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“She would hope for that, but she’d accept whatever judgment you came up with. Maybe add on her own version of justice. I know she definitely would have wanted to meet him,” he points at Mitri.

“That can’t happen. Mitri is innocent. Kind of. His heart’s in the right place? Shit, no. Semantics,” I grab Ben’s shirt with my other hand and tug him back towards me.

“Just tell her he’s yours,” Ben shrugs as if it were that simple. “She might complain about it, but she won’t touch him if you make it clear he’s off limits.”

“Mitri is notmine,” I protest with a frown.

“He is,” Mal and Kimi say in unison.

I glare at Mal’s smirking face because I can’t really meet Kimi’s eyes without freaking right now. “It would never work. She’d take him to piss me off if I said that. I’m not giving her leverage over me.”

“You’d be withholding something she wants. No one can do that to her but you,” Ben reminds me.

“Then she’s going to be evenmoreobsessed with me, not less,” I sputter out in horror. “I’d like her to forget we ever met!”

Ben cringes, “That’s not going to be possible. She’s been around since the beginning of time, and you are the only person who has ever told her no.”

“Oh, come on, you tell her no. Right?” The desperation in my tone is almost hysterical.

“No, Bees, I don’t,” Ben tells me earnestly.

“Super interesting. Who are we talking about?” Kimi wheedles.

We both fall silent at that.

“You are saying that a person wiped away any trace of your influence on the Delegates?” Mitri asks as his head tilts and his eyes drift to the side.

“We’re saying your investigation is now closed, and you would do well to let it drop. We won’t say anything about this, and you won’t either if you know what’s good for you,” Ben states as if he can force Mitri to his will. I cringe as I wait for the hail of bullets to begin.

“Hm,” Mitri rolls one shoulder, drops the skins on the ground, and refolds his handkerchief to place it back in his pocket. Gross.

Then he calmly asks Ben, “Unless you were interested in eating them?”

Ben chuffs in annoyance, and Mal asks me, “Where did you meet someone with that much power?”

“Prison,” I reply with a scowl.

“Amassing an army already?” Kimi asks with surprise and delight. “Morally gray villain romance, here I come!”

“No. No armies and no minions,” I say firmly, keeping my eyes on Ben’s back.

“Are you sure?” Kimi waves at the faeries behind him with a smug smile.

I don’t have a comeback for that other than, “I didn’t ask for them!”

“Suuuuuure,” Kimi begins to grin. It’s the same smile he gave the Goddess before he kissed her, and a chill runs down my spine.

“How much influence would this person have over the Delegates?” Mitri asks.

Ben glances back at me briefly before answering in an echo, “She doesn’t have everyone. Yet. But she could sway them all however she likes.”

“Ben,” I hiss at him in horror. He’s just going to sell out his own Mom? I mean, she’s evil, but she means well. Okay, so she’s just evil, butstill!

“And she could control us as well?” Mitri elegantly holds a hand out to gesture at Mal.

“Your problems don’t stem from that influence.”

He nods as he thinks that through.