Chapter 40
She collapsed around the blade, her body beginning to dissipate immediately. But I wasn’t done yet. I caught her, my hands on her shoulders, lowering her to the ground while I hissed into her ear.
“You owe me a boon.”
“Yes....” Her voice was a breath only. The scent, strangely, had sweetened, losing the rot it had held a moment earlier.
Ignoring the sweetness, I continued. “I want Butch’s true name left here when you return to the Otherworld. You’ll tell no one. Will forget it yourself.”
Marina’s body lightened in my grip with each breath she exhaled. Now, she seemed to weigh as little as Harper had when our mother died. There were mere seconds left to seal this bargain. Still, I kept talking, intent upon leaving no loophole.
“But do this only if you agree that it’s an equ
