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Sienna lifted her head, blinking up at him, concern dancing through her. “W-was that going to happen?” Had she just unknowingly saved one or all of their lives?
He pulled her hand into his with the one not anchored around her and squeezed firmly. “I don’t have that sort of omniscience, Sienna. I can’t tell you whether or not one person was at some point in their lives going to directly or otherwise cause the deaths of others—not withoutlooking. Just as I took a purposeful moment to check the scheduled fate of your friend.“ His thumb rubbed along her knuckles. “What I am promising you is simply to not allow it to happen. I am Death. That means I have the final say of who dies when, and how, with only one exception.”
A breath rushed from her, part relief in understanding and part dreadful weight. “You.”
“Yes. Me.”
“Spilling all your secrets to your little mortal fuck-toy?”
Fenn tensed and twisted to face Florence as her hateful question washed over Sienna. His hands fell away, curling into fists, and he stood in a fluid motion. “I’ve lost my patience with your jealousy, Florence.”
Sienna remained rooted to the bench, barely able to see the flowing blonde of Florence’s hair from the way Fenn had moved to stand between them. Her emotions were still raw from her conversation with Sherri. It felt like she was experiencing some kind of emotional whiplash going from that call to another confrontation.
“What are you really going to do?” Florence said, the challenge clear in her voice. “You can’t banish me from all of Fort Veyelsa. It’s notyours.“ She leaned sideways to angle a dark smirk at Sienna. “Nothing to say for yourself this time, whore?”
Swirls of black lifted up from the ground. “Florence.”
Sienna clutched her hands into fists over her lap and drew a long, stabilizing breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Then she shoved to her feet and stomped up to Fenn’s side. If all Florence had going for her was that she healed well, then she really wasn’t so scary. And whoever it was Sienna had seen with her in that vision, he wasn’t standing next to her now. It was hard to see the petite blonde as anything other than a sore loser.
Florence arched a brow, as if she were surprised that Sienna dared to face her.
“You don’t want to mess with me today,” Sienna said. “I’m really pissed off and I don’t like you anyway. Maybe you’ve misread this whole thing and I’m the next War in training. Did you ever think about that? Could you handle that, you petty bitch?”
Both of her brows disappeared beneath her swooping bangs. “You can’t expect me to believe—“
Sienna took a step forward. “I don’t care what you believe. Just leave. Us. Alone. Do you understand?”
Something flashed in Florence’s blue eyes and she lunged forward with a snarl. “You are no one!”
Before Sienna could react, Fenn reached between them and latched his still-gloved hand around Florence’s throat. Florence came to a dead stop, her arms hanging awkwardly in the air for a prolonged moment before dropping to her sides as her widened gaze shifted to him.
“You willbeno one,“ Fenn said, his voice a dark growl, “if you don’t knock this shit off.Immediately.”
Florence reached up, her fingers dancing backward up the length of his sleeve. “You don’t want to do that.” She managed a smile. “Or,shemight not want you to, anyway.”
Sienna opened her mouth to tell the bitch just how thoroughly she did not care when her phone rang again. It was Piper’s ringtone. Her first instinct was to let it go, but something about the expression on Florence’s face compelled Sienna to answer the call. “Piper?”
“Not quite,” an unfamiliar male voice said. His voice was calm and smooth and the sound of it—combined with the awareness that he was calling from Piper’s phone—made Sienna’s blood turn cold. He continued before she could catch her breath. “Your sister can’t come to the phone right now, but I have a message for you. Listen closely.”
Blood rushed through her ears, the rapid-fire pounding of her heart nearly deafening her. “Piper … what did you do to Piper?” She swallowed hard. “Who are you?”
Fenn turned his head in her direction, but Sienna couldn’t focus enough to register his expression.
The man on the phonetsked at her. “I told you to listen, little seer.”
Her head spun. “What…? How did you—“
“I have my ways,” he said, a little sharper. “And if you want your sister to survive, you’re going to convince your new lover to let Florence go. Alive. Do that, and you’ll hear from me again.” The line clicked.
Numbness washed over Sienna as she turned her gaze outward.
Florence’s expression was smug, despite the hand gripping her throat. Like she’d won something.
The burning of tears behind her eyes was the only thing Sienna felt for a long minute. “You’re a disgusting, deplorable, manipulative affront to humanity.” She drew a shaky breath but could barely speak above a whisper. “Fenn … let her go.”
Seconds passed before Fenn stepped away from Florence and the intangible darkness at his feet receded.
Florence giggled like a child playing a game. “I’ll leave you two alone for now, then.” She looked between them and her smile widened. “Enjoy your time together.” She offered a finger-wave and turned, took three steps, and called over her shoulder, “But just so you know, I plan on having a veryhappyChristmas.”
