“It’s also an inefficient way to break into my club.”
“They’re all inefficient.” Eve’s tone was dry. “Everyone knows the Shifters’ Guild guards that place like it contains the holy grail.”
“I like to do my part for the economy.”
Mac scoffed. “The shifters sell protection services to anyone, and they’ve got plenty of work coming in elsewhere.”
The Devil smiled. “Be that as it may”—his gaze turned to me—“Carrow, this may be a threat to the city as well as a threat to my empire. I could use your help. I’d pay you well.”
“Ah—”
“Can I speak to you, Carrow?” Mac’s voice was sharp.
“Um, yeah.” I watched the Devil warily as I followed her to the back room of Eve’s shop.
The Fae proprietor followed, turning back to point at the Devil. “I’m watching you. Don’t touch anything.”
The little room at the back was cluttered with Eve’s most valuable potions. Mac whirled around as soon as we entered. “You are not seriously thinking of doing this, are you?”
“Um—” I frowned. “He’s not so bad. He retrieved my books for me from my flat last week, remember?”
“That was nice, I’ll give him that,” Eve said. “I know how important those were to you.”
They’d come from my friend Beatrix, who’d been murdered last year. They were all I had of hers, and he’d left them for me in my new flat.
“The books aren’t the issue right now. You know what the Oracle said. Remember her?” Mac raised her brow. “That all-powerful seer who looks too legit to quit?”
I did remember the seer. She’d grabbed me at the Witches’ Masquerade, her ghostly form flickering from old to young, and told me that the Devil and I were Cursed Mates.
“Do you really believe it, though?” I asked. “This Cursed Mates thing seems…”
“Fated Mates are real, and while I don’t know anything about Cursed Mates, there’s no way it’s a good thing,” Mac said.
“It’s quite difficult to put a nice spin on the word cursed.” Eve shot me an apologetic look.
“You’re not wrong about that.” I sighed and leaned back against the wall.
Eve raised a hand. “Oh, careful there!”
I straightened. “Right, right. Valuable potions.”
“Dangerous potions.” She pointed to the left of my head. “See the blue ones? They’ll blow your head clean off.”
“Oookay, then.” I stepped away from the wall, vowing to be more careful from now on.
“Well?” Mac said. “You’re saying no, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m saying no.” I wasn’t sure I believed in the damned concept of Cursed Mates, even though it scared the hell out of me. But Mac and Eve were my Yodas in this new world, and I would listen to them. “Let’s go.”
I returned to the room to find the Devil standing still as a statue. It was eerie how he did that—almost as if he could turn to stone. Apparently, he really was immortal—at least in the sense that he wouldn’t age, though he could be killed by trauma—and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a coping technique meant to deal with the misery of being alive forever.
“I hope you’re going to say yes.” His voice was impossibly smooth, a caress across my skin.
“No. I’m sorry. I’m busy here.”
“You’re frightened.”
I bristled. “No, I’m smart. And I’m serious. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to have anything to do with some random man who broke into your club.” I shrugged. “I can’t control what I see anyway, so maybe I couldn't help you.”