Page 76 of Devoured

“How?” Portia asks.

I search for a simple explanation. “It felt like I was cleaving my mind in half. It still hurts now—”

Evie nods as if this is entirely reasonable. “Well, you made a man cease to exist. I’d assume that sort of magic would require quite a lot of energy. Although it also raises the question: Just how much history did you rewrite? Do his children cease to exist now? Does his family remember him? I’d assume not.”

“He doesn’t have children,” I say meekly. “He was a bishop for the Catholic Church, and he was alone. He didn’t have any friends or family left. He only had his congregation.”

“And you remember that. Interesting.” Evie licks her lips, withdrawing her hand and straightening with an abruptly determined expression. “Well, this is clearly why Cora is so obsessed with you. It would be stupid for us to just sit here and do nothing about it. I think you should try it again.”

Portia stares at Evie as if she just grew a second head. “We don’t know if it’s safe for her. Have you ever heard of anything like this? Anything this… massive?”

“No.” Evie shrugs. “But if the enemy builds a tank, then you steal their blueprint and build a bigger and better one. Cora thinks Vanessa is a weapon. It would be more advantageous for that weapon to be on our side.”

For some reason, her words land like blows to my ribs. “I’m not a weapon. I’m not… anything. I almost just died in a cage, remember?”

Evie arches an accusatory brow. “You kicked my ass in Combat and Conquest once.”

“Because you underestimated me and forgot the game we were playing.”

“So we do the same to Cora. Have her underestimate you and forget the game we’re playing.”

Portia scoffs. “As if it’s that easy.”

Shrugging, Evie turns away to pick at her nail beds. Her back remains rigid, however, her shoulders stiff as she says, “What other choice do we have?”

None of us speaks because none of us has an answer to that. But god, I wish I did. I flex my hands in Portia’s comforter, wincing a little at the dull throb in my fingers.

“Evie is right,” I say. “We have to figure out what’s wrong with me.”

“Or what’s right with you,” Evie counters.

I ignore her. “Cora wanted me to do it again. She wanted me to torture Valja with the power. I refused, and she threw me in a dungeon for it. Next time… I’m not sure I’ll be able to refuse her again.” Especially not with how Sin fought for me. Cora will be enraged now more than ever. “I need to have control over it. I need to have control over myself.” I am so tired of being manipulated and used. Of never having autonomy or a choice. “The more we know, the better.”

“For once,” Evie purrs, “we are in total agreement, Hart.”

Portia nods, though she appears lost in her own thoughts. As if there is something missing from this puzzle that she can’t quite place, and she’s searching desperately for it.

But I think I finally know what it might be.

“Do you remember that page we found with information on biting humans?” I ask Evie slowly. “The one about losing one’s humanity?”

“And becoming boundless?” Evie furrows her brow at the sudden change in subject. “Of course.”

“Cora said she wants to break me. She wants me to become a monster, and she thinks that will make this strange power stronger. I think she’s torturing us so we’ll become better soldiers.”

Evie curses, but it’s Portia who responds. It’s Portia whose voice darkens with sharp abhorrence. “So that’s what she’s doing. I’ve seen her torturing her werewolves—picking the worst of humanity to bite, forcing them to whip one another, forcing them to hurt the Antarctic prisoners and bite other mortals—but I assumed she was simply bloodthirsty. Of course she’s building an army.” Portia curses too. “We’re running out of time.”

Evie simply smiles as if she’s suddenly not worried at all. “How do you feel about practicing those powers, Hart?”

“Not great,” I admit. “But what other choice do we have?”

27

VANESSA

PORTIA LEANS UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE TO MY FACE, HER tongue poking between her teeth and her gaze fixing on mine. “What do you need me to do?” Her knees rest an inch away from my lap as she hovers beside me on her bed. Honestly, she’s basically on top of me. “Is this okay?”

I blink at her, unsure how to politely ask her to move. “Um… you’re a little close.”