I take a deep breath before descending the narrow stairwell, a shudder running down my spine as the air cools, whipping through the tunnel and caressing my exposed skin with its icy fingers.

I step into a small, darkened room with uneven floor and walls, as if less care had been taken to carve out this particular space. A single sconce hangs from the far wall, illuminating the room with a faint orange glow and casting flickering shadows along the outline of the fleshy creature heaped in the corner.

A gasp rings out over my shoulder, though I can’t tear my eyes away to see which of my mates it originated from—I’m too busy staring at that horrible thing.

Mottled gray skin stretches painfully over four long, gangly limbs—disproportionately sized compared to its short, humanoid torso. Its fleshy abdomen undulates with each shallow breath, the air whistling between its ribs with a horrible rattling noise that sends a shudder down my spine. My gaze travels along the bony projection of its spine toward the head, my stomach clenching as I prepare to take in its face.

The gaping mouth of the kleptak is just as horrifying as I remember—-possibly more so—because at this distance, I’m able to see every single hooked tooth lining its lipless, sucking maw. Though it possesses no means to see, the kleptak whips its head to the spot where I’m standing. The movement is accompanied by an ear-piercing shriek that reverberates off the walls and down to the marrow of my bones.

“What… why the fuck do you have that?” Cyprien whispers, his voice shaking with fright—the first time I’ve ever heard it like that. “Dagny! Get behind me!”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Malice murmurs, his glowing red eye materializing in the shadowed corner of the room. “Mor can’t hurt anyone. Not with the way she’s chained.”

“You named it?” Lir demands, his eyes wide in horror. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“So, so much.” Malice shrugs nonchalantly.

“Is this what you wanted to show her?” Roark asks, his tone equally as shocked. “For what possible purpose other than to terrify your mate?”

Malice rolls his eyes, his chest heaving with a sigh. “It must be so nice and peaceful to possess a brain filled with nothing other than fluff.” His gaze cuts across the room, narrowing on Roark’s bearded face. “I’m not trying to scare her, you oversized oaf. I went through great lengths to acquire Mor so we could use her to train Dagny.”

“Train me?”

Malice turns to face me with a grin. “Yes. Kleptaks are the closest creatures to demons in terms of intelligence and power. If you can learn to control Mor, you’ll be unstoppable.”

“She’s not going anywhere fucking near that thing,” Fenryr snarls, stepping in front of me protectively. “It’s too dangerous.”