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Whoa.Rhapsody was showing emotion beyond mild interest? I opened and closed my mouth, wondering if she knew how much she was giving away.

She glared at me.

Oh Lord, she was even furious now!

“Umm, okay, if you say so.” My head bobbed several times. “Nothing in common, right.”

Rhapsody inhaled, and afterwards she looked much like her expressionless self. “Let’s not talk about my Master,” she said. “You have worse problems than I do. I’m not the one who is likely to attempt murder on my Master’s ex-lover—-”

I winced.

“And whose Master hadn’t stopped me from leaving for Chalys—-”

I grimaced.

“Instead of sending the other woman away—-”

“Rhapsody.I get it.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Every word she had said was true.

My friend blinked, as if only realizing now how her words had hurt. “Oh.” She reached for my hand and gave it an awkward pat. “I am terribly sorry, Lady Zari.”

I shrugged. “You win some, you lose some,” I said lightly. Checking my watch, I realized it was already time. “I need to go.”

Rhapsody only nodded. She knew about my plan. “But if things do not go your way, I urge you to tell your Master about your vision.” She hesitated. “I have heard about the kind of demon after you, Lady Zari. It is not...pleasant.It is more revolting than most because it makes its victim do all the dirty work. The longeryou withhold the truth, the harder you’ll find it to resist the demon’s urges.”

KATARINA APPEARED SURPRISEDto see me when she opened the door of her room. She was dressed to hit the outdoors in a tank top and exercise leggings. The short tight top emphasized her breasts to perfection and bared her well-defined abs. Just looking at her made me want to kill myself,and I wasn’t even listening to the demonic whispers that filled my head the moment I saw how, well,fitshe was.

“Oh, Lady Zari.” She looked over my head searchingly.

I cleared my throat. “It’s just me, Lady Katarina.”

“I see.” A ready smile immediately appeared on her lips, and I had to give it to her. She was really good at faking. “Is there anything I can do for you? I’m actually just about to leave for training.”

Training? She still had to train?I managed to return her smile. “Umm, great, I’ll watch you train!”

Katarina didn’t demur after that, but she did send me an odd look that wasn’t so different from how Rhapsody had glanced at me earlier. Maybe they were right. Maybe I was odd, and I’d probably appear even odder once my Master’s ex-lover found out why I was accompanying her.

We headed to the same woods, and I asked Katarina why it appeared so dead.

“Trees are extremely sensitive to the air, andthat...” She jerked her head towards the ghost town. “Too many bad souls lingerthere, poisoning the air, preventing the trees from being able to properly breathe. The trees are too strong to be killed, though. I think they’ve been under the care of nymphs once and that’s why they’ve survived this long.”

“Nymphs,” I repeated dumbly. “Aren’t they...” The wordextinctcame to mind, but I didn’t think that was the right word to describe the annihilation of their race. Like soul seers, the nymphs had been destroyed by demons, too.

Sadness flickered in Katarina’s eyes. “Yes.”

We were quiet again until Katarina asked, “Why are you accompanying me?”

Rather than answering her straight, I said, “What you asked me in the past, I know what my answer is now.”

Katarina’s head swung to me sharply.

“I won’t give you my Master now.” I managed a smile. “I’ll give him to you after, once I’ve made sure you're not going to die.” My next words made it hard for me to look her in the eye, but I forced them out all the same. “When I’m sure...I won’t end up killing you.”

From somewhere, a demon screamed in agony.

I thought I was imagining it for a moment, but then I saw the alarm flashing in Katarina’s eyes, and I knew we both heard it.

She grabbed my hand. “Run.”