“And you’re too smart to design a plan with this many holes. You’re trying to tempt me into pulling this job with you.”
I give her a wide grin. “Is it working?”
“Fuck you.” She shoots me an affectionate glare and bends over the map. Her hair tumbles against a cheek that’s newlyflushed with excited interest. She licks her lips unconsciously as she peruses the papers I’ve laid out.
My feelings for her go so far beyond my initial fascination, or the antagonistic obsession that followed. It’s more than lust, more than a liking for her personality, more than the bond of survival we forged together. It’s more than the love I felt for her that day, when she gave me the healing candy she could have eaten herself and then sucked my cock in the kitchen of Annordun. It’s more than the devotion I experienced when I understood what she’d done for me by carrying me on her shoulders, away from the inferno we created, back to the mortal realm.
This love is fierce and quiet. It might shift on the surface, creating new colors and shapes, but it’s rock-solid underneath, a foundation I couldn’t blow up if I tried.
I can imagine her old, with wrinkles and wispy white hair and that devilish tongue, and I want to fucking roar with joy at the possibility of being with her for that long, getting to experience the sweet-hot spice of her for decades. I will love her body as it softens and crinkles and breaks down, just as I love it now, in the flush of health and beauty—because it is the vault that holds the treasure ofher.
“Garrick Heath,” I say quietly.
Her gray eyes flash up to mine, wide and startled.
“My real name. Garrick Heath,” I repeat. “You can call me Rick. And you don’t have to tell me your name, I know it’s not the thieves’ way, even with close partners—”
“Angelyn,” she says. “Angelyn Mercer.”
“Angelyn.” I cradle her name on my tongue like the gift it is. “Beautiful.”
“I like Devil better.” She gives me a wry little smile, so of course I have to kiss her. Her lips beg to be kissed.
Devilry responds with a joyful passion I haven’t felt from her in days. She’s waking up again, and nothing thrills me more than seeing her come back to herself.
“I’ll help you with your heist,” she says. “The one thing I lacked before, when I was trying to plan a hit on Constable Tremlin, was an explosives expert. Do you think you could create something that’s both destructiveandrelatively quiet?”
“For you, I can try.”
“Good.” She takes a deep breath. “And I’m going to need your help with a few more things.”
The next day, we visit Witch’s place. She’s a tall woman with a dark complexion and a mass of tightly woven gray braids, strung with gold beads, hanging like a regal cloak down to her knees. Devilry runs right past her to hug Candle, who is rocking in a chair by the fire.
“So that’s what I’m worth to the child,” Witch says dryly. “Not so much as a ‘how do you do.’”
“She’s grateful to you,” I assure the healer, surreptitiously passing her a small pouch of coins.
Witch pushes my hand away. “Keep it, boy.”
I give her a questioning look.
“Don’t make a scene,” Witch says under her breath. “Candle isn’t bad company. And she doesn’t have much time left. She won’t eat.”
“When she passes, it’s going to hurt Devil,” I mutter. “And she’s already been through so much.”
“What happened to you two? No—I take that back—don’t tell me. It’s better if I don’t know.”
“I’m not sure anyone would believe the tale, anyway.” I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
“But the two of you are still…” Witch raises an eyebrow.
“We are still,” I confirm. “And will be, for as long as I live.”
“Smitten, are you?” She chuckles. “I have to say, I’m glad to see it. In this business you try not to get attached or have favorites, because they tend to die, but Devilry is a special one. She deserves a better life than she’s had, with a better quality of people. Is that you, Ravager?”
“Not sure if I’m better quality, but I’m fucking loyal.”
She clasps my shoulder. “That’ll do.”
