The hairs along his arms and neck rose. “What was that purpose?” he said quietly.

“We use our gift to kill through dreams.”

Silence filled the library. The tingling along his neck and arms expanded across his entire body, sending a shiver up his spine as his mind tried to comprehend Selene’s words. The Ravenwood gift of dreaming . . . had been turned to killing?

Assassinations . . . random deaths over the years . . . the rise of House Ravenwood . . . Caiaphas’s veiled hints . . .

“Is that how your ancestor Rabanna was able to escape the empire? By . . . by . . .”

“By killing? Yes.”

Damien swallowed. “And when you say power and gold, you mean . . .”

She curled her lip. “There is a lot of money to be made in secrets and assassinations. Enough to help our people when the mines dried up.”

“Secrets?”

Her eyes grew hard. “Dreamwalking allows us to reach inside a person’s mind and memories. Powerful people are willing to pay a great deal of money for that kind of information.”

“I see.” Damien’s mind was spinning. Not only could House Ravenwood enter a person’s dreams, they could see the person’s thoughts—or kill them. Their gift could well be one of the most powerful ones amongst the Great Houses. And no one knew. Except Caiaphas and now himself, and whomever else Lady Ragna might have told.

Selene let out a sorrowful laugh and tugged at the corner of her sleeve. “Now you know our secret.”

He looked up. “So that night, when I found you beside my bed, you were there to kill me. Not with your swords, but with . . .” He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

“Yes. I was there to assassinate you. Inside your dreams.” Her voice was cold and quiet.

Dear Light! Damien held his head in his hands. Their bonding had only revealed that she could dreamwalk, not what House Ravenwood had done with that gift. This was not at all what he had been expecting when he asked her about her gift. How should he respond? What should he do? None of the other houses were so malevolent and vile as what Selene had revealed about Ravenwood—not even House Friere, for all of its pride and aggravating ways. To use one’s house gift in such a way went against the whole reason the Light gave the seven houses such gifts! It was perverted. It was wrong.

Selene must have seen the shock and disgust on his face because she suddenly stood. “I’m sure you have a lot to think about,” she said in a low tone. “After all, not only did you end up marrying a woman you do not love, you married a murderess.”

His head shot up. “You’ve used your gift to kill?”

“No, but I might as well have.”

“What do you mean?”

Her nostrils flared, and her hands tightened into two fists. “I—” She looked away. “I shattered a young woman’s mind during a dreamwalk. She cannot move, she cannot speak. She lies in bed all day, staring at the ceiling. She’s as good as dead. And there is no way to undo what I did.” Her voice cracked. “So there you are. Behold, the gift of the Dreamers.” Before Damien could say another word, Selene spun around and left.