“That is for the first month,” Dante said. “You will live at my estate, you will care for Vesper, and you will report only to me.”

My throat went completely dry.

That was more than I made in three years at the roadside diner.

It was enough to clear my debts, to buy my own truck, and to finally leave this state behind.

“And if I say no?” I asked.

“You won’t,” Dante said. “Because you care about the horse. And because Felix Crane cannot protect you from what is coming next.”

He was right.

If Marco had poisoned this horse, and the warehouse was currently burning, a war had started.

The Lantern was no longer a safe neutral ground.

“I need to get my things,” I said.

“There is no time,” Dante said. “My men will retrieve whatever you need later. We leave now.”

He led Vesper out of the stall and toward the large, black transport trailer parked in the deep shadows behind the barn.

I followed them, the cold night air biting through my thin cotton uniform.