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“My feeding allows me to bring things across the realms.”

Feeding.

“You fed on the Novians?”

“Devoured their souls,” he grunted.

“And that’s why they became husks,” I breathed, understanding how his shadows had been able to bring my bed now. He’d fed on the woman’s soul, the one I’d been in the cell with, and after that, he brought my bed over. I scrubbed the soap between my palms, the fragrant scent pluming to my nose, a mix of bergamot and . . . lavender? I sniffed again. It was kind of like lavender, but there was an undertone that I couldn’t match.

“And you can bring anything over?”

“Larger items require a larger sacrifice.”

“Oh,” I whispered, scrubbing the suds over my arms and keeping my eyes lowered. “Then why do you need me if you can feed on souls?”

Silence to the point that all I could hear was the suds.

I peeked up through wet eyelashes.

He studied me with those black fathomless eyes, so dark I could see my reflection.

“I must feed on a pure soul spawned from greed.” My heart dropped into the water, along with the bar of soap. I scrambled to grab it and dunked under the water, flailing for it. Holding my breath, I swam under, the water pressure making my movements slower. His words resonated in my head.How could I be ‘spawned from greed’?

He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, and I breached the surface of the water with a gasp. I swiped my palms across my face.

“Do not do that,” he bellowed, his chest jerking violently, his fangs showing with the curling of his lip.

“What are you talking about?” I heaved a breath in.

“Humans cannot breathe under water,” he shouted.

As I caught my breath, I studied the stiff line of his face, the sneer, the furrow at the bridge of his nose.

He was worried.

“I’m okay,” I said, winded. His hand on the back of my neck softened its grip, and his features smoothed out. A thick, dark cloud spanned the surface of the water.

He didn’t let me go; instead, he toted me out of the pool. I scrambled onto my tiptoes, grabbing at his side to keep myself balanced.

“What are you doing? We aren’t done talking.” I wasn’t done getting answers was more accurate. “What do you mean ‘spawned from greed’?”

His nostrils flared the slightest bit.

“Mina Garcia.”

The name struck me across the face.

“My mom . . .” I whispered.

“Bargained your soul before your birth.”

“No, that doesn’t make sense.” I shook my head so hard it made me dizzy. “She didn’t give my soul away. She died giving birth to me.”

“No, she did not.”

My mind raced.

“You’re saying she abandoned me?” I croaked in disbelief.