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“Silas,” her lust-rough voice breathed.

I sucked what I could of her breast into my mouth before returning to her lips for a kiss. They slid against mine with urgency. Nika’s hand dragged down my front, and just as she finally reached the prize, the barrier I’d put around the area shuddered with someone’s entry. Only one person would be allowed through, and I tossed my head back in frustration.

I fixed her shirt just as Lev came through the front door and immediately caught sight of us. The cute wanker had the gall to look annoyed as he set down his bag and folded his arms over his chest.

“Interrupting, am I?”

Nika was already out of my lap before I could demand the lad go find something else to do for a few hours while I played out every single fantasy I had with his friend. Instead, she was wrapping her arms around him and giving the cute bugger that beautiful smile that stole hearts. He smiled back.

Wanker.

“Did you—”

Lev dropped a kiss on my bird’s head and nodded. “Find something? I did. It was busy so I couldn’t reach out much, but I’ll show you what I’ve found.”

I grumbled as the two claimed seats next to each other and the state of my trousers remained uncomfortable. Readjusting the monster, I leaned forward as Lev pulled out his sketch book. Nika eyed the journal, desperate to tell him everything we’d learned on our little excursion to meet a bloody two-faced menace.

The lad’s eyes sparkled the same way hers did. The two of them together were trouble, but in this case, the good kind.

“Your grandmother is a goddamn genius, Niks.” Lev showed a few pages he’d drawn. “This magic is insane, and it means you can do a whole lot more than I ever thought. If she could do this through a proxy, then…well, it’s no wonder Rilas is scared of you.” He pointed to the symbols Nika helped him draw before he left. “I had to be careful not to show them together. Your contact was a little too interested in what I was trying to do,” Lev accused, green eyes on me.

I shrugged, grinning. “I told you she would be.”

“Well, I had to do a little reading on my own to keep half of them to myself. Lucky I have an eidetic memory, or I’d have to worry about a loose end,” the lad chastised.

Nika also tossed me a chiding look.

My grin grew. “Loose ends are easy enough to deal with, lad. I wouldn’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

The two of them immediately gathered my meaning, and no surprise, neither approved.

Nika spoke out first. “You’re not allowed to kill her, Silas. We’ve talked about this.”

“I was careful,” Lev added. “She thought I was a scholar for the Dark Fae and nothing more. I doubt she’ll connect it to actual use.”

Shrugging, I leaned back with a purely sinister stare. “It’s better not to worry, I find. No loose ends means no one to find themselves in front of a demon chasing us, yeah? I’ll make it quick and painless, promise.”

Nika was on her feet and in front of me, glaring in that devilish way of hers. “No. She’ll be left alone and checked on if necessary, but you and I both know how clever Lev is. She’ll never know who it was for.”

Our eyes met in a clash, and it was very few who could overpower me with mere words. But my bird was a terrifying thing, wasn’t she?

“Have it your way, love. But I’ll have her watched for a few weeks to make sure. There’s very few contacts I trust these days, and she’s a Fae who can be bought off at the right price. As can anyone in my world.”

Nika gave me one curt nod before attempting to return to her seat, but I was quicker. I grabbed her around the waist and dropped her back on my lap before she could fight it. With a gesture to continue, I wrapped a possessive arm around her and dropped a kiss on her cheek.

Without missing a beat, Lev went on, “Your grandmother bound his powers.”

Nika’s eyes opened wide, but I chuckled and nodded. The wily old fox was clever to do it. She must’ve guessed that his next move would be to take the souls back, and she exploited it.

Bloody brilliant.

“Bound his powers?” Nika questioned.

Nodding, Lev pointed to a few of the symbols. “When he stole her soul, she made herself something of an anchor. It’s likely she targeted certain abilities, the ones most closely aligned with a Soul Collector. I can’t be sure what all she did, but if I had to guess something, I’d bet she at least took his ability to collect and expel souls.”

“Wise old fox,” I breathed in admiration. “If he can’t get rid of her, he can’t unbind his power. And the only one who can—”

“Is me,” Nika interjected, lips downturned. “That’s why she told me not to come for her.”