Mauro gasped. His skin paled, his tattoos fading. His body shuddered. The massive knight drew a single hoarse breath and lay still.

He killed him. He killed Mauro. It felt like someone opened a big dark pit under me and I was falling into it screaming. I failed. I wasn’t fast enough. My friend was dead and there was nothing I could do to bring him back. He was alive yesterday morning. He’d curtsied in my office.

He killed Mauro. I was right there and he . . .

I couldn’t breathe. My rage and grief were choking me, trying to rip out of me.

Oh my God, what would I tell his wife?

Hugh straightened, groaning, spat blood to the side, and crouched by Ted. His face was a bloody mess. On the floor seven people lay dead or dying. In the corner Nick looked at all of it, impassive.

Hugh surveyed the scene and looked at the wound gaping across Ted’s gut.

“I like this better—more satisfying all around. Gives us a few moments to bond before you pass on. I have a secret to tell you about one of your former employees.” Hugh turned on his feet and put his arm around Ted, moving his face so he would see me. “That one. She really hates cages, by the way. You’ll like this.”

He leaned closer to Ted and whispered into his ear. Ted’s eyes bulged.

“Life is full of surprises, isn’t it?” Hugh smiled.

He straightened and closed his eyes. Magic condensed around him. A pale blue glow licked his shoulder. His wounds knitted closed. His nose reset itself. He shrugged and walked up to my cage, blood dripping from his sword.

“It never lasts. They die too quickly on me. Give me the keys, Kate. You fought a good fight, but it’s over.”

“No.” Before I would’ve left the cage to fight him so I could save them. Now there was no need. Now they were dead. Mauro was dead.

“Was he a friend?” Hugh glanced at the big knight’s body. “So sorry. Give me the keys.”

“I’m going to kill you,” I told him. “If I don’t, Curran will.”

“That’s why I like you. It’s always the hard way.” Hugh turned on his foot, his boot sliding on the blood, and walked over to Ascanio. “What do we have here?”

I didn’t think I had enough stamina left to be scared. I was wrong.

He glanced at Steinlein’s corpse. “That would be his handiwork. I detest amateurs. The kid is a shapeshifter and a teenager. His regeneration factor is through the roof. I mean really, how difficult is it to heal this?”

Don’t touch him. Don’t . . .