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She’s officially lost control of her power. I’ve only ever seen her like this two other times, and neither of which ended well.

Around me I feel fae magic building in the air. I don’t know if it’s all coming from Des or if his soldiers are also adding to it, but throwing power at Temper when she’s like this only ever leads to one thing—destruction.

I glance over at Des, who’s studying Temper. There’s no recognition on his face, and why should there be? For all I’ve told him of her, he hasn’t met Temper in the flesh.

Sometimes I assume my mate is omnipotent and infallible, that he knows everything and everyone at every moment in time. That nothing can truly sneak up on him.

But it can and it obviously has.

He begins signaling to his men, who adjust their positions, their bodies tense and ready.

If I don’t do something now, they’re going to firebomb my friend, and that’s going to end badly for everyone.

Coming to a hasty decision, I tuck my wings close to my back. My body dips, beginning to dive for the earth.

“Stop!” someone shouts behind me.

There’s no way I’m stopping.

I glance over my shoulder. My eyes meet Des’s, and for a moment, all we do is lock eyes. Right now I’m neither following his lead nor keeping myself safe like he instructed. He has every reason to use his magic to stop me in my tracks, but he doesn’t.

That small show of faith bolsters my courage.

There’s no way for me to communicate to him that this woman is my best friend or that I might be the only one who can salvage the situation before someone gets hurt. The only thing I can do is nod to Des.I know what I’m doing, I will him to understand.

Even though he can’t read my thoughts, I think he must glean them from my face. He stares at me for another moment, and then he puts up a fist. In response, his soldiers hold steady, their bodies still poised.

That’s all I have time to notice before I face forward again.

Beneath me, Temper stares up at the group of us, her normally warm eyes foreign and blistering as they land on mine.

This is the Temper people feared at our boarding school, and here is the power that ostracized her. The terrifying reality of her existence, the one she stares down each morning when she wakes up and closes her eyes to each night, is that she is capable of this carnage. She’s capable of it, and a part of her craves it.

There is a seductive power she can tap into, and it lures her in whenever it can. It’s a struggle I understand all too well. Most days, she tells it to fuck off.

Today, she gave into it.

I know what the soldiers looking down at Temper are wondering. It’s the same question that’s plagued many of our clients.

Whatisshe?

I stare at my friend through the haze, the heat waves making her form shimmer and bend. There’s only one type of supernatural whose magic is this powerful, this frightening, this intoxicating—

A sorceress.

Chapter 16

Temper and I stare at each other across the expanse of space, her skin sparking as magic dances along it. Her brimstone eyes and electric skin are a world away from her normal expressive self.

My friend is a rare breed of supernatural, one most people should hope to never encounter. Sorcerers and sorceresses wield magic like witches, but unlike witches, they have a nearly limitless amount of power they can tap into on a whim. The only trouble is every time they use their magic, it eats away at their conscience until there is nothing left.

Using small amounts here and there makes no real difference. But power like this? It can cleave away large bits of Temper’s morality.

The worst part of the whole thing is that Temper’s power coaxes her to use it the same way my siren coaxes me to give in to my own inner darkness. It’s always there, waiting for a moment of weakness.

My friend came for me. I disappeared, and she hunted me down, working herself up into a frenzy until her power swallowed her whole. She gave up a bit of her morality for me.

It’s a totally messed-up show of friendship, but one that moves me nonetheless.