PAYAL had barely recovered from the shock of Ena Mercant’s invitation. Now this.

She hadn’t expected to speak to any of Canto’s family anytime soon, but she wasn’t going to run from such contacts. These people were important to him—so even if they didn’t like her, even if Ena’s invitation turned out to be a slap of rejection, she would persevere. She’d spent a lifetime surviving people who didn’t like or respect her. But now she had Canto. For him, she’d bear anything.

Angling her head to look at the man in the back seat who had a very different build from Canto—and silver eyes watchful and quiet—she said, “I’m glad to meet you, Arwen.”

She used the mirror to meet the gaze of the bear who sat directly behind her. “It’s nice to see you again, Pavel.”

The bear smiled at her, but Arwen had an assessing look on his face when she glanced at him once more. He only said a few words as Canto drove them out of the city. She’d already stopped at three boutiques and had everything she needed—especially for her tea with Ena in a few short hours.

Once they were at the house and had carried her purchases inside, Canto left to deal with a minor work matter, while Pavel excused himself to return a call.

It left Payal and Arwen alone on the deck.

They stood side by side in awkward silence until Arwen blurted out, “Sorry.”

Payal looked at him to see a blush painting the razor-sharp lines of his cheekbones. “For what?”

“For acting like a jealous kid.” His hands tightened on the deck railing. “Canto was mine for a long time. He protected me inside his shields when I was born—I don’t know how it happened, but we were in the hospital at the same time, and it just did.”

This was the empath Canto had mentioned, Payal realized. Not just a trusted empath. A beloved Mercant. “I don’t intend to take him from you.” Canto’s family was part of his foundations, part of his heartbeat.

“I know. I was being stupid.” He gave her a hesitant smile that was so open it sliced right through her shields. “Can we start again?” He held out a hand. “I’m Arwen, and I adore Canto. He’s the best big brother I could’ve ever had.”

Physical contact wasn’t an easy thing for her, but this was important enough that she slipped her hand into Arwen’s. “Payal. Canto is … extraordinary.” She didn’t know why, but she added a private truth. “We met as children before you were born.”

Arwen’s eyes flared. “You’re her. The girl he’s been searching for all this time.”

A tight hotness inside her chest. “I thought he’d forget me, but he never did.”

“Canto never forgets the people he loves.”

That last word made her entire soul quake. She clung to the railing to keep her stability. “Arwen, if I talk to you as an empath, will you keep my confidence?” Now that she’d met him, now that they’d come to terms, she felt his gentleness, his kindness.

“Yes,” Arwen said. “But I have a conflict of interest because of my relationship with Canto. Can I recommend a friend?” When Payal nodded, he said, “Her name is Jaya and she’s a senior empath. She usually works with patients in comas or who are otherwise trapped in their bodies and minds, but she’s also just … wise. As if she was born that way. I talk to her, too, about everything.”

Payal had just taken Jaya’s details when Canto returned, and the heart of her, it arrowed in toward him. As if he were her star, and she the circling planet. She wanted to pull back, step away, protect herself, but it was too late. Her walls were cracked and damaged so badly that there was no hope.

Chapter 36

You are one of mine. I will allow nothing and no one to cause you harm. Ever.

—Ena Mercant to Canto Mercant (September 2053)

ENA HAD SPENT a lifetime watching out for her family. She’d been taught to do it by her grandmother, who’d been taught by her mother. Theirs was a matriarchal line—though when there were boys who showed leadership qualities, they were never pushed aside. Ena’s great-grandmother had been taught her duties by her father.

Canto could’ve been the next male to lead the clan; for a long time, Ena had believed he would be her successor. The angry boy she’d first met had grown into a strong, stable youth who made her proud. He was also intensely protective of the younger children in the clan—he’d held Arwen inside his shields, and even now, he watched over Silver.

When it became clear that Silver was more suited to succeed her, she’d wondered if Canto would resent her choice—they’d both understood that the boy had never been Silent, that his emotions could burn flashfire hot. But Canto had supported her.

“I was hoping you’d see that,” he’d said to her in his direct way. “I’m not suited to stand where you stand, Grandmother. Silver has the patience and diplomacy to take the family into the future.”

When that future came, when Silver stood in Ena’s place, she knew Canto would be staunch in his support. Magdalene’s boy knew how to back his people. Once given, his loyalty was a hard thing to break. Which was why Ena wanted to put her eyes on Payal Rao.

From her research on the woman—research Ena and Magdalene had done together, without involving anyone else in the clan—there was little to commend Payal as Canto’s partner in life. Ena’s grandson might have his rough edges, but the boy overflowed with emotion. He loved Ena even though Ena had been raised in Silence, had come to adulthood in Silence, and could never openly show him what he was to her.

Payal Rao was like Ena. Hard. Distant. Calculating.

Canto deserved so much more.

Not that Ena would get in his way—she’d known from their first meeting that this boy had inherited the Mercant will. He would not be manipulated, would not be molded. He would be who he chose to be. So she’d leave him be, but she would make sure Payal Rao understood that she wasn’t a Mercant and never would be—and if that was her reason for playing off Canto’s memories and worming her way into his life, she could just worm her way back out.

Ena would wait to pay her back for hurting Canto. She could be as patient as a spider waiting for prey—and she had no mercy in her for those who hurt the children of her family.