Natalya briefly lowered her eyes. “She and I were never meant to last. I cannot mingle with humans as naturally as lesser fiends can. I was born in Sin, whereas they were born here. They are part human, with only some fiendish parentage. I am not. I was made for a purpose, and that purpose isn’t to love another.”
“Oh…” Evie had to remind herself that Natalya wasn’tjusta woman with powerful abilities. She was a fiend. A demon. She may protect Evie and make her feel safe, may even care about her to an extent, and there was an allure because Natalya could do things with her that would harm, or even kill, another. But that was it. It wasn’t anything more. It couldn’t go deeper than that.
Evie mentally captured and caged the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She couldn’t get them all.
“What happened to Olena?” Evie asked, trying to get away from the thoughts in her head.
“What always happens to humans who venture too far into the dark.” Natalya smiled sadly. “She got frightened, and she ran. She suppressed what she was and what we had done, and she sold off her arcane possessions. I know she wanted to forget, by the end.”
Evie couldn’t imagine the hurt of losing someone because they were afraid of you. Then she frowned.
“Did she get scared, or didyouscare her? Like you tried to do to me?”
Natalya looked at Evie for a long moment, brows furrowed in surprise. Then she let out a soft laugh.
“You don’t miss much. Having a keen mind is a dangerous quality.” Natalya sighed. “I scared her. Like I tried to do to you. For the same reason.”
“Because she wouldn’t let you decide her feelings?” Evie said a bit sharply. Natalya surprised her by chuckling. It left a short-lived smile on her face.
“She was my summoner. I couldn’t manipulate her unless she allowed it. It made her forget what I was. What I could do. She wanted only the parts of me she liked. The parts that seemed human. All it took was reminding her of what I truly was, and she was gone.”
Evie thought of the terrifying display Natalya had made in the Second Circle and in Evie’s apartment when Stefano and Austin showed up. Pointed teeth, eyes entirely scarlet, and mottled purple skin. Enjoying violence with such genuine glee. She did look like a demon then.
“How much of you haveIseen?”
Natalya considered, her face set in an unfeeling mask. The only sign she was thinking at all was from her eyes flicking between Evie’s.
“Most of it. More than you should’ve seen. More than Olena saw.” Natalya’s face turned hard. “I paid for it in the end. Olena was always too curious. She’d recorded my marks and inked them onto leather. When she sold off her past, she effectively sold me too.”
“To that man you mentioned? Roland Whitlock?”
Natalya tensed at the name. Then nodded. She didn’t react beyond that, and Evie could almost see her closing herself off. Shutting a door and keeping Evie out.
It made sense that she would. She was strong and powerful enough that it was easy to forget such an existence wasn’t one of ease. Her life had been filled with horrors and tragedies far beyond what Evie could imagine. She’d already opened up, perhaps more than she ought to. And she wanted to be strong.
It was hard to be strong when vulnerable. Evie knew that well enough.
Carefully, Evie moved her hand to Natalya’s hip, hovering over her marks. She paused, unsure if she should continue. If Natalya would allow it.
Then Natalya put her hand over Evie’s, pushing it against her skin, and Evie trailed her fingers along the shapes of the marks. The symbols were intricate, bearing the sharp lines of a freshly made tattoo. Each symbol glittered with a border of gold. Touching them sent faint tingling through her fingers.
“Are all fiends marked like this?”
“It depends on the type. Those of Wrath have them around the wrists and forearms. Envy on the chest, Greed on the hands. We cover them.”
“How many types are there?”
“Seven. One for each Sin, and they have different purposes. Fiends of Envy are spies and assassins. Those of Wrath are warriors and killers.”
Natalya touched the gold outline of one of the marks. “These mark me as a greater fiend. There is no human blood in my veins. Nothing mortal. Lesser fiends only have limited demonic parentage, and it shows in their marks and eyes. They lack the gold, and their eyes aren’t slitted like mine. They aren’t as powerful.”
Natalya ran a hand over Evie’s thigh, making her skin tingle. “A lesser fiend cannot hurt a human with their abilities unless they want to. Greater fiends are more powerful but far less restrained. It’s in our design to bring destruction. Only through a century of practice have I come to possess control of myself so I don’t accidentally harm others. It’s taxing to hold back my powers.”
“Do you have to do that with me?”
Natalya smiled. “No. Not with you.”
Evie trailed her fingers along Natalya’s waist, brushing over the marks. Her skin was so soft. So warm and smooth.
