“You did this to spite me.” Another slamming sound. “I will bring you down, Mage Assassin. I’ll bring all your crimes down on your head and you’ll—”

A chair rolled across the hardwood floor. “You will find a new bounty to chase, Shane. Interfere in my guild again …”

Gooseflesh prickled across my arms.

“Are you threatening me?” Shane asked in a low, hard tone.

“If that’s how you’d like to interpret our final farewell,” the GM replied pleasantly. “Have a nice day, Mr. Davila.”

I stepped aside as footsteps stomped across the floor. Shane wheeled out of the office, his bald head pink with anger. Spotting me, he pressed his lips together and marched right past.

When he was almost at the door, I called, “Shane.”

He glanced back, a muscle twitching in his cheek.

“Are you going after Zak now?”

His upper lip curled. “The Ghost isn’t worth my time.”

“Even though he betrayed you?”

“I expected him to betray me, but I didn’t expect him to win.” He stepped across the threshold. “Darius’s report on her death did not mention the demonic magic all over the scene, but mine will.”

He disappeared through the doorway, and his feet thumped on the steps, heading down.

Chilled inside and out, I rubbed my hands over my arms. Why had Shane made a point of telling me he’d identified demonic magic in the building where Varvara had died? If the bounty hunter’s psychic abilities had revealed the source of that magic, he would already have arrested—or killed—Ezra.

Gulping, I stuck my head into Darius’s office. The GM stood behind his desk and smiled at the sight of me.

“Right on time, Tori.”

I stepped inside. “Did you really report that Zak killed Varvara just to spite Shane?”

“It wasn’t my sole motivation.” He lowered himself into his seat and gestured at the chair across from him. “Is Zak the reason you requested this meeting?”

“No.” I closed the office door, then sat. “Zak is gone.”

“Will he return?”

I looked down at my hands, a phantom feeling worming into my head—his skin under my fingers as I pressed the Carapace into his hand. “I don’t know.”

Darius leaned back. “In that case, what can I help you with?”

I squeezed my hands between my knees to banish the phantom sensation. “You know Ezra used his demon magic in that building.” I forced my gaze up. “He lost control.”

“That has happened, to some degree, before.” A pause. “But this time was different?”

“Very different.” I stopped, needing to breathe. “He’s going to ask you to kill him. Maybe not right away, but soon.”

Darius’s expression smoothed, becoming unreadable. “I see. Do Aaron and Kai know this?”

“They … they were talking about it.”

“And they want to take this terrible burden on themselves, even though Ezra asked me years ago to do it instead.” He considered me. “Are you here to make sure I act first?”

“No. I’m here to ask you not to kill Ezra when he asks you.”

A flash of surprise. “Ending Ezra’s life while his mind is still intact is a mercy, Tori.”

“I know that, but saving his life is better than mercy. You told me anything Ezra’s demon wants won’t be good for Ezra, but maybe … maybe that isn’t the case.”

I took a slow, shuddering breath, then told the guild master what had happened at Christmas—how Eterran had learned to control Ezra while he slept, that he’d snuck into my room, the agreement we’d made. I told Darius about my research, about my meeting with the infernus maker. I described Ezra and Eterran’s breakdown at Varvara’s hands, and Eterran’s whispered words—I want freedom more than I want this body.

The only thing I didn’t mention was Robin’s simultaneous search for the demon amulet; that was a complication I hadn’t thought through yet.

When I finished, Darius sat silently. My nerves wound tighter and tighter as he studied me with somber gray eyes.

“I’m afraid you’ve given me more reason to act quickly rather than any reason to wait.”

I leaned forward, gripping my knees. “I told you everything so you’d understand why we should wait.”

“And why is that?”

My artifacts, my magic, were no more. Zak was gone. Kai was caught in his family’s control. Aaron was heartbroken, dreading what would come next. And Ezra’s steely strength had finally worn thin, his will to fight cracked and crumbling.

But I wasn’t ready to despair. I wasn’t ready to give up.

“Eterran and I have a plan, and I need you to trust me.”