Page 165 of Sins of the Heart

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leaving his eyes the color of asphalt and ice. “I don’t

suffer fools, Roxy. I’ve done you no harm—”

“Not yet.”

“Not yet,” he agreed, the implied threat heavy in the

air. Then he cocked a brow and waited for her to answer

his original question.

“You break the cycle,” she said at last. “You harvest

darksouls. You act as both judge and executioner,

denying your victims the Hall of Two Truths, the

chance to be fairly judged. You feed them to Sutekh, a

meal of pure power. And then they are gone for eternity.

Have I got that right?” She stared him down, daring in

the face of her seemingly hopeless circumstances,

weighted by the knowledge that he could do that to her.

Rip out her darksoul and end her existence. Not just

this life, but any future life she might have laid claim

to.

The scent of his blood called to her, and she couldn’t

stop herself from looking at his injured thigh. If she

took his blood again, fed onhispower, would it make

her stronger, make her his match?

The thought—the potential ramifications—left

her dizzy. Look what she had become with one

mouthfulof his blood. Imagine what she would be if

she drained him dry.

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SINS OF THE HEART

A shiver chased up her spine. She could feel him

watching her, feel the heat that radiated from his body.

And she could smell the old penny lure of his blood.

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