Castor swallows, catching his blood in his free hand when it drips from his wound.
Willow’s dark murmur continues, “It is your job to take the pain out of painful things for the sake of your soulmate. Can’t you taste her fear right now? Have you even thought about how this might be affecting her?”
Grimacing, Castor wets his lips and resigns. His voice softens, addressing me. “My feather, why are you scared?”
My throat is closed. Even when my mouth opens, I can’t figure out what I need to say. There’s a knife in his hand. Hecasuallyput a knifethrough his own hand, and he was going to put it through Willow’s hand, too. What does hemean“why am I scared”?
Something in him stills when I don’t answer. When he plucks the knife free, I watch as his blood gathers, wicking from the silver edge. In moments, his skin reforms. Then, with a quick motion, he has the dagger by the blade and offers it to Zylus, who does not take it. Defeat in his tone, he states, “I need Ollie’s credit card.”
Willow’s eyes narrow. “Why?”
“So I can take my soulmate shopping.” Detached, he mutters, “Xios says stealing is wrong and inconveniences the humans overmuch. And he implies that such information is something I should care about.”
Willow’s lip curls. “I mean. Maybe. I guess.”
“Is he wrong? You are far more educated on humanity than he is, are you not? Given that you even still retain your ranks among the beings.”
Looking much put out by the concept, Willow mumbles, “He’s not wrong. Stealing is bad. Caring is moot. But since you’reso keen on listening to Xios, why hasn’t he, I dunno, told younot to stab people?”
“Maybe because you’re just a prude?”
White skirts spilling around her Willow steps forward and snatches Castor’s knife out of his hand, examining the screaming designs plastered over the hilt. “You’re very bad at asking for help.”
“Help?” Castor sneers. “This isn’t asking forhelpanymore. This became negotiation the moment you asked something in return; therefore, I no longer feel any obligation to maintain a semblance of manners with you.”
Willow frees a short, confirming sound, then she points the knife at me. “Zy, amuse Castor out of earshot for three minutes, would you? I want to talk to her alone.”
Castor steps squarely in front of me, blocking Willow from view. “What do you intend to say to my soulmate?”
“If I wanted you to know, I wouldn’t have said what I just did, now would I?”
Castor curses, “—this.” He swears, “—you.” He twists on his heel, corralling me toward the front door. “Keep my favorite knife and all its memories. You cannot turn her against me.”
“Who said anything about turning her against you, Castor?” Willow says, stopping him in place. “You came here for a favor. You camehere, trusting that I’d be the one willing to oblige. Even though all of us have access to human money, and I know you keep tabs on where each of us is, you picked me. Let’s exercise a little more trust, recognize that your soulmate is scared of you, and see if I can’thelp.”
“She…” His hand lands on my shoulder, and it takes all my energy to keep from pulling away. All I can see is his knife standing in his palm, all I can picture is his blood leaving the wound.
All I can wonder…is what it felt like.
And that terrifies me more than anything else.
“She is human,” Willow says. “And you are insane. Humans are taught to be wary of the mentally impaired. Three minutes. Give us three minutes. And, understand this—” She runs her finger along the edge of his blade. “—it’s not negotiation…if it’s a test.”
Castor lets his hand fall off me, and the fight leaves him cold. “Fine. You have three minutes.” With that, both he and Zylus vanish.
Chapter 12
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Longest three minutes of my life.
“You are his soulmate, aren’t you?” Willow asks, wasting no time.
My stomach dips. “That’s…what he’s told me.”
“And he can’t lie, so that’s a good enough answer.” She sits, leaning back against the couch cushions. “He can, however, say what he believes to be true, even if it isn’t. You’re timid. Afraid. Stiff. You don’t match him well. I’ve heard about you from Zahra, Dani.”
I whisper, “You know Zahra, too?”
