“It appears you have company, Daisy Johanssen,” Mikill announced in a formal tone.

“So it does.” I got out of the vehicle. “Thank you, Mikill.”

He raised one hand in farewell, put the dune buggy in reverse, and backed out of the alley, chugging away into the night, his frosty beard wagging in the breeze.

“Daisy.” Stefan, leaning against the wall, peeled himself upright. The lamp above the door cast his eyes in shadows. “I wanted—”

“I’m fine,” I interrupted him. “You don’t need to check up on me at every turn.”

He frowned. “Is it—”

I talked over him. “I mean, it’s just the fate of the world, right?”

“—so difficult to believe that . . .” Stefan paused. “What?”

We stared at each other. “Nothing.” I swallowed. “Just something one of the Norns said to me. I’m sorry. What?”

“Is it so difficult to believe that I’m here because I wished to see you, Daisy?” Stefan said gently to me.

“A little, yeah,” I said honestly.

He smiled. “I wanted to tell you that Cooper is lucid enough to express his apologies to you.”

“That was fast.” Based on what I knew, it took at least a week for a ghoul to stop ravening.

Stefan shrugged. “Cooper has considerable strength of will. Still, I will see that he is kept in seclusion. It will be some days yet before the ravening has fully passed.”

“Okay.”

Oh, in case you’re wondering, this was definitely the other disconcerting thing to happen that night.

“The Norn?” Stefan prompted me.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “I mean, it’s nothing yet. And it’s nothing specific. Just that the fate of the world may hinge upon the choices I make.”

Stefan took a step closer to me. I was acutely aware of his presence; of his height, of the breadth of his shoulders, of the impossibility of his immortal existence. “That has always been the case, Daisy.”

“I know,” I whispered. Part of me felt crowded by Stefan’s presence. Part of me felt elated by it. “Is that why you came? To tell me about Cooper?”

“No.”

The air between us hummed with possibilities. I forgot about the Norn’s soothsaying. “Um . . . Stefan, wouldn’t it be dangerous? You and me, together?”

“Are you afraid of losing yourself in me?” His pupils dilated in a rush. “You could. Or I could let my control slip and you could send me ravening. But that’s part of the allure, isn’t it?” He was close enough that I could feel the warmth of his skin. “You’ve been with one of the eldritch, Daisy. There may be no future for you and the wolf, but do you really think you could go back to ordinary mortals?”