Page 84

Malachi

“There,” I snarl, slamming the scalpel and that stupid fucking rattle onto Serena’s desk. “We held up our end of the bargain.”

Serena raises a single eyebrow, unimpressed, as she pries her ugly infant’s wet fist away from her face.

Wordlessly, she scoops the silver rattle off the desk and carries the leech over to a bassinet in the corner. She hands the thing the rattle. It grasps the handle, shakes it once, and a pulse of grey mist ripples out. The creature’s mouth opens to wail, but no sound comes out. Its vocal cords paralyze instantly, blissful, heavy silence flooding the room.

Serena sags against the wall, closing her eyes for a long, luxurious second. “Oh, sweet darkness,” she breathes. “That is worth its weight in souls.”

She pushes off the wall and walks back to the desk, her gaze sharpening as she looks between me and my little summoner. She picks up the scalpel, testing the edge against her thumb, a bead of blood welling up instantly.

“You are sure you want to do this, Malachi?” she asks.

I look down to Eden—my beautiful wreck. She’s coated in the ash of the Slag Heaps, leaning on Chain-Chewer, her chest heaving as she tries to catch her breath from practically sprinting all the way here.

The answer should be immediate. It should be a relief to cut her loose and return to my efficient, albeit boring, existence.

But the words stick to the roof of my mouth like bone shards.

I have become... accustomed to her. I like the way she looks at me, not with the terror of a victim like she did when I first burst through that Veil, but with someone who—dare I think it—actually enjoys my company. I want to take her back to my bed. I want to clean crap of the market off her skin, wrap her in silken sheets, and watch her sleep without a single threat hanging over her head.

But today was a warning. No—it’s all been a warning. She’s soft, breakable matter, and as long as she’s tied to me, she’s a target. If I keep her, I risk killing her. It’s that simple.

I run the tip of my tongue over a fang, letting the point dig in enough to force the sentiment down into the dark where it belongs.

“Yes,” I lie. “It needs to be done. She is a liability here. She needs to go back to her own realm before something permanently breaks her.”

With a nod, she raises an ink-stained hand and begins to draw in the air. Those two familiar cords—one pulsing red, the other a void-like black—stretch outwards from our chests, tangling together in the space between us. A perfect knot of soul and sinew. A blood-bind never asked for, but undeniable in its raw, terrible beauty.

And about to be severed.

“Is it...” Eden’s voice trembles, small and terrified. “Is it going to hurt?”

Serena doesn’t even blink. “Yes.”

I shoot her a glare that would usually terrify a lesser being, my jaw tightening until my teeth ache. But I can’t disagree. It’s probably going to hurt like an absolute motherfucker.

Eden starts hyperventilating, her pupils blown wide, terror radiating off her in waves so potent I can taste it on my tongue. It’s going to make me vomit all over Serena’s parchment riddled floor in turn.

“Look at me,” I command, sliding my hands up to cup her face, my thumbs sweeping over the terrified pulse fluttering in her jaw.

“I’m scared,” she whispers, a tear slipping past my thumb.

“It’ll just be pressure, baby girl,” I lie. “Just pressure.”

Behind us, Chain-Chewer’s making a mess as he paces a restless circle around the cramped office space, his massive claws clicking against the floor like ticking clocks. A low, subterranean growl rumbles in his chest, vibrating through the soles of my boots.

I lean down, closing the distance until I’m all Eden can see, blocking out as much as I can.

“You’re fine,” I murmur against her mouth. “I’ve got you. Nothing is going to happen to you while I’m standing here. Do you understand?”

I press my lips to hers and kiss her like we have all the time in the universe. It’s soft, a deliberate counterweight to the violence in the room, my thumb stroking the curve of her cheekbone to ground her.

Then, Serena clears her throat. Loudly.

I suck in a deep breath, the loss of contact stinging as I step back, nodding once to her.

Get on with it.