Alistair POV
Vesper Quinn's scent hit me before I even stepped into the corridor behind Sarafina.
Chaos. Mischief. Lies dipped in honey.
I hated it.
I didn't come here for him. I came because Sarafina's energy spiked like she was about to tear a hole through the veil—and because the artifact she touched was never meant to exist in this realm.
But of course, Quinn had gotten his hands on it.
And of course, she was standing there with it glowing in her palm.
Perfect.
Her breath was still uneven from whatever vision the conduit forced on her. My fists clenched involuntarily.
She shouldn't be touching things like that. She shouldn't even be here.
Not with hunters still searching.
Not with her seal thinning like paper soaked in blood.
Not with Quinn circling her like he'd discovered a new addiction.
Vesper noticed me the same way a wolf notices another predator entering its clearing—slow, deliberate, amused.
"Well," he murmured, lips curving, "if it isn't the brooding shadow himself."
I stepped closer, ignoring him entirely.
"Sarafina." My voice was steadier than I expected. "We need to leave."
She turned to me, eyes still reflecting that faint silver glow. A breath caught in my throat—not because she looked afraid.
Because she didn't.
Instead she asked, "Why are you here?"
Vesper made a soft sound, like he was enjoying the tension far too much.
"She's not yours to drag away, Alistair," he drawled.
I looked at him. "I wasn't talking to you."
He tsked. "How rude. I open my home, offer my guidance—"
"You don't have guidance," I said. "You have games."
His grin widened. "And she plays them well."
Sarafina stiffened, caught between us like a spark between two blades.
I stepped forward, placing myself partially between her and Vesper.
He noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His eyes gleamed. "Careful, Starborn. The last time two of your kind fought over someone, it leveled a kingdom."
I ignored the jab.
"Sarafina," I said again, softer this time. "That artifact—whatever it showed you—it wasn't safe. You shouldn't touch it."
"I noticed," she muttered, still shaken.
Vesper leaned back against his desk, arms crossed. "Oh, let her explore. It's been ages since we had someone like her in the Market. You're interrupting my entertainment."
I turned fully toward him.
"One more step in this," I said quietly, "and I'll rip the Market apart to find every artifact you've stolen from the old realms."
A hush snapped across the space.
Vesper's smile didn't falter—but it sharpened.
"There he is," he whispered. "The real you."
Sarafina exhaled shakily. "Enough. Both of you."
Her hands were trembling—the orb pulsing faintly in response.
I moved closer, but gently this time.
"You're overwhelmed," I said. "That thing forces visions. Memories. Sometimes… futures. You weren't ready."
Vesper hopped onto the edge of his table. "She'll never be ready if you keep hovering over her like a mother hawk."
I shot him a look that promised violence.
"Sarafina," Vesper continued, waving a hand, "if you want to understand what you are, you'll have to listen to someone besides him."
"She should listen to someone who doesn't lie for a living," I replied.
"Oh? And you don't?" Vesper asked lightly.
My jaw tightened.
Sarafina looked between us. Confusion. Curiosity. A growing fire under her skin that neither of us could seem to dim.
Finally, she closed her fingers around the artifact.
"Enough," she said again—firmer this time. "I'm leaving."
I stepped to follow her, but Vesper's voice slid behind us:
"Careful, Alistair. If she ever sees what you've done… even your devotion won't save you."
My blood went cold.
He wasn't talking to Sarafina.
He was talking to me.
Sarafina didn't catch the meaning. She simply pushed aside the curtain of charms and walked into the dim corridor of the Market.
I followed her out, shadowing her steps.
But as we left, I caught Vesper's final whisper—one meant only for me:
"The seal won't hold. And when she remembers …She'll burn you first."
I didn't react.
But the truth of it carved through my chest like a blade.
Because he wasn't wrong.
Not even a little.