"If it truly gets dangerous, the Empire's council will hear about it. "We don't need to jump in yet." He lifted his gaze toward Silas. "What about you? You've been back for a while. Didn't plan on reporting back to duty?" Typical. Once someone got a huntress, their priorities changed fast. Silas crossed his arms, his smirk sharp. "You've got guts saying that to me." He pointed straight at Lucien and Edric. "This is what you call taking care of a huntress? "You two lost your d*mn minds, wrecked the house, and let some shameless dragon walk in here like he owned the place." "If I hadn't shown up, who would've protected her? Who would've cleaned up the mess?" Lucien's mouth shut tight.Edric looked away, his head low. Silas let out a sharp breath. "Exactly." Then he turned to Emma, his tone instantly soft. "Ignore them, Emma. You look exhausted. Let me take you back to rest." He wasn't wrong. She'd been up all night, and they spent the whole morning dealing with Frostveil's disaster. Emma must not have gotten any sleep. Emma smiled, watching how proud he looked. "I guess I am a little tired," she said. "I'll go nap for a bit." Of course he'd jump on this chance. Lucien had ticked him off yesterday, and now Silas was soaking in every bit of payback. As Silas guided her out, Edric ground his teeth. His fingers brushed against one sharp fang as irritation flickered in his eyes.That guy was getting cocky. He turned to Lucien. "Silas may have equal rank, but you're still the first mate here. You're seriously just letting him talk down to you like that?" Not talking back when the lower mate was scolding him? Lucien was not someone with that kind of mild temper. Lucien rubbed at his temple, sighing. "You didn't see the way Emma looked at him? "What was I supposed to do, start a fight in front of her?" Besides, he had messed up last night. Silas deserved his little victory lap. Edric said nothing more and stalked off after Emma. Lucien stayed behind, his fingers tapping softly against the armrest of the waterwood couch, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Emma and Silas stepped through the door— And froze. A corpse hung in the middle of the living room, swaying gently in the light. Emma gasped so hard it stung her throat. Her muscles locked tight as her eyes landed on the horrifying scene before her. Silas saw her freeze and instantly jumped in front of her, his tone sharp enough to cut glass. "Marcus! Get your *ss down right now! If you're that set on dying, do it outside!" What the hell was wrong with him? Who even tried to hang themselves in their own living room? Silas glared up at him, then yanked a leaf from his pouch and pressed it into Emma's hand. "Here. My leaf doesn't just heal wounds. It'll calm you down." Emma shook her head. "I'm fine. Really." Her heartbeat slowed as she exhaled. "It just startled me. I'm not scared anymore."Marcus, still dangling, twitched when he heard Silas yell. He dropped down with a dull thump, landing like a sack of flour. The rope still hung around his neck as he staggered forward, his voice soft and pitiful. "I'm sorry, huntress. I didn't mean to scare you. I'll go die outside instead." Emma's eye twitched so hard it hurt as she watched him drag the rope across the floor. "Stop right there!" she snapped. "If you go hang yourself outside and someone sees you, they'll think this house is cursed!" Suddenly, it made perfect sense why Frostveil's people had bolted earlier. Marcus turned back toward her, his expression deadly serious. "Then I won't hang myself. I'll jump into the lake instead. No one will see me there." He even pointed toward the window. "There's a man-made lake right out front. I saw it earlier." Silas groaned and rubbed his temple, his patience slipping fast. "Marcus, behave yourself. If you keep acting like this and scare Emma again, you and your wedding gifts are going right back to Frostveil." Emma stared at him, speechless. Was this guy in a rush to die or what? That lake out front wasn't just decoration. Silas had filled it with colorful fish and rare water plants that bloomed in the current. There was no way she was letting Marcus ruin that too. She forced herself to breathe evenly and said in a steady voice, "Marcus, why don't you just go lie down in your crystal coffin and sleep?" Yes. Yes. That was perfect. Quiet. Out of trouble.Marcus hesitated, then nodded weakly. "Alright." He slipped the rope from his neck, swayed on his feet, and shuffled toward his room like a ghost. He really did crawl right back into his coffin. Lucien had placed him on the first floor, not far from the hall. Emma watched the door close behind him. It should've been over. But her eyelid wouldn't stop twitching. A strange pressure filled her chest, like the air itself was warning her. Something bad was going to happen, her heart told her. Nothing bad was going to happen. Lucien and Silas were here. Marcus looked calm now. Everything was fine. It had to be fine. Silas sat beside her, his tone soft. "Emma, are you hungry?" She had only taken nutrient fluid that morning, but she'd always preferred actual food to that bland substitute.