Page 66 of White Little Lies

“You really expect me to believe you didn’t know your sister had a contract with my mother?”

“I knew your mother long before you were born,and I have avoided my sister just as long. As you have learned, I cannot return to the hells while she is there.”

“Then why did you try to summon her?”

He sighed. “I thought I could tempt her with information. Outwit her. I was mistaken.”

“I’m surprised you’re admitting it.”

He gave me a strange look, like he didn’t quite recognize me. “You saved me tonight.”

“It was more complicated than that. If I didn’t save you, Penelope could have used you to harm Mistral.”

He laughed, his eyes drifting to the dark sky above. “True.”

I looked at him, likereallylooked at him. There was much more to him than I understood—more than I wouldeverunderstand with how secretive he was. “Why did you really form your contract with Mistral? He believes you wanted him to die so you could access the wild magic of the Bogs. Gain enough power to go home.”

He lowered his chin, that stubborn look flitting across his face.

“Hey, I saved you tonight. You said it yourself. And I know he didn’t give you anything in exchange. You did it for free. Why?”

He was silent for a moment, then asked, “Did he tell you that I knew his mother?”

“We never discussed it, though I assumed you must have at least known of her.”

“It was she who summoned me for a contract,unbeknownst to Mistral. We met at the gates, and she told me she was going to die. She paid the price for the contract she knew her son would request. She thought, if he would already bear the burden of the land, he should not pay dearly for it.”

My pulse raced. Mistral still didn’t know any of this. Surely he would have told me if he did. “And what did she give you?”

He simply smiled at me.

I gaped at him. “You can’t just tell me all of that then not tell me what she gave you.”

“The terms of every contract are private.”

“But she’s dead!”

His eyes danced with amusement.

“You are such an asshole.” I started to stand, but he grabbed my wrist.

“You know it’s no longer safe for you to stay here.” He didn’t say it like it was a question.

“We don’t know that.”

“Too many know of the bounty, and now with my sister involved, you are not safe.”

“She’s not as strong outside the hells.”

“Neither am I.” He stood, still holding my wrist, and a glimmer of magic flared between us.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I hated this. I hated being chased from my home. “Where am I supposed to go?” I thought about the Bogs, but it would be difficult to make it to Emerald Heightsto work with Crispin. And now that I had realm jumped, we could finally progress.

“My apartment. It is well hidden, and it is neutral ground. Crispin and Gabriel can both access it.”

“But not Mistral,” I countered.

“And neither Crispin nor I can enter the Bogs.”

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