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Another loose thread severed.

He almost regretted delegating the task. There was a certain satisfaction in pruning one’s own garden, yet he had already left Elarian alone with Jace for too long. He would return either to two corpses cooling upon his chamber floor or to the pair conversing like old friends, sharing entirely too many secrets between them. Neither outcome appealed to him.

Either way, he had a fucking mess waiting for him, and only so much strength to stay away from the woman who caused it all.

Gairan help him. Was he falling in love with the godsdamned elf?

Lucan expected raised voices before he reached his chambers. Or laughter. Perhaps the unmistakable sound of Jace provoking the elf into attempting murder for his own amusement. Curious guards outside the door—or even the court itself—drawn to the scent of drama.

Instead, silence greeted him.

The carved ebony doors yielded beneath the touch of his shadows. Warm firelight spilled across polished obsidian, heat rushing forth to greet him as the doors opened wide. The familiar scent of bloodwine mingled with smoke and roses.

Elarian sat beside the hearth with an easy smile upon her lips. She had abandoned the bed in favor of the thick rug spread before the fire, one knee drawn against her chest while the other leg stretched toward the flames. A book rested open across her lap.

Jace lounged opposite her, broad shoulders swallowed by one of Lucan’s velvet chairs. He held another book upside down, thinly concealing his gaze trained on the elf maiden before him. The crystal decanter of bloodwine now sat empty on the table by the bed, another uncorked and already half gone at Jace’s feet.

Lucan stared.

Jace looked up first.

“Reading bores me.”

Lucan did not reply. He could scarcely believe the sight before his eyes. Could he be hallucinating?

“I didn’t want her to feel rude reading while I wasn’t.”

Elarian looked up from the page. “Your gaze has never once left my face for the last hour.”

“I’ve been turning the pages every few minutes,” Jace protested.

“That doesn’t require your eyesight.”

Lucan blinked, dumbfounded.

“Now, kitten, you can’t truly think yourself that intoxicating that I’ve simply been staring at you while you read our histories.”

“Lucan, you really used to love this man? He’s painfully annoying. I expected you to have better taste.”

Startled into action by her words, Lucan strode toward the strange scene of domesticity. He pulled Jace up by his collar, the larger vampire easily letting Lucan command his every move.

“I asked you to keep her out of trouble, not go making friends and spilling my secrets.”

“Relax, Luc,” Jace said quickly, pulling away from Lucan’s grip. “I told her nothing she would not have already found out soon enough. You’re much too reckless with her. Finishing insi—”

Lucan snarled as a ribbon of shadows tightened quickly around Jace’s throat. Contempt filled his gaze—that same look he used to wear before he finally tore himself free from Lucan’s grasp. The sight curdled Lucan’s stomach.

“It was nothing, and you know that.” Lucan released the shadows at his neck. “Don’t you have some other former lover to torment?”

Jace took the hint without further prodding. Bowing low toward Elarian, he grabbed her hand in his and planted a gentle kiss against her knuckles.

“It seems as if I have overstayed my welcome. Do find me again, kitten. I look forward to hearing more sordid tales.”

Lucan growled as Jace walked away.

“Leave before I return her silver, Jac.”

“Oh, go fuck another corpse, White. Loosened you up last time!”