"You and Cat were in the middle of playing a game," Lucivar said, hoping Daemon didn't ask for details. "Rainier walked into the middle of it and had the misfortune of flirting with her while you were already on edge. Needless to say, Rainier was granted a taste of what dancing with the Sadist truly means."

Lucivar growled and hit the table with his fist, enraged that Saetan had slipped away with as little fanfare as Jaenelle had. "This is madness," he hissed to Daemon. "How can two Black threads disappear as if they'd never been? What does it mean?"