I had to see August, and I had to see him now.

What is that imbecile thinking?

Yes, I was frustrated, however my body also hummed with warmth as my lips tipped upwards of their own accord.

Get a fucking grip, woman.

I burst through my office door, slammed it shut and didn’t give him a chance to blink before I spat.

“What the fuck have you done?”

August exhaled a long puff of smoke before turning his head and tracing his deadly eyes up to mine. My breath caught at his sexy, sideways smirk.

I am so screwed.

“Hey, babe. I missed you,” he purred. His voice slithered over me like a creeping fog, suffocating me with his honesty. That’s what got me the most: when he spoke, when he said these things to me, he was speaking the utmost truth. I could feel it. He did indeed miss me.

I stood there staring at his stupid beautiful face, hardly breathing, and crossed my arms to prevent them from reaching for him.

He clocked my stance and raised an eyebrow, accepting my challenge.

“No kiss hello then?”

“Don’t fuck with me, Psycho.”

“Psycho? Hmm, I must be in trouble.”

“Did you maim Walter?”

“Well, not just me,” he shrugged.

My fingers twitched at his clipped answer. “Who else was with you?”

“You gave me the elixir. So you are, in fact, my accomplice,” he said, before taking another drag of his never-ending cigarette.

I plucked the offending stick from his mouth and stabbed it in the ashtray, my eyes lapsing shut as I inhaled sharply.

“You drive me crazy,” I huffed. “I tell you to keep a low profile, you disobey me. I tell you to stay hidden, you disobey me. I tell you I can handle it, you fucking disobey me.”

A light pressure of hunger teased my flesh, and when I opened my eyes, August stood directly in front, chest an inch from mine and heaving.

My head tilted back to gaze directly into his infinite black eyes.

“He’s lucky he’s still breathing at all,” August whispered with conviction. “He touched you, babe, and he paid the price. With every finger, with every fibre of him that defiled your honey skin with his unworthy touch. He fucking paid.” His breath wisped over my face, drowning me in possessiveness, protectiveness and total necessity. “I know I went against everything you told me to do, that I disobeyed your word, so if you want to punish me, Micah, baby, have at it. Handcuff me, tie me up. Hell, spank me if that’s what you want. As long as you put those fucking hands on me again before I surely go insane with need.”

We weren’t physically touching, but we may as well have been, my whole body caught up in him.

I had no misconceptions that he had done all this for me. And for some reason, that didn’t feel so bad.

Chapter 22Micah

Emerson and I leant over the railing of the domed tower of Variant Sanctorum, wind whistling in our ears as the sun sank low, spraying the city in a burnt orange glow. Our joint melancholy eclipsed the beautiful landscape, settling into our bones, as it usually did this time of year.

A resounding boom sent shockwaves vibrating across our landing. The heavy entrance door, once flapping wildly in the wind, came flying off its hinges, landing with a thud.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Spencer screamed. The door had come within an inch from crashing into her face, and she’d retaliated by kicking it down. Crazy bitch.

Emerson giggled. “It’s sacrilege to swear in a house of worship.”

Spencer’s eyes darted our way, narrowing into slits until they roamed past us, processing the steep drop to the city streets below.

Her face paled of all colour. “Get me out of here,” she managed to breathe. I didn’t need my ability to know panic was running thick through her veins.

Chuckling lightly, Emerson and I grabbed a wrist each, steering her through the doorless entrance and down the stairwell.

“Why’d you come up, Spence? I’m surprised you even came this far.”

“You think I wanted to chase you morons up here?” she seethed behind me, twisting out of my grip. “Neither of you were answering your phone. What other choice did I have?”

“What happened?” Emerson asked from the rear as I pulled out my phone.

Skimming through the countless messages, my gut churned, hastening my descent by skipping every second step. “We have to leave. Now.”

Spencer huffed. “Oh, so now she wants to rush.”

“What the fuck is happening?” Emerson asked.

“It’s sacrilege to swear in the house of religion, oh pious Meek.”

“Spence. Start talking.”

“Ava sent a message,” Spencer said. “Something big is happening at Forbidden Garden, and they don’t want the princess around to catch a whiff. They plan on relocating her tonight.”

Emerson hummed. “Tan doesn’t get back till late. The plan was fo—”

“Doesn’t matter,” I interrupted. “I’m not losing her. I made a promise.” The potential danger loomed over my head like a noose. If they succeeded in taking her underground, we may never find her again.

“Well, are we going to break Psycho out first? As planned?”

I ran a hand down my face. “There’s no time, we might miss her.” I reached the bottom of the staircase and rounded on my sisters. “Which means it’s up to us. Will you help me?”

Spencer slid down the last step, her face splitting into one of her most charming smiles. “I’ve already got a plan.”

Emerson sent a wink over Spencer’s shoulder. “Then let’s fucking do this.”

“Blasphemy!” Spencer gasped, holding a hand to her chest, as if her mouth wasn’t as foul as the rest of ours.