“You are a marvel, Evie.” There were no flirtatious undertones. It was just pure, honest appreciation. Evie couldn’t recall ever being given such a genuine compliment before, not even from Amanda. It made it feel like something inside her was melting.
Evie laughed nervously to mask the fuzziness she felt hearing the words.
“Right. Sure.”
“You are. I know it was cruel circumstances that caused our paths to cross, but I’m grateful they did. I’m grateful I got to meet you.”
Fluttering joy started in Evie’s chest at the statement. She didn’t know what to do with those words. She didn’t know how to return their effect. How would she even begin? Where? Natalya had done too many things Evie was thankful for, too many things that created butterflies in her stomach.
Natalya saved her from having to come up with a response. Her face grew serious, and she took a step back.
“There’s a reason I flinched when you touched me in the studio. I thought you wanted to do what I did to you. Just like I told you before that I don’t kiss people, I don’t take my clothes off in front of others. Not ever. I haven’t trusted anyone enough to do it.”
Natalya’s hands went to the back of her dress and pulled down the zipper.
“Natalya, you don’t need to,” Evie said, but Natalya shook her head.
“I know. I’m doing it anyway.”
She let the dress fall to the floor, standing in just her underwear. It was a stunning sight that momentarily made Evie forget to breathe.
Her skin was golden-brown, smooth, and flawless. Her breasts were round and firm, held by a bra, seemingly there just for decoration. She looked lustrous and strong, with a narrow waist and wide hips that gave her the figure of an hourglass.
The form was accentuated by two black lines, one on either side of her body. The lines ran down the sides of her waist, over her hipbones, and then disappeared into her underwear. They were comprised of several strange symbols, each with a golden outline.
When Evie moved around Natalya, she noticed the lines continued from her waist to end at the bottom of her shoulder blades and that the symbols in the two lines were slightly different from each other.
“What are these?” Evie asked.
“My name. My true name, as much as unpronounceable symbols can be that. Natalya is just the name I picked for myself.”
Natalya looked to her right side. “One to summon.” She looked to her left. “And one to bind. When a greater fiend is first summoned to this world, its name is burned into its skin. I am not meant to be free. These marks make it harder to stray from that fate. If someone has both names, and I’m not bound by anyone already, they can call me into service. They can enslave me.”
Evie felt horrified looking at the symbols, knowing that information. The meaning of Natalya’s words hit her like a freight train.
“By showing me… Natalya, you shouldn’t do that.” Evie turned so she wasn’t looking at Natalya anymore. “I didn’t see it all. I don’t even remember it. Just put your clothes back on.”
It was too risky. She was trusting Evie with information that could rob her of her freedom if shared. That was too much.
Evie wasn’t worthy of that. She wasn’t anyone important. She was just a traumatized stripper who’d been saved from a life filled with horror and pain.Sheowed Natalya something as big as this, not the other way around.
“Evie, look at me.” Natalya’s hand gently pulled on hers. It still took her a long moment to turn around.
Natalya had taken off her bra and underwear, and seeing her naked made Evie’s breath hitch. Her skin was the same shade all over. Her breasts were full and high, her nipples dark.
She looked unreal, like an artwork dedicated to beauty. The lines of her infernal marks were fully visible, ending in sharp points by her mound.
Evie closed her eyes.
“It’s not safe. I could memorize them. Or photograph them. I could wait until you wouldn’t notice and sketch them out. Varro’s still trying to get me back. If I know and he takes me again—”
“That won’t happen.” Natalya took Evie’s hands in hers. She put them on the marks by her hips and then directed them upward along the lines until they were on her shoulder blades. She stood so close her breasts pressed against Evie’s shirt.
“You trusted me, Evie. So many times, and when you didn’t have to. It’s my turn. Open your eyes.”
She obeyed. And stared right into Natalya’s beautiful violet gaze.
“You’ve seen me now. As I have seen you,” Natalya said. “You know what I can do, and I know that you can stop me. The next step is yours, whatever it is.”
