He nodded.

Questions pounded in my skull, making my head ache. The sensation of breathlessness threatened to overwhelm me again. I couldn’t afford to panic. I also couldn’t afford to show any weakness.

Memories stirred deep within me, swirling beneath my skin and raising gooseflesh along my arms. Cries of pain echoed in my head. I shivered, seeing wraiths ooze around me like nebulous shadows while succubi screamed overhead. My blood went icy.

“Monroe! The boy is over here!”

“Where is Shay?”

I choked on his name, terror welling up in my throat as I waited for Monroe’s response.

Snatches from the past flitted through my mind, a blur of images that wouldn’t stay in focus. I struggled with the memories, trying to catch them and hold them in place so that I could make sense of what had happened, how I’d gotten here. I remembered racing through narrow halls, realizing we’d been cornered, and finding our way into the library at Rowan Estate. Shay’s uncle, Bosque Mar, eroding my outrage with doubts about what was happening to us.

Shay’s fingers clutched my hand so tightly it hurt. “Tell me who you really are.”

“I’m your uncle,” Bosque said calmly, walking toward us. “Your own flesh and blood.”

“Who are the Keepers?” Shay asked.

“Others like me, who want only to protect you. To help you,” Bosque replied. “Shay, you are not like other children. You have untapped abilities that you cannot begin to imagine. I can show you who you truly are. Teach you to use the power you have.”

“If you’re so invested in helping Shay, why was he the sacrifice at my union?” I pushed Shay behind me, shielding him from Bosque.

Bosque shook his head. “Another tragic misunderstanding. A test, Calla, of your loyalty to our noble cause. I thought we offered you the best of educations, but perhaps you aren’t familiar with Abraham’s trial with his son Isaac? Isn’t the sacrifice of one you love the ultimate gauge of your faith? Do you really believe we wanted Shay to die at your hands? We’ve asked you to be his protector.”

I began to shake. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Bosque smiled, and it almost looked kind. “After all you’ve been through, have you no trust in your masters? You would never have been made to harm Shay—another kill would have been provided in his place at the last moment. I understand such a test may seem too terrible to be fair, too much to ask of you and Renier. Perhaps you are too young to have faced such a trial.”

I balled my hands into fists so Monroe wouldn’t see them shaking. I could hear the screams of succubi and incubi, hear the hissing chimeras and the shuffling gait of those horrible, desiccated creatures that had crawled out of the portraits lining RowanEstate’s walls.

“Where is he?” I asked again, grinding my teeth. “I swear if you don’t tell me—”

“He’s in our care,” Monroe said calmly.

There was that half smirk again. I couldn’t puzzle out this man’s reserved but confident demeanor.

I wasn’t sure what “care” meant in this case. Keeping my fangs bared, I edged across the room, waiting for Monroe to make a move. Even as I watched him, blurry images of the past wavered before my eyes like watercolors.

Cold metal encircling my arms. The click of locks and the sudden absence of weight from my wrists. The warmth of a gentle touch rubbing away the icy chill on my skin.

“Why isn’t she awake yet?” Shay asked. “You promised she wouldn’t be hurt.”

“She’ll be fine,” Monroe said. “The enchantment from the bolts acts like a heavy sedative; it will take some time to wear off.”

I tried to speak, to move, but my eyelids were so heavy, the darkness of slumber pulling me beneath its surface again.

“If we can reach an agreement, I’ll take you to him,” Monroe continued.

“An agreement?” I was right about not wanting to show weakness. If I was making any sort of deal with a Searcher, it had to be on my terms.

“Yes,” he said, risking a step toward me. When I didn’t protest, he began to smile. He wasn’t being deceptive—I didn’t catch the scent of fear—but his smile was chased away by something else. Pain?

“We need you, Calla.”

My confusion buzzed more loudly, forcing me to shake it off like a pesky swarm of flies. I had to appear confident, not distracted by his strange behavior.

“Who exactly is ‘we’? And what do you need me for?”

My anger had dissolved, but I concentrated on keeping my canines razor sharp. I didn’t want Monroe to forget for one minute who he was dealing with. I was still an alpha—I needed to remember that as much as he needed to see it. That strength was the only thing I had going for me right now.

“My people,” he said, vaguely gesturing behind him toward whatever lay beyond the door. “The Searchers.”

“You’re their leader?” I frowned.

He looked strong but grizzled—like someone who never got as much sleep as he really needed.

“I’m a leader,” he said. “I head up the Haldis team; we run operations out of the Denver outpost.”

“Let’s talk about your friends in Denver.”

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, Lumine, my mistress, smiled and a Searcher screamed.

I crossed my arms over my chest so I wouldn’t shudder. “Okay.”