Lily glanced at her silently disapproving companion. “As grumpy as ever. When are you coming to get him?”
“In a couple of days. I need some time away from my house right now.”
Lily sighed. “Why don’t you just break up already?” Iris’s boyfriend was a dickhead. While Lily tended to avoid social interactions of all kinds, her sister sought them out and often latched on to the worst type of people—especially men.
“That’s the thing. We did.”
She sat up straighter. “You did?”
“Yeah, and this time, I mean it. I’m done. I gave him three days to pack up his shit and move out. I’m staying with Suyin in the meantime. I don’t put it past the bugger not to steal Grim, which is why I asked you to take him.”
“Oh my god, Ris, that’s—” The best news she had heard in months. Hell, years. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because I knew what your reaction would be. I’m impressed you’re still holding it in.”
“Can I do it now?”
“Fine.” Iris blew out a breath. “Let me have it.”
“Good riddance!” She tried not to shout, but it was hard. “I never got what you saw in him. He was a bastard to me and all your friends, and you can do so much better. I never liked him from the day I met him. Sure, he was fit, but honestly, his personality was so crap it ruined anything appealing about him. Every time I saw him, I just wanted to kick him right between the legs. You have no idea how long I’ve been dying for you guys to break up.”
“You done?”
“I can keep going if you want.”
“I think you’ve made your point.”
“Are you… okay? And stuff?”
“I’m good. It’s been over for a while, you know?”
Lily scoffed. “It was over before it began. He was never close to good enough for y—”
“Okay, Lil, I get it. We’re starting now, so I gotta go. Sure you don’t want to be here? Not even to support your poor, broken-hearted big sis?”
She rolled her eyes yet again. “I’ll never tell you what a bastard Antoine is again if you never ask me to come to another coven meeting again.”
“Touché.”
“And you’re not mybigsis. You’re an hour older than me.”
“Hey, a lot can happen in an hour.”
“Not that much. Now go to your meeting. I have to get back to—” She stared at the movie, paused on Winifred Sanderson’s buck-toothed sneer. “Work.”
Iris snorted. “Yeah, okay. Have fun at ‘work.’ Make sure you get lots of ‘work’ done.”
“Thank you, I will,” she replied haughtily and hung up.
3
A Marked Man
The brand on his neck started to burn the next morning.
Mist sat up in his soft bed and touched the mark gingerly. He’d known this was a temporary reprieve. He’d known he would eventually be summoned and have to return to his duties. He’d just been hoping he would have longer.
Evidently, he’d been a fool.
