Why did it seem like this was the first time he’d thought about them?
“To save my cordistella’s soul,” he whispered, about to take another drink.
I snatched the glass from his hand and chucked it into the fireplace. The flames hissed as the glass shattered.
“It’s time you stopped drinking.”
He considered me, lifted his unshaven chin, and grabbed my shoulder. His grip bit through the leather, bruising my skin beneath it.
“Thanks for this enlightening conversation. I’ll take it under advisement. But next time, if I want a babysitter, I’ll ask for one.” His threatening words lost some of their bite with his intoxication. “Now get out, shadow-wielder.”
I seized the back of his neck, pressing my fingers in just as hard. His eyes flashed; mine darkened.
“What about the gates and the infection? We think they’re building an army.”
His hold tightened, and I mirrored him, feeling the raised bumps of a rune I’d never noticed before.
“I’ll handle the gates. And you do what you do best.” He paused, his forehead creasing with pain. “Let my daughter save you.”
Then his face smoothed out and he slammed a powerful icy wind into my chest, throwing me out of his rooms. He quickly re-erected the ice-wall, covering a stare that had seemed far clearer than it should’ve been.
My shadows pounded inside me, warning me. Something else was going on here. I couldn’t pinpoint what, though. I needed to tell Cato and Lucille about the rune on his neck, then find someone to track hismovements.
I stoppedby the dungeons before bed, the rotten stench as potent as the last time I’d come. I hoped that made the little present I carried for the flirty prisoner all the more enticing.
The moment I neared Anya’s cell, she dropped her book and grinned. “The steamy general has come to grace my humble abode? What did I do to earn such an honor?” Anya purred.
“I’ve come to ask some questions.”
Her long hair spilled to the side as she tilted her head, looking intrigued. The soul-wound always hidden beneath her high turtleneck edged the fabric line, pink and gaping.
“Oh? Does the general finally believe in my divination power?”
“We’ll see.” I crouched onto the grimy stone floor, the contents of the bag clinking as I set it down. I pulled out vials of scented oils, gold hair clips, and a fresh pair of clothes. “First, tell me about it. And what do you call yourself? A witch?”A human playing with plants and chanting to the sky?
She eyed the supplies the way Rune eyed Dorus’s raw cuts of meat. “Move me further away from the delightfully disgusting stench.”
“Deal.” I carefully tucked the items back into the bag. “Now talk.”
She grinned, leaning against her cell bars, her eyes following the oils I put away. “I prefer the term seer, baby. And the visions come randomly. If I had my tools, I could direct them better, but alas, I died, and now they’re gathering dust on Earth.”
“Are there more of you?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been in Hell. I’m not sure.” Her tone softened at the end, her gaze drifting. “A long time ago, there used to be many of us.”
“What happened?”
She lifted her head, something churning deep in her eyes. “Angels.”
The answer didn’t surprise me. Under Etan’s influence, Gabriel and I murdered many humans thought to practice witchcraft. Whether we believed they had true power or not didn’t matter; Etan wanted them dead.
“Is that how…” I gestured to the side of her neck.
Anya chuckled. “No. That was from my mother. I was a true disappointment and paid for it.” Her smile sharpened. “But you didn’t come down here to hear my trauma. Ask me what you really want to know.”
“Do you know anything about blood-witches or their abilities?”
The humor on her face vanished. Then she went preternaturally still.
