Page 55 of A Sin So Pure

I push past her and crouch near a groaning Jamison. I smack his face twice, shocking him out of his pain-laden nap. Already, his skin is stitching itself back together, his cheeks striped with fresh pink scars.

“Hey, bud. I need to know which of your goons are the healers,” I say. “We still have a deal, and you owe us product.”

“N-none of them. I’m the only one making the tonics,” he says.

“Excellent. Makes this much easier knowing I’m not jeopardizing the supply chain.”

I smile. It’s a shark-toothed grin.

My fingers slide against the slick column of his throat, and I relish the feeling of my grip tightening over his pulse; I don’t care if I get blood on my hands—they’re already stained red beneath the skin.

“If Patience comes to you again asking for a favor, you will tell him no. If he comes offering penance or pardon, you will tell him no. You’re not Seelie anymore. Despite your magic and despite your wings, you’renothingto him. You’re nowmyasset.” I pull back, staring deep into his vulnerable eyes. “And if you ever feel inclined to assume otherwise, let today be a reminder that I amsomuch worse than him.”

I leave him, brushing past Josie and Silas and Wrath. Their footsteps follow me, the pitter-pattering drizzle after my storm.

“Which two of them?” I ask once we reach the lobby.

No one needs to ask what I’m talking about. Josie simply points to two Seelie—the thugs that met with Wes and me.

I lift my gun and shoot.

Two sharppopsecho through the room, punctuated by two dullthumpson the concrete floor.

A sliver of satisfaction rolls through me, but it doesn’t quell that thirst for vengeance. It’s a hollow kind of victory, knowing I’ve only taken one step towards the real subject of my revenge.

14

IMOGEN

When Nora said family dinner, I figured it was an intimate affair with Josie and a few select members of her inner circle. What I did not expect was an entire floor of her apartment building to have been converted into a sprawling dinner hall.

“Thank you for coming,” Nora says.

She didn’t say much as we waited for the elevator. And what shehassaid as the metal box slowly lifts us to the tenth floor has been far too formal. There’s only an inch of space between us, but it feels like I’m wading through an entire ocean as I lean to the left, bumping my shoulder into hers.

“Of course,” I say. An awkward beat passes, marked only by the groan of the elevator coming to a halt. “Is it bad that I’m nervous?”

“Don’t be. Everyone loves you.”

“They haven’t even met me yet.”

“The only one that matters is Josie, and she likes you more than me.”

Nora shrugs as the doors slide open. She leads the way, striding off the elevator with sure steps before spinning on her heel. Nora looks me up and down, her lips twisting like she doesn’t know if she should smile or frown.

“Trust me,” she says.

Little butterflies flutter in my belly.

“Okay.”

I step out of the elevator and the doors close behind me.

My steps immediately falter.

Nearly two hundred fae fill the space, multiple generations mulling around two rows of farmhouse tables pushed together. Nora grabs my hand—she doesn’t intertwine our fingers—and pulls me through the throngs of people. At each turn, they vie for her attention.

“Boss, glad you made it this week.”

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