Page 17 of The Girl Who Only Died Once

Following her gaze, he glances down at it, then back up at her. “There’s only one Necromancer active, and you weren’t raised by her.”

His voice is low, still, raw against her ears, rumbling with barely contained power.

“I’m lucky like that,” Chloe says, almost automatically.

So, demons at large still think there’s just Lyra. Good to know.

His eyes narrow, and the danger of it all spikes fear into Chloe’s gut.

“You can see through my illusion spell,” he starts. “You demolished a trap, and you woke up far too early.”

There’s an odd undercurrent to his words, too similar to when Ambra’s feeling unsure about something for Chloe to discount. Similar to when she builds towards a point she doesn’t know she’s making yet.

“You found this place.” He gestures with the cuff to the room at large. “And you still walked down, even after being knocked out.”

“People say I’m pernicious,” Chloe says, letting her own eyes stray around the room, to the still intact cuffs hanging from the stone walls. There’s a trace of something there, tugging at her, despite the danger in front of her.

“You diedrecently,” he emphasizes, “and now you’re here.”

“Yeah,” Chloe replies, because he’s not wrong, and if he’s taking the time to monologue at her then she’s probably not in any immediate danger. “Mind if I…” She jerks her thumb towards the still hanging chain.

His brows shoot up.

“Look,” she starts, half desperately, “I don’t want to end up dead—”

“Again,” he interrupts, like he still can’t believe that.

“—and I’m not gonna stop you from doing whatever you’re doing, okay?” She takes a step towards the chain. “You can ignore that I’m here, it’s okay, I’ll be out of here quickly.”

There’s a flash of something, then a shield warps in front of the demon, black and vicious, like he thinks she’s going to attack him.

Chloe raises her hands, the universal signal of not being armed, and his eyes fall to her hip.

To the gun.

“And there’s that,” he says, voice going laconic, like he’s figuring her out.

“Self-defense only,” Chloe says, and her heart pounds.

“And you were touched by another demon on your arm.”

It takes her a second, but that’s exactly where Ambra had grabbed her for the teleport.

“And you’re a…normal alchemist?”

“Yep,” Chloe says, because agreeing with him seems like the smart decision, before taking another step towards the cuffs again. “Just a normal one, nothing special about me.”

Half-turning away from him, she pretends to focus all her attention to the swinging chain, on the spells ensorcelled around it.

Behind her, there’s a sharp intake of breath.

“You’re looking for the spirit fox?” he asks, deeper than before, and goosebumps raise on her arms, beyond her control. “How would you even know of it?”

“She saved my life,” Chloe replies automatically. “I owe it to her.”

She reaches out a single fingertip to the cuff, sending a spark to it, nestling into the cold metal.

There’s an echo of power, an echo of her friend, twisting in the steel, and her heart jumps.

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