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Temper’s arm tightens around me. “Callie, you and I have been through some shit over the last decade. You don’t need to be strong with me. Just let it out.”

I don’t know if I needed to hear that, or if Temper’s words were simply the straw that broke the camel’s back, but I do give in and cry—if you can call it that.

You cry with your eyes, but I’m not just crying—I’m sobbing and shaking and heaving.

Temper rubs my back and holds me as I fall apart, and she might literally be the best friend anyone anywhere has ever had. I mean, her boyfriend is comatose right now, and she’s forcing herself to be strong so that I can break down.

Minutes, then hours tick by, and every so often, people knock on the door, their voices mentioning things likeswearing me in, ordealing with sensitive matters. The only time Temper leaves my side is to turn them away.

“You want to get singed?” Temper threatens one now.

A pause, then some mumbling.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Fuck off.” She slams the door shut and comes back to my side.

At some point in the evening, the sorceress admits to me that she might have feelings for Malaki. She cries a little with me then, and now I’m holding her just as much as she’s holding me.

The two of us fall asleep like that, commiserating over our heartache and comforting each other just as we’ve always done.

Chapter 38

“Missing your mate?”

I spin at that voice, my skin brightening and my wings manifesting.

The Thief of Souls reclines on his throne, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“I willgutyou—” I stalk towards him, my claws out in an instant.

Drink his screams.

Laugh as we watch him die.

He raises an eyebrow. “I’d like to see you try.”

My wings move, pulling me into the air. I descend on him like a Fury, my legs straddling his, my claws bared.

The Thief catches my wrists.

“What was it you said the last time you dreamed of me … ?” He pretends to search his memory. “Oh yes—‘If you want to hurt me, you’re going to have to try harder.’

“Tell me, enchantress, have I tried hard enough?”

I shriek, fighting against his hold on my wrists. I want to rip away that smug smile of his.

“Damn you!” My voice is raw with fury and pain. An angry tear slips out. “I will fucking make you feast on your own heart for what you did.”

“That’sawfullyvivid. You’re going to have to carve it out of my chest first, and—” He glances at the wrists he holds captive, “it doesn’t look like that’ll happen anytime soon.”

I yank against his grip, my teeth gritted.

The Thief resettles himself between my legs. “My, is this intimate.”

“Where is Des?” I demand. Glamour fills my voice, but it does nothing to pry the truth loose from the Thief.

“If you want your soulmate,” he says, his voice low, “you’ll have to come and get him.” He jerks on my wrists, pulling me in close.

The Thief leans in and licks my bared throat. “For a price,” he says, using words he stole from the Bargainer.