Page 49 of Mortal Things

Two can play at this game. My ring tingles, turning hot this time, and I shoot my hand out to grab his wrist. He tries to dart away, but he doesn’t release his grip on me fast enough. My hand connects with his arm—and instantly, I feel the heat of his soul call to me.

He falters, gasping as my own power fights against his, draining his energy, attempting to claim him.

He clenches his jaw and struggles back to his feet, then shoves me into the side of the cab. I fight to free myself. I have to force him to move away from this cab—I have to keep him from stalling.

Then, suddenly, a plan clicks into place in my mind.

The light at the intersection turns red. The yellow car speeds right through it, heading straight for the black cab.

Before my plan can even solidify, I break from his grasp.

Then I throw myself right in front of the black car and put up both my hands.

The driver honks loudly at me, but I stay grimly in place. The yellow car hurtles down the intersection.

In the blink of an eye, Étienne is here.

He envelops me in his arms, then hurls us out of harm’s way.

The yellow car speeds by—right where I had been standing seconds ago.

I stumble against the pavement and fall, my back against a parked car. Étienne falls against me. For an instant, the breath is knocked from my chest, and all I can do is grasp for air against the weight of his body. He meets my gaze, his green eyes pulsing with fury and shock. With his chest pressed against mine, I can feel the wild flutter of his heart. His face is so close that our lips could brush.

When I glance past him, I see that the black car has driven off—right in time to avoid the collision.

He saved me. Just as I hoped he would. He had stepped away from an almost-certain victory in order to protect my life, and because he had, the crash didn’t happen.

“What the hell are you doing?” he growls at me in a low voice.

I defiantly stick out my chin. “You wanted the crash to happen, didn’t you?”

“You almost killed yourself,” he says incredulously.

A smile emerges on my lips. I wink at him. “I was hoping you’d save me.”

Realization dawns in his eyes. I’d tricked him. His eyes flicker to my lips, and for an instant, I think he’s going to kiss me. My breath catches in my throat.

“Naughty girl,” he murmurs instead.

I want to demand a reason from him. I want to figure out why he would risk going against Thorn’s orders. But in this moment, more than anything, I want him to close the distance between us. I want to lean forward and press my lips against his.

If this was his mission, if Thorn’s orders were for him to stop me, why had he saved me?

Through my haze of thoughts, I remember that my mission here isn’t yet finished. Raven had told me I was to claim a soul today. But if it wasn’t a soul at the crash, where would it be?

In a flash, I think of the passenger in the black cab. I’d made sure he lived, so Raven would make sure someone else died.

My blood runs cold. Immediately, I yank myself out of Étienne’s grasp and scramble to my feet. As I do, another black car pulls up next to me.

The door opens to reveal Raven sitting inside, one leg crossed idly over the other, nodding coolly for me to get in.

“Congratulations, Regent-Elect,” he says.

I’d won my second test.

I glance to my side, expecting to see Étienne still standing there, his eyes fixed on mine. But he’s already gone, lost in the sea of umbrellas and the pouring rain.

I climb into the back seat beside my patron god, then shut the door behind me. The rain pounds against the windows like glass beads, a curtain of water that blankets out the world.