“Let me hear it.”

I reached into Samael’s car and pulled the cat carrier out. The car would be going back, but I’d needed to come here. Needed to see Evie and simply breathe.

Lia let out a tiny squeak of a meow and my sister melted. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes went wide, and then her gaze darted between me and the cat. “Are you serious?”

“I’m never home.” My eyes were hot, and several razorblades had somehow gotten stuck in my throat. “It’s not fair to her.”

The razorblades cut me to pieces as I said the words, and Evie’s face softened. She threw her arm around my shoulders.

“Of course I’ll take her. I’ve been thinking about getting a pet for a while now. You can visit her any time you want,” she vowed. “And if you have some time off work, you can take her for a few days. We’ll share cat custody.”

“You’re a great sister, you know that?”

“Hey, you’re the one giving me a pet.”

We strode into the house and sat at the kitchen table, where Evie put a plate of cookies in front of me. “I bake when I’m stressed,” she said. She crouched down and opened the cat carrier. “Hello gorgeous.”

Lia purred and batted at my sister with her paw, her claws tucked away.

“She likes to bite,” I warned her. “They’re not hard… I call them love bites.”

Lia narrowed her eyes at me. I stroked her soft little head. “I’ll miss you, cat.”

She let out a low meow and rubbed her head against my hand.

Evie looked up at me. “I’ve missed you.” I frowned at her and she laughed. “I mean over the past few years. I’m sorry for everything.”

“I’m sorry too.” I heaved a sigh. “Look. What happened to us sucked. We were kids. We loved each other, and no one told us why we couldn’t be together. They ripped us apart and left us lost and confused. We trusted the adults in our lives and they stole our chance to grow up together.” I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “We deserved better.”

Evie’s huge aquamarine eyes were wet. “We did deserve better. I’m glad you’re here. I know it’s hard dealing with the coven, but I’m glad you’re here.”

Lia bit her gently on one finger and she laughed, stroking her some more. “Do you want to… hang out next week? Gemma and a few of the other coven leaders are going to meet with a coven in New York and she’s put me in charge while she’s gone. I’ll be hanging around here most of the week, but you could come stay. We could watch movies in the attic like we used to.”