“I mean it. I am sorry. And I really do need your help with this. This soulceress actually is evil. If you knew the things she’s done…” He slashed the air with his hand, frustration welling out of him.
“Well, why don’t you tell me?”
“I canna.”
“No, you willna.” She mimicked his accent and kicked the gravel at her feet. “I’m getting sick of being used, sick of being lied to, and sick of being left out of the important information.”
“It’s… personal.”
The soulceress had done something to him, then? Had they been… lovers? Her stomach pitched. No, that wasn’t possible. She wanted to kick herself for even caring. Of course she didn’t care. “She meant something to you?”
“No!” His eyes were fierce, the storm within them raging at the thought of the other soulceress.
He really did intend to kill her. Once again, he’d come to her for help to destroy her own kind, but he wouldn’t even tell her the truth of why. Was she really so abhorrent? Was her kind so terrible that he was bent on destroying them? Would she have to go with him to protect the other soulceress?
“Help me. I can make it worth your while.”
“How?”
“Money.”
“Do I look like I need money? My skills are worth a fortune.” She conjured a fireball, then made it whiz around his head. “I won’t sell them to hurt another soulceress.”
“A department of your own at the university. With assistants.”
“Do I look like I need help?” Though it would be nice to have a team. “Anyway, who are you going to get to work with an evil bitch like me?”
“You aren’t evil. I know that everyone treats you that way. But you aren’t.”
He hadn’t answered her questions, though they were nice words. But she wanted action.
“We’ve determined that you have nothing I want,” she said.
But he did have something she wanted. She didn’t want him finding and killing the other soulceress before she could find her. Esha might be able to find her the fastest, but only if everything went right. She had no idea how or where to start. If she left Warren to find her on his own, there was always a chance he’d beat her there.
He’d hurt her and lied to her. But she was pretty used to that. She didn’t particularly want to be around him anymore, but if it meant improving her chances of finding and saving the other soulceress, she was all for it.
“What’s her name?” Esha asked.
“Aurora.”
“Aurora.” She liked that name. “Say I help you find Aurora. You can’t kill her. That’s not an option if I help you. And I get to talk to her first.”
His nostrils flared. “Seriously?”
She nodded.
“No’ a chance,” he said.
“Give me a break. I know I’m your only option. You wouldn’t have asked for my help otherwise. Promise not to kill her, let me talk to her, and I’ll help you.”
When he scowled at her, she grinned, knowing that she had him.
“Fine.”
He’d agreed not to kill Aurora. He might be lying, but from the granite in his gaze, this was the best she could hope for.
And he was honorable. Most of the time. She’d need to be there when he found her, that was certain.