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Oh man. Not sure that’s a good thing.

“So, shadows have genders?”

Des looks painfully reluctant to talk about this. “It depends. Technically, they don’t; they’re just shadows, but some have more feminine or masculine voices.”

Huh.

“Can anyone else hear them?” I ask.

He shifts a little. “Not that I’m aware of.”

The Bargainer looks nervous again.

“I’m not nervous.”

Oh, wait. I get it. Duh. “You know I don’t think you’re crazy, right?”

I mean, I guess normally when someone tells you they hear voices, that’s your cue to start edging away. But I’ve been around Des and the impossible world of fae for so long that learning this isn’t some outlandish revelation.

In fact, it explains a lot.

“Thank you, cherub,” he says quietly, taking my hand and threading his fingers between mine.

“What happens if the shadows don’t want to talk to you?”

“Then they don’t talk. But there are ways to cajole them. Sometimes, if I want to know something, I give them a little magic—just enough for them to hop away from their owners for an hour or two. They hate being dragged around.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe I’m actually talking about this,” he says.

I can’t believe I got him to divulge his big bad secret.

“And what happens if you want them to shut up?”

“Same concept—a little magic for their silence.”

I glance around me. There aren’t many shadows in the Day Kingdom, but they do exist even here.

“Can you get them to talk right now?”

Des’s eyes seem to spark with interest. His focus turns to the pool.

After a moment, he says, “Janus’s father, Ignis, apparently used to hold orgies in this pool.”

“Eeeew.”

Des throws back his head and laughs. “Cherub, it’s been well over a century since that last happened.”

The sound of his laughter warms me from the inside out.

I tug on his hand again. “C’mon, let’s make these shadows whisper about something else.”

He stares at me for a beat. Right when I’m expecting him to shoot me down, his shoes slide off his feet, followed by his socks. He pivots where he sits, his legs swinging around so that he can dip his feet in the water.

I step up, in between those legs, and nip his chin, my hands sliding over his thighs.

More, more, more …

Des tilts his head downward. “Do you want to know a secret?”

“Hmm?”