Once I heard a soft shuffle of feet sliding across the floor, I inched my head past the doorway just in time to see Conrad lower the werewolf’s body with careful precision, an empty cavity where the heart had once been. His fangs glistened with crimson drops.
Then he blurred. Suddenly, he was in front of me, the werewolf’s phone dangling from his hand. Despite the blood still dripping from his mouth, his smile was surprisingly clean. Smug satisfaction oozed off him.
Perfect.I opened the bond between us, letting him feel both my pleasure and pride at his quick, efficient work. His eyelids fluttered, and his response pulsed in my chest, a warm ripple of feeling.
Biting my lip, I tore my gaze away from him, afraid I was seconds away from shoving him into the nearest wall and devouring his mouth loudly enough to wake the dead.
Zeth brushed his shoulder against mine, catching my attention with those bright, jeweled Caribbean eyes. They were sharp and commanding, wanting my attention.
He winked at me before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Power slid off him in a subtle wave, smooth as silk. It was almost invisible—unless you were trained to detect mind-altering magic. He moved down the hallway, ignoring the crumpled werewolf on the floor, and stopped before heading into the room with the pink-haired fairy girl.
Her voice carried before we saw her.
“Precious work. Must protect. Must. Can’t fail. No. No. No.”
Her pacing sounded frantic, wings flicking, hands rubbing together. A cult-follower’s cadence on her lips.
My skin crawled. Greed, I understood. Power, money, desperation, I could break those, but blind devotion? That kind of madness had no edges to hold on to. No way to easily get through.
I could tell when Zeth’s influence touched her because her muttering sharpened into something violent.
“No! No!” A slap cracked through the room. “It’s them. They hold us down?—”
They hold us down? What the fuck was she talking about? Wasn’t she part of the ‘them’?
“His work… revolutionary. Change the world! Renew—” Another slap.
A snarl echoed from the other side of the room. “Val! Get your crazy under control before I do it for you! I can’t listen to that shit for the whole shift. I won’t!”
Breathlessly waiting for the heavy footsteps that meant discovery, we froze, but all that followed was silence. Then nothing.
Zeth gave me a look—going in deeper—and shut his eyes, pushing more of his power into her mind. I could hear her breathing hitch and her heartbeat fluttering like a trapped bird.
A weak sob broke through. “I’m wrong. I’m like them. Not enough.Neverenough.”
It seemed like he had a good grasp on her now. My curiosity pulled me forward, and I peeked around the corner.
The fairy was kneeling in front of the teller counter, staring at the ceiling with hollow, reverent eyes. Her wings had calmed. One hand pressed a blade, shimmering with that same fae magic, against her heart.
“I’ll never betray him. His vision. Our god.” A broken pause. “I g-give my life to you.”
She slid the knife into her chest with silent devotion. No scream. No hesitation. Her hands lifted skyward as she took her last breath. Blood bubbled out in quiet gurgles, soaking her shirt. Her final bloody whisper drifted in the space around her.
“Only for you… my only god.” Her body collapsed with a soft thud.
Zeth stood inches behind me. His eyes were locked on the body, expression carved from stone. No remorse. No guilt. Just cold, righteous satisfaction.
I slipped my fingers into his, and he looked down at the contact. His eyes didn’t soften, not even a fraction, but he reverently traced a finger along my cheek in a way that made my pulse skip.
“Don’t make me your goddess,” I murmured, using the teasing to cut the tension.
His eyes narrowed, and his hand grew hotter in mine. Leaning in close to me, he whispered along my neck, “Too late.”
My knees grew weak, and I leaned against the doorway to keep me upright. I searched his eyes for the joke, a twitch of his lips, some hint of a grin, but I found nothing. Just absolute, terrifying certainty.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway on the opposite side of the room.
“Val, I need a drink,” the same voice from before called out, moving closer.
