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“How could I not? You’re smart, clever, and a complete bitch in the best way.” I can’t help it; I laugh, and he kisses my hair. “You’re my sweet Torment. There’s nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you.”

“But what if I become a rotting madwoman that sets you aflame?” My voice is cracked and small, my shoulders curling in.

His hands shift, cupping my chin and tilting my face up so I have no choice but to gaze into his warm, honey eyes. He smiles and it’s so beautiful that it melts a little of the tightness in my chest. “Then I’ll burn in your arms.”

My lip trembles. “I don’t want you to burn.”

His eyes sparkle. “Good.”

He kisses me, slow and soft. My breath shudders and I go limp against him, his hands holding me softly, his lips still tilted in a smile. It’s addicting and warm and everything I need. I hum softly into it, my arms wrapping around his neck. Our noses brush.

His lips tickle mine when he says, “We need to summon Valen.”

My heart drops like a stone into my gut and my eyes snap open. “Do you think Dimitar has him?”

Lucas stills, pausing before answering, “No. If you’re right and Dimitar killed Vincentius, then he would’ve left something to let you know he has Valen. That’s more his style.”

My shoulders sag with my sigh, my head tilting back. “Thank all the nonexistent arachnid gods for that small mercy. You’re right. The Order would’ve done the same thing.”

A little thought jolts through me. Valen left yesterday because he was going to help his father with the Transformation Domain’s alliance. Luciana’s family domain. If my stepmother did this, I’ll make this body look like the most respectful, dignified death that ever was.

But if Valen is fine… and he’s looking for his father… and he needs to inherit the Bauer family ring…

There’s a pressure building within me, like a storm sending waves crashing against a dam. Too much has happened. Too much to deal with and face. It’s all just too much.

With a squeeze of my eyes, I give in to the temptation to slip back into my old ways in hopes of easing this unbearable pressure. “You’re right. Telling Valen is the right thing to do. I’ll reach out once we confirm the body’s identity.”

There’s a stillness in Lucas that has me bracing. I need my lie to be convincing, but his tone is a lot less understanding. “And when will that be?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never used magic to identify a body before, but if we work together, we can manually go through the stacks in a few days to find a spell.” Withholding the truth turns my stomach, but I can’t seem to stop.

“A few days…”

Lucas’ skeptical tone pitches mine higher when I ask in a defensive gasp, “What?”

“Avoiding the situation isn’t going to make this better. Valen has to know.”

“You’re right. He does.”

“Now, Tor. Contact him now.”

“Absolutely not.”

Lucas glowers and I cut him off quickly, stepping out of his hold to face him. “Think about this. There’s a mystery dead body. My wards aren’t working right. The Magistrate appeared looking for Vincentius, a powerful political figure in the Order. If I can trust myself, there was someone in the bookstore without my knowledge. There’s something deeper going on. This very well could be a trap for us all. It would be stupid to summon Valen to identify a body that probably isn’t even his father and drag him back into this mess. Valen could easily be framed for this as well. It wouldn’t be the first time a head of a family is conveniently taken out for the next in line to take power. The Magistrate is watching us, Lucas. Valen needs to stay far away from us until we get to the bottom of this. This whole thing reeks of Dimitar’s slimy, backhanded methods. Let’s not make it easier for him to hurt us all.”

He’s unconvinced and shakes his head. “No, Tor. This is you avoiding a potentially difficult confrontation with Valen. He left us both. He made his choice, and it hurts. You at least got a face-to-face breakup. I got a shit letter.”

I flinch back, jaw dropping indignantly when his words strike too close to the truth I’m avoiding. “That has nothing to do with this!”

Lucas sighs and takes off his flat cap to rake his long hair back before continuing in a gentler tone. “Look, Tor. I’m agreeing with you on this, even if you’re lying about your motives, but it means that this issue is bigger than us. If Dimitar and the Magistrate are involved and messing with Order business, then we’re going to need help. We can’t go up against them alone.”

My gaze drops to the floor as his logic sinks in.

He shifts closer. “Isn’t the easiest way to figure out if this is Vincentius is to contact Valen to confirm his father is missing? For all we know, they’re plotting in that fancy ass office of his for the Archweaver’s downfall and we’re in an unrelated trap that is closing on us by the second. The faster we confirm if this is or isn’t Vincentius, the faster we can do what you need to figure out who is behind this and get rid of the body.”

He’s right, even if he doesn’t know everything that I do. My stomach clenches and I close my eyes briefly.

Lucas continues in a gentler tone, “If the officers aren’t lying and this is Vincentius, then Valen could be killed next. I’m mad at him too, but I don’t want to see his skinned body on the shop floor.”