Page 44 of Gua rdian of Blood and Shadow

“No consorts?” she asked, one brow cocked, her dark eyes meeting mine after scanning the room.

I grabbed a book and hugged it to my chest, like armor. “They’re worried about another attack.”

She sniffed. “Shouldn’t they be with you, then?”

I smiled, mostly to myself. “They’re never far from me.” In fact, at that very moment, I could sense Ash making his way down the hallway, just a few doors away.

Something shifted in Ren’s expression, a subtle crack in her composed exterior. Her gaze flicked to the books stacked around me, and she moved deeper into the study, her fingers trailing over a shelf of artifacts that had somehow remained upright through Reiji’s assault.

“I need to tell you something about my brother,” she said. “I’ve been working to isolate the shadow corruption in him, but…” She hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her features, and leaned her hip on the edge of the desk. “I can’t find it.”

I blinked, unsure I’d heard correctly. “What do you mean, you can’t find it?”

“I mean, there’s no trace of shadow corruption in him. Nothing.” Ren’s brow furrowed. “I’ve searched his spirit thoroughly. There’s nothing there.”

“But we all saw him,” I said. “The darkness in his magic, the way he spoke…”

“I don’t know what it means,” she said, her stare haunted. “I can’t explain it.”

“But…” I shook my head. “Wefeltthe shadow’s influence.”

Ren sighed. “Maybe if Reiji was working with the shadow voluntarily, he wouldn’t need a mark of corruption to coerce him. If he chose the shadow. Sought it out. If it was something he did, not something that was done to him. Maybe?”

The implication settled like ice in my veins, despite her uncertainty. How much harder to face a betrayal born of choice rather than corruption?

“Ren, if that’s true…” My heart broke for her all over again. “I’m so sorry.”

Her stare hardened. “I’m not sharing this for sympathy,” she said, a slight edge to her voice. “It’s a warning. There’s a good chance the Shadow King’s influence has spread further into this world than we realized.” She absently traced a scorch mark on the desk. “Your House is weak, Sophie, butyouare not. I understand the frustration of feeling forced into a role you never wanted. Of having to lead and make choices that impact the lives of thousands. Of knowing that every decision that benefits one group of people will hurt another. Of feeling like everything you do, even if it’s a win, is also a failure.”

I swallowed, a sinking feeling gnawing in my gut.

“You no longer have the luxury of waiting,” she went on. “Youmustcomplete your harem and claim your birthright, or the House of the Moon and the House of the Stars and the House of the Sun, along with every other living being—mortal and immortal alike—will be wiped from the face of the earth.”

Micah looked from Ren to me and back, his eyes opened wide.

Ren pushed off the edge of the desk, crossed to me, and knelt before me. “I will help you in any way I can,” she said. “Obviously, you can’t bind Reiji after last night, but you still need a consort from the House of the Stars. I would offer myself to fulfill that role.” She bowed her head. “If you would have me.”

“I—” I glanced at Micah, swallowing hard. Something in my expression made him jump to his feet.

“I’m going to pee or get a sandwich or something,” he blurted. “Not at the same time, obviously,” he rambled. “First sandwich, then pee, or… It doesn’t really matter.” He made a beeline for the door.

After he was gone, I returned my attention to Ren, who watched me closely. I licked my lips and looked down at my knees. “I can’t always differentiate between blood lust and normal lust,” I confessed, my cheeks heating. “I’m getting better at it, butcommunionsare usually pretty intense,” I added in a rush. I dragged my focus back up to her face. “Just so you know what you’re volunteering for.”

A sly Mona Lisa smile curved Ren’s lips, making my belly do a pleasant flip flop. “I have no problem with that arrangement, if you don’t.”

“I—” I stared at her, a pleasant, full-body buzz spreading through me. To my own surprise, I found myself nodding without hesitation. The certainty that bloomed inside me caught me off guard—this felt right in a way I couldn't explain. “I don't have a problem with it either.”

Ren snagged my hand, peeling my fingers away from the book’s spine, placed her palm flush against mine. I felt a wash of effervescent power cascade up my arm and through my body. “Good,” she said softly. “But first, you need to retrieve your absent consort… And I think I canalsohelp you with that.”

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” I stared at her hand against mine, at the source of that pleasant, full-body buzz. “What are you doing to me?”

“Blocking your consorts from eavesdropping on our conversation,” she said, drawing my attention back up to her face.

“They’re already on their way,” I said, sensing them approaching.

“Then I’ll speak quickly,” she said. “There is one thing Veris wants more than anything else.”

“To break the curse,” I guessed. “But that’ll increase the shadow’s influence on all the shifters.”

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