Silas tossed the model back onto the table. "It's not that I'm worried he'll try to sweet-talk Emy into letting him stay. I'm worried he has other aims—he might hurt her." That man was too driven. It was hard not to see through him. Only someone as innocent as Corvin might fall for his act. Lucien said, "I'm telling you this so you'll be careful around Malrik. I'll have someone look into him. "Edric is about to advance, Silas has work to handle, Corvin can't be relied on—so Marcus, you'll have to pick up the slack. When Emma's alone, don't leave her side. Don't give Malrik any chance to be alone with her." Marcus had no objection. He asked Lucien, "Do I stay with Ms. Tibarn when she sleeps too?" Lucien nodded. "Whenever we can't be with her, you stay." Marcus acknowledged him. Edric asked, "Aren't we going to tell Emma about this?" Lucien looked at Silas, who wanted to roll his eyes. "We will tell her. When I'm with Emy tonight, I'll talk to her." … Two hours later, Emma left her room and found Silas posted at her door. "Why weren't you waiting in your room?" she asked. "I missed you. I wanted to see you as soon as I could." Silas scooped Emma up and carried her back to his room. In the valley this time, a new wooden cabin had been woven from deep-blue vines. He carried her inside and set her on the soft bed. "Emy, what do you think of the cabin? Do you like it?" A white carpet covered the floor, and tiny transparent flowers filled the ceiling. The flowers threw off shifting light—dreamlike and unreal. Emma nodded. "I like it." Silas kissed her, then fell back on the bed, holding her and asked softly, "Emy, what do you make of Malrik?" Emma undid the buttons of his uniform and let her fingertips trace his abs. "Something's off. His showing up today felt too convenient—like it was planned." "I was going to bring it up with Lucien tomorrow and ask him to check on Malrik," she continued. Since meeting Malrik, Emma had felt wrong about him. With Edric, Silas, and Lucien, she felt naturally close, but with Malrik, she didn't. Still, he had saved her, so she hesitated to jump to conclusions. That was why she had said little when she met him earlier. Now that Silas asked directly, she spoke her doubts out loud. Silas laughed in relief when he heard her answer—of course, Emma would be sharp enough to sense something. "Why ask me that?" Emma looked at him. "You think his arrival was too well timed too, right? Like it was arranged." Bringing a Rank 10 therian in wasn't a small thing. If Malrik had staged it, the cost would be enormous. … Silas told her about the other females who had been attacked today. Emma's brows knit into a deep crease. "So, you think Malrik did all of this?" she asked.Silas nodded. "Lucien already sent people to investigate. We should have news soon." "Right now, it looks like Malrik caused this mess because he was afraid he'd come too late and you'd reject him, so he staged a pity play," he suggested. "But then, he worried we'd find out, so he muddied the waters to make it hard to tell the truth." "That's awful," Emma agreed, her expression darkening. "Even though he showed up late, I wouldn't blame him. But if he went and made this whole drama on his own, I wouldn't want him." Deceit was beneath her—cruel and dirty. Emma hated being lied to. "We and Lucien will get to the bottom of it," Silas promised. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, then whispered in her ear, "Emy, will you help me tonight?" Emma bit his lip playfully. "Only once." That man had zero restraint. Silas sat up, grinning. "Then, I'll take a shower. Which pajamas do you want to see me in? The silver ones?"They were translucent, lace at the waist, designed to show more than cover. "If you like it, that's fine," Emma said. She'd already seen his wardrobe. There wasn't a single decent set among them. … Downstairs, Merlin lay on a too-firm bed and stared at the plain room, burning with fury. Lucien had done this on purpose. Did they think he wouldn't notice? They were all in on it—put off because he'd arrived late, trying to isolate him, not trusting him. He wanted them all dead. He would kill them all. Which one should he start with?