Page 83 of A Sin So Pure

“Number two. We have to figure out a way for you to touch him without him realizing.”

“I’m a decent pickpocket, but if he’s as smart as we think, he’ll see the sleight of hand from a mile away,” I say.

“Which is where I come in,” Wrath says. He’s got a dead-eyed, shark-toothed grin plastered across his face. “I’m working on a solution. I hope you’re not too attached to those gloves.”

“Not particularly,” I grate between clenched teeth.

“And that brings us to number three. You and Patience need to be in the same room.” Silas plants both hands on the table and leans forward, tongue in cheek. “If we can check off one and two within the next four weeks, then number three won’t be an issue. That part is on me.”

“This is my final formal warning that I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Wrath says, standing. His spine cracks as he stretches,arms raised above his head and head bobbing to the side. “I think we have a good thing going. Is it truly worth the risk?”

The two men have a silent standoff, silently communicating much like Josie and I do. A beat passes between them, then Wrath heaves a defeated sigh.

“Fine,” he says, turning away from both of us. “But don’t be pissed when it blows up in your faces and I say I told you so.”

21

NORA

Silas holds up a single finger, stopping me from following Wrath out of the library.

“Stay right there,” he says.

He points to Wrath’s vacated seat and disappears into the maze of shelves. I slide into the seat with a sigh, tilting my head up at the rainbow skylight. It doesn’t take long, but Silas returns hugging a stack of ancient tomes. He lets go unceremoniously, and they slam onto the table.

A plume of dust puffs out from the books.

Silas huffs, waving away the dust, and leans on the stack with one hand propped on his hip.

“Now that we’re all briefed, I have more important things to do than to spoon-feed you a millennia’s worth of Unseelie history.” He flicks the cover of the first book in the stack. “I suggest you start with this one.”

“I’m sorry?”

“In two days, we’ll begin practical training, but before that, I think it’s important that you know more about other soul-stealers. May help quicken the process?—”

Practical training? Does he have a bunch of criminals to line up for me to kill?

“—this one is arivetingcompilation of biographies of documented Unseelie with your power. Their lives all pretty much end in pitchforks and fires though, so maybe skip over those parts.”

Silas shivers at the last part, nose scrunching up, as if reliving a horrible memory.

“You want me to study,” I deadpan.

“Exactly.” He taps his nose.

“Will there be an exam?”

“Ha. No.” Silas’s laugh is a quick, hearty burst that echoes in the cavern. “I’ve already read all of these and think it might help you figure out how to manipulate your magic in such a way.”

He pulls away from the table, plastering on that cheeky smile again. Silas’s mood and expressions shift with the wind, easily flowing into one another in a way that’s impossible to predict.

“Have fun!” he chirps.

He’s whisked away by shadows before I can get another word of protest in. Resigned to my fate, I heave a sigh and shuck off my gloves. If I’m going to be forced to read history books, then I want the parchment between my bare fingertips.

I’m loath to admit it, but it’s a smart strategy. Had I known about these resources earlier, been able to learn about how others harnessed this magic…

I shake the thought away. It’s no use fantasizing about an idyllic childhood. Pride had forged his own training methods for me; they were unorthodox, but they worked.

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