Page 43 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“I also cannot leave your side.”

“You’re giving me whiplash, Nephesh.”

I sighed, my magic already seeping out of me in the darkened apartment to warm the thin mattress under her. “I’m giving myself whiplash.”

She snorted, but her breathing was already slowing. The warmth from the bed and the long day was wearing on her.

I barely resisted rolling over to tuck in against her. “Goodnight, Justine.”

“Goodnight, Nephesh.”

I closed my eyes, tempted to take the rest while I could get it. Cerberus was on guard by the door. It would be as safe here as anywhere in the living world.

“Nephesh?”

“Yes, little thief,” I answered softly.

“Is it because I’m a human?”

“No, it’s because I’m a monster.”

She snuggled deeper into my warmth, and my desperate heart thudded in my chest. “You’re not a monster to me.”

“You might be the only one who thinks that.”

Justine yawned then elbowed my direction. “Then my opinion should be the only one that matters. Problem solved.”

I waited until her breathing had slowed completely, her body slipping into the dream realm, before I leaned over her, brushing a kiss across the crown of her head. “Your opinion is the only one that matters, mate.”

Swallowing the need to cradle her closer, even in her sleep, I carefully settled myself beside her on the bed…and let my body take me to the dream realm with her.

Arafel, if you are listening, I need to talk.

15

Justine

When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in a large bedroom, a fire burning in a heavy stone fireplace on one end. A wall of floor-to-ceiling windows lined the wall opposite. My heart pounded in my chest as I jerked to a sitting position.

“What is this? Where am I?”

“This is my home. Most specifically, my bedroom. Or at the least a very impressive duplicate of it.”

I twisted to look at the demon who was perched at the foot of the immense four-poster bed. His long white hair was down and loose around his shoulders, blending into the loose cream-colored shirt he had pulled on.

“And why am I here?”

Nephesh looked at me, his face a little sad. “I asked a favor from my brother, but I didn’t realize it would pull you in as well.”

“What did you ask for?”

He considered it, finally saying, “Time.”

“Time?”

“Time to explain things to you. Time to spend with you.”

“You don’t get mixed up in deals.”