I don’t bargain with prey.
I take what I need.
She was supposed to be a tool — a broken little human seer with visions powerful enough to win my war. One forest. One artifact. One simple deal.
But Aeryn doesn’t break. She fights me with every breath, every sharp word, every glowing vision that leaves her bleeding and defiant in my arms.
Now the Dark Forest is trying to tear us apart, and the only thing more dangerous than her unstable power is how badly I need to own her. Her body. Her sight. Her future.
She belongs to me now.
Whether she admits it or not.
I was sent to use her.
Instead I’m willing to burn everything — my house, my name, all of Protheka — to keep her.
