him, I could have—”
Emmery sprang up from the chair and snapped, “Would you stop pretending like you care about me?”
His patience teetered on the edge of something hot and angry and wild. “Would youstopacting like nothing that happened between us mattered?”
“It was a lie,” she said. Her voice quivered, like a dandelion in a storm. She tore her gaze away and squeezed her eyes shut. “All of it. It was all a lie.”
“It wasn’t! I meant every fucking thing I said to you. Every bloody word! Don’t you dare lie to yourself. You know I meant it.”
Her muted vestige pulsed in a sad golden halo, like a puff of pollen, not its usual starlight. He was going to uppercut Destonne.
“You handed me over like I was yours to trade!” Her eyes sprang open. “If you cared about me, you wouldn’t have done that. You threw me into a cell like some brute!”
“That wasn’t me! That was the compulsion from that bloody pactum. I would never hurt you like that. And Idocare about you, whether you choose to believe it or not.” His fists tightened and the scabs along his knuckles split open again. “Look, I didn’t tell you about our past because I … fuck, I didn’t know how, Emmery. I’m not good at any of this. I just—I fucked up. I really fucked up.”