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Hettiah lifted her chin, but she'd paled Sabine had in fact plucked an organ from her On several occasions She kept them in jars on her bedside table

But Sabine refrained froht Hettiah, it seemed to overly excite Omort

"Besides, if the deure-"I'll have a backup plan" She always had a plan B

"You'll need it" Hettiah s the Sorceri, who stored poisons in their rings to be mixed into drinks-or blown into the eyes of an enein" Omort sounded sickened Not only was Rydstrom a demon, which most Sorceri viewed as little better than an ani­ was Omort's blood enemy

And the tiinal-hy-body and her woone into a fury with the oracle

Part of hiarner And part of him lusted for her-or for women who resembled her, like the red-haired Hettiah

He rose then, descending the steps to stand before Sabine Ignoring Hettiah's huff of dis in Sabine's eyes-he slowly raised his hand to

her face

His bloodstained nails were long, cloudy, and thick When he pinched her chin, she said in a seething tone, "Now brother, you know I dislike it when ered-like now-Sabine's surroundings appeared to rock and explode as though froust in tempests Omort hesitantly released her as the court attendees nervously

stamped about

"I have the coordinates for the road Rydstro," Oeon directly to that location, and you can stop him there It will be a perfect trap Unless she's already lost her thresholds power"

Lanthe could still create portals But her ability was tee it once every six days or so Sabine only hoped she hadn't burned one recently

"Why don't you call Lanthe in here and ask her your­self?" Sabine said,hi near Lanthe and had decreed that the two sisters would never be together in his presence

"Exactly how long do I have to set this snare?" she asked

"You o at once" She had little ti-devising plans and subplans and contingencies-and half the fun was the anticipation of a trap about to be sprung She would dream up scenarios for months, and yet now she had only mere hours

Before she could leave, Omort leaned down and mur with this beast, I would have found it for you"

"I know, brother"

She did believe hiive her up, because he wanted Sabine all for himself and had since the first ti in her eyes he'd never seen before-the dark knowledge of what it was like to die So he could never know

He covered her bare shoulder with a claroan at the contact

"Do-not-touch, O her plaits appear to be striking vipers

until he removed his hand Sometimes she had to remind him that she was as treacherous as the serpents he worshipped