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"We need to talk," she said to Klaus, but her eyes darted over them all, voice stronger than he remembered it to be. Rowan was frozen and Helios looked surprised. Solar seemed to expect her appearance with a sad little smile. Zen bit his bottom lip, suddenly desperate to say something.

His mouth was open, words spilling from his tongue. A mangled whoosh, a release of just her name. "Quinn…" She ignored him. And he felt like crying. Awful, he felt so fucking awful. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her, he had to look, had to see, had to torture himself again and again.

What he was missing.

Icarus and Elysian, his mind reminded him. The two that had gone against their wishes, had fucked up their plans and had done everything they were not supposed to. They let her live. They made him suffer. They—His mind calmed, eyes suddenly burning. They saved her and he was so fucking thankful for it, he had cried when she'd lived, when Elysian had bitten her. The jealousy that had filled him had made him want to die. And yet the relief had been everything, had him sinking to his knees.

Why did she have to die?

And now they looked amazing, looked as if they had their fill of her, pink cheeks and glowing. They had taken Zen's place, Zen who had once held the prime position in her heart. And now her eyes were warm when they darted to Elysian, warmer with Icarus. Tender loving care. His fists clenched, and the pain spiked. Awful memories. The last kiss he shared with her.

The last time she loved him.

She'd been giggling, laughing, tickled by his fingers. And he'd been laughing too, her hands running up his torso. More tickles. He'd pressed his nose against her cheek, inhaling, arms around her shoulders—sweet, sweet peach. His lips on hers, gentle, fluttering butterfly wings and popping candy sweet, stolen breaths. Her forehead to his. They'd settled in bed, silent but watching. Her eyes. She didn't need to say anything, he could see what she felt in her eyes. He'd been bursting with everything that day. And he'd believed that it was because he'd been well-fed with her emotions.

Now he knew, it was because his heart had been full.

And now when he closed his eyes, he was poisoned by the look on her face when she'd stared at him through that fucking mirror, stared at him as if she could see him knowing that she was about to die. It burned him and had his heart beating all fast for the wrong reasons. She was happier now without him.

It hurt.

He was so stupid, so useless, so undeserving of her love.

Klaus spoke then, polishing porridge from his plate, expression cool. His eyes betrayed none of his emotions. "Why did you bring her here?" He addressed Elysian and Icarus, a sharpness in his voice as if accusatory. He'd said again and again that Zen was not ready to see her. That none of them were ready. And now here she was.

Quinn spoke first. "I want to be allowed to leave." Zen was horrified. And he knew everyone felt the same way because he tasted it in the air, the emotions souring, bloodied with disappointment, with terror. And there was a strange ringing in his head then, an odd pulsation.

"Where to?" Klaus stated, eyes too hard.

"You don't need me."

"You signed a contract," Klaus said. "It is up to us, whether or not we need you."

"I just want to work on the research of the Lonely," she told him. "Having me in a room with nothing to do, is the same as keeping me locked in a cell."

"Why is this in her head?" Klaus ignored her, eyes on their mates, hard, angry. "What did you two tell her?"

"This has nothing to do with them."

"So," Klaus's lips curled into a cruel smile. "You'd prefer the jail cell?"

Her voice was colder and Zen flinched, fingers curling into his jeans, suddenly desperately wanting Klaus to shut the fuck up. "I just want to do something meaningful. I know the patterns of the Lonely. The way they work. I used to be a top scavenger in the wastelands. If there are Lonely in the capital, I would like to figure a way to keep the people safe."

"And you think we haven't been working on this?"

"You have," she nodded. "But it's not enough. Two kings were injured. Your security is lacking, you do not have the necessary preparations, you're not ready."

"You have no right—"

"I have every fucking right," her snarl startled him, but it had them all looking, surprise growing. "I have every right," she exhaled, slow, steady as if trying to calm down. But her eyes were flashing with strength and Zen felt as if he couldn't breathe. He had wronged her. He knew that. He knew it, they all knew it. "You can't kill every Alpha that's linked to an incident with the Lonely. Alphas have never been the reason for their existence."

Klaus's rage seemed to grow, bitter chocolate spilling through the room. "We know. Your situation was just unique because of Icarus and Elysian."

"I want to help—"

"What can a Beta do?" Klaus scoffed. And Zen's belly felt tight, a pain growing in his chest.

"Something," she answered hotly. "I lived out there for three years. It is all that I know. And I was the best. I know what the Lonely want."

"What?"

"Hearts," she snarled. "Beating fucking hearts." Zen was startled at her words, eyes wide, horrified. The sudden pulse in his temples. A reminder. If Zen became Lonely, he'd want her heart. Sooner or later, he'd try to kill her. He gasped, exhaling shaky, so shaky, his fingers clenched. He'd try to kill her again and it might not even mean his survival, because he'd already eaten her heart, Euodia's heart. Quinn smiled, finger up. "And before you tell me that that is a rumour the people of Hemlock know. I know the behaviours of those beings. Those monsters are searching, they're not hungry. Fuck no, they spit the wrong ones out. They're searching for something."