“Listen,” Nadir says, dropping my hand and stepping towards her. He’s taller than her by a good foot, plus he’s fucking scary when he’s pissed. She takes the smallest step back at his approach, though she tries to cover it up. “We can find this information out from someone else. If you know, then someone else knows too. But there is only one ark of Aphelion to be had. So you’ll take Lor’s offer, or you can fuck right off. We have things to do, and you’re wasting our time.”

Cloris’s eyes flash with fury, but she must hear the sense in Nadir’s words. Her jaw clenches, and she holds out her bony, trembling hand.

“Fine. Give it to me, and I’ll tell you.”

Nadir snorts but defers to me, glancing over his shoulder in question.

I move to stand next to him. “No. You’re going first because, as he just pointed out, you’re getting the better end of the bargain,” I say.

Technically, it’s true. We might be able to find this information on our own, but we’re also running out of time.

“How do I know you won’t run as soon as I tell you?” she asks.

“Of the two of us, you are the one who’s been trying to screw me over. You’re the one who’s been lying to everyone. So I’m the more trustworthy one in this relationship.” I hold up a hand. “You have my word that we will not run.”

Cloris lets out a long, slow breath.

“Very well,” she says and then smiles in a way that suggests neither of us will like this answer. “It’s very simple. You will need both Artefacts, and there are a series of lines to recite in addition to those required of a normal bonding.”

“What lines?”

“I don’t have them memorized, but you’ll find them in a book known as the Book of Night.”

“Where will we find that?” Nadir asks, and Cloris shrugs.

“At one of the priestess temples, I suspect.”

I look around the study. “You don’t have one?”

“No. Your grandmother destroyed my copy.”

I study her, scanning her up and down. I think she’s telling the truth.

“That’s it?” Nadir asks.

Cloris tips her head.

“No. There are two more things you need to be aware of.”

“What?” I ask. She’s enjoying the process of stretching this out as long as possible, feeding us drips of information to maximize their sting.

“First, you’ll need a High Priestess, of course. I told you Serce made the mistake of trying to do it herself.”

I narrow my eyes, trying to parse a lie in her words. I think she’s being honest, as much as it guts me to admit it.