Page 12 of Wicked Ties
Green light blazed from Maze, and his cards began to spin furiously above his head. “Because if you don’t, I’ll show you your worst nightmares.”
Liesin scoffed and motioned to the world around him. “There isn’t much I haven’t seen. Take your parlor tricks elsewhere.”
Maze’s eyes grew bright green, and he charged toward Liesin. I stepped between them and held my hand up. “Enough.”
“Feisty. I like.” Liesin chuckled.
Maze growled low in his throat, and his power seeped from his hands onto the floor. I pressed my hand to his chest, holding him there. Then I turned to face Liesin. “Tell me where my soul is, and I’ll tell you something about Nova.”
A half-cocky grin tugged at his lips. “That’s cold.”
I shrugged, playing like I didn’t care. “That’s life.”
Liesin reached out and held his hand over my chest. Tiny threads like a spider web went from his fingers to my chest. They glowed a bright white, and he gazed into my eyes. Something warm twitched in my chest where that pit was. Then, as though he was bored with the whole situation, he dropped his hand and sighed. “You have a soul.”
I shook my head. “No, that can’t be. There has to be more. This is just how I am now?”
He snickered. “You don’t think I’d spill everything I know without you holding up your end of the bargain.” He rolled his eyes. “Tell me you’ve never made a deal with the devil without telling me you’ve never made a deal with the devil.”
“Is she dealing with the devil?” Maze took another step toward him, about to pounce.
Liesin shrugged. “Might as well be.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Nova emerged from a hole in the ground just next to where I summoned Liesin.
Maze gave a sarcastic smile. “Better the devil you know.”
CHAPTER 6
MAZE
Relief washed over me the moment Nova appeared. She was everything a queen witch should be: sassy, badass, and in charge. Even among the underworld, she blended in, with her black leather shorts, knee-high combat boots, and white-blond hair. She was ghostly pale, with bright cherry-red lips and dark rings around her nearly black eyes. Purple sparks of her magic flowed and bounced over the ground like sparklers.
“Finally, someone we can trust.” I motioned to her. I didn’t trust many people, but the royal court of witches and warlocks was on the very short list of people I did.
Liesin held his hand out toward Tilly one more time. “Come on, I’ll have another look.”
When Tilly took a step toward him, Nova knocked Liesin’s hand away. “Don’t think I don’t know what you do with that hand.”
Liesin wagged his eyebrows at her. “You wish you knew what I could do with these hands.”
Is this dude for real?
Nova narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll rip it right off.”
“Rip what off?”
“Your nut sack.” She made the grabbing and twisting motion with her hand. “I’ll rip it right off and throw it into the pits of Tartarus.”
“Might be worth it. I’d like to get your hands on me.”
I waved toward Tilly. “Can we just focus here, and not on your nut sack?”
“Pity,” they said at the same time, both for different reasons.
Even I had the urge to cover my own set of balls and hide them from her. The threat was real and dead serious. If the dude wasn’t worried about it, I had to question his sanity. Just then, the scene before me faded away and the vision of the future filled my mind. The voices of the past filled my ear and the threat of madness dragged me under. I saw nothing, only flashes of the two of them fighting each other and other things . . . things yet to come. I was here and there at the same time. I swayed on my feet with the overwhelming smell of fire and panic in the air.
“Maze.” Tilly’s voice came from right beside me.
