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She pulled the curly red hair back froht of her alabaster skin ht now

"The demon’s blood"

Color faded from her cheeks "You’re almost out You told me not to let you use it any" He panted as he felt his powers grow even stronger More fierce His skin began to turn fro skin of the Malachai

Artemis shrank back fro inside hiht for control with everything he had But it wasn’t easy The beast was so much more than it’d been

What have you done, boy?

Hisso fast that it left him sick to his stomach

For a ht when she’d been killed, and thought that maybe, just maybe, this time they had saved her But it was a false hope Artemis’s bow-and-arrow mark was still on his face and hisrealization ca the Malachai into eternal submission, Nick had just released him

Ambrose felt his humanity leave as his vision turned froer cared about anyone or anything All he could taste was blood All he could feel was hate Enough with humanity and their disease It was time for them to yield their world to their s unfurled

Arteed for her

CHAPTER 9

Nick barely recognized hith store -armed him into a frou-frou salon that set his hair cut, and then forced hi less hideous to wear All his life, he’d walked past the Shops at Canal Place and wondered what it’d be like to have enough money to shop here

His first excursion had been a few ht a shirt for Kyrian’s birthday As strange as it sounded, it hadn’t occurred to hiht of the expensive black pants, belt, and black silk shirt he wore Yeah, this was definitely the life "I hed "I love it when you flash those dimples at me"

That landed like a punch to his nose Nick stopped s immediately, and cleared his throat

She tsked at hi you?"

"I hate irly"

She reenets, irly Why would you think that?"

He wiped at his cheeks where the di he could remove them forever "There was a woman in church when I was a kid who always said I sirl It wouldn’t have been so bad had I not always had a feeling that hter over hast at the coed as he reuarded expressions on histiny ruffled dresses in stores, or the way her longing gaze would follow after little girls with their mothers But he didn’t want to share that with Casey "I don’t know"

"Has she ever said that to you?"

She’d made jokes about it from time to tiuess not"

Casey leaned up against his back and wrapped her arms around his waist She smiled at him in the mirror "Trust me, Nick You look hot in this Coht eyebrow to shoot up all on its own as heat scorched his cheeks and his thoughts burned with i to have in his head Theyin an expensive store where he felt like a fraud, and kept waiting for the security guard to come throw him out

"So what do you think?" the clerk asked as he joined them

"He’ll take it," Casey said before Nick had a chance to speak

Nick hesitated, knowing his mother would never approve of an all-black outfit She’d have all manner of fits

But he did like it…

"Ooo, Akri-Nick, looking spiffy like the Simi in your all-black clothes Except you’re a boy and not a Si into the deet you soe, cracklin’ and hog’s head cheese Yu accent that was unlike anything else he’d ever heard, Nick turned as Siht and paused to look into the mirror over his left shoulder

A little odd … no, take that back, a lot odd, Siood, de black hair had a purple stripe on the left-hand side that matched the short, frilly skirt and Doc Martens she wore Apurple corset peeked out from beneath an ornate black lace jacket that re She was absolutely breathtaking and always good for a laugh "Hey, girl! What are you doing here?"

With a wide sles that she jangled "Buying the Si kind of low ’cause of that heifer goddess Akri won’t let ht up, and I know they will" She snapped her teeth together

Nick still had no idea who the heifer goddess or the Akri was that she spoke about all the time She acted as if he knew, and if he asked her, she’d say as ure out their identities

Si here all alone, by yourself, with no one else?"

Casey wrapped a possessive arrasp "He’s not alone … By far"

Could her tone be any icier?

But Silanced around the store in sharp, short head gestures that reminded him of a bird "Where’s Akra-Kody? I know she didn’t leave you alone, by your lonesoet into all manner of trouble whenever he’s left on his own, by himself"