"I can't give you more details, Luce. I wish I could, but it's not something I can talk about. He knows things about me that would get me killed if they got out," she whispers. "He is the last person you would ever wish to know your deepest, darkest secrets. Because I have no doubt he would make good on his threat to tell my family."

"What does he have on you, Thea?" Cer demands sharply.

She shakes her head.

"Something that would make you hate me, too, Cer." She meets his gaze as she gives him a sad smile. "And I can't risk that."

"And he used that to what? Blackmail you?"

She nods grimly.

I inhale sharply.

"That is so low of him. I can't believe I ever felt sorry for him."

"You don't know him as we do, Luce. Cer would never speak ill of him, of course, even though I have no doubt he has plenty of such opinions as well."

Cer has a grave expression, but he neither agrees with it nor denies it.

"But that's only because he feels some misplaced loyalty to him," she continues. "But back home..." She shakes her head. "There's no one more hated. And it's not just because of his rude manner. I doubt there's any House that hasn't lost someone to his sword."

"What do you mean?" I frown.

"His duties don't only involve demons, but also⁠—"

"Thea, that is enough," Cer interrupts her.

She gives him a harsh look.

"She has a right to know, Cer," she says before she turns to me. "Ze is the executioner of the law. If anyone missteps, he is the one who comes to deliver the punishment. And he never blinks an eye. In our family alone, he's executed at least five people that I know of in the last few hundred years. With him, you don't get second chances."

"Why is he here then? Why would he participate in the game?"

She shares a hidden look with Cer.

"I'm not sure. He didn't tell me, and with him, you never know. I'm sorry I lied." She sighs. "I didn't want him getting so close to you, but I didn't know how to tell you without risking his wrath."

"I understand." I smile as I reach to pat her on the back.

"What a touching scene," a familiar voice says from the back.

We all turn and watch Ze lean against the wall, his shrewd eyes taking in everything.

"How long have you been there?" I ask.

He doesn't reply. The corners of his mouth lift up in an eerie smile. Thea's face drains of color, and Cer reaches for her hand, squeezing it in comfort. She's already trembling, on the verge of a breakdown, and Cer is doing his best to calm her down.