“NICHOLAS.”

Isaac inclines his head, but something about the motion feels mocking instead of respectful. His eyes flicker down to Nick’s shoulder. Looks like I’m not the only one who noticed that when Nick moved, he’d stepped slightly in front of me.

“What do you want?” Nick says, his voice an octave lower than usual.

“Your father would like you to join him in the antechamber,” Isaac says in a deep baritone. When he turns to indicate a side door by the stage, I notice the slight points at the top of his ears.

Nick’s jaw is already set in hard lines. They only get harder when Isaac mentions his father. “Right now?”

“I’m afraid so, my liege,” Isaac murmurs, holding his hands in front of him like a polite servant, even though the power and fierce intelligence in his eyes suggest he’s anything but.

Nick’s chest and shoulders rise in a heavy breath meant to calm. He turns back to me, effectively blocking Isaac from view.

“I’m really sorry. I’ve got to go.” His light brows turn down in thoughtful consternation, like he’s making a decision that he isn’t sure about. “I’ll find you after Selection, okay?”

The mixture of worry and hope in his blue eyes sends my heart lurching against my ribs. It finds its footing again when I hear myself say, “Okay.”

He lets out another breath, this time with a quiet sort of relief. I think we both expect Isaac to walk away with Nick, but the Merlin simply nods his head toward the door again. Nick’s eyes flicker between the two of us for a moment, landing finally on mine with a silent warning that I don’t need. I already know Isaac is dangerous.

When Nick disappears in the crowd, I feel the full force of Isaac’s gaze on my face. If Sel’s attention feels like sparks or embers, Isaac’s is a sweltering late July heat. His fathomless eyes bore into mine.

Even still, I don’t break our eye contact. I didn’t come here to cower.

‘Who is this man?’

When I jump at my grandmother’s voice, Isaac’s thin lips pull back in a horrid smile, revealing the longest canines I’ve ever seen. No, not canines. Fangs. “You’re the Unanedig girl.”

Someone bad, Grandma.

“I am.”

‘I don’t like his eyes.’

Neither do I, but I need to concentrate while I’m here with everyone. Can you— She fades, so fast and quiet I worry she may have gone for good. I close the door behind her for now, seal it tight.

Isaac’s gaze trails me up and down, and after a moment of inspection, he makes a small, amused sound. “Fascinating.” From anyone else, that word might be a compliment; from him, it twists my stomach like spoiled meat.

“Master Isaac.”