Ursula shook her head. “I don’t understand. I thought you were her Headsman. Why would you do whatever she wanted if you loathe her?”

Flames glinted in his eyes. “I hate that name. And the rest of it isn’t for you to worry about now.” He clearly wasn’t ready to bare his soul.

Shivering, Ursula hugged herself, eyeing the inviting sofa that called to her aching body. “Fine. But what is the point of all of this? Why is she so obsessed with claiming souls anyway?”

“Rest for a minute,” he said, nodding at the chair. “Maybe it’s time for you to learn something about your world before we hunt down Abrax.”

She collapsed into the chair with a sigh, letting the soft cushions embrace her. Her muscles sang with relief.

Kester ran a hand through his hair. “The souls of men are what give gods their power. Emerazel’s fire is fueled by the souls of her supplicants. Nyxobas’s magic works the same way. The gods are constantly warring over this human currency, and long ago they formed factions of shadow and light to fight against each other. When Abrax drained Hugo, he stopped us from acquiring the soul. He also steals any magic that Emerazel had invested in Hugo.” He eyed her with concern. “Like how he drained your fire before Zee stopped him. Honestly, it’s a miracle he didn’t take your soul.”

“It was odd. We became repulsed by each other as soon as his lips touched mine.”

He stared at her, surprise flickering across his features. “Really?”

She nodded. “But that means he stole Zee’s soul?”

“Half of it, at least.”

“Shit.” Ursula took a deep breath, trying to push that horrific thought out of her mind. “If incubi work for Nyxobas, what god do the fae work for? Is there a god we can appeal to for help?”

“No. Unlike every other magical creature on earth, they’re unaligned. They’re descendants of angels who chose to come to earth long ago.”

“Why would they want to live on earth instead of in the heavens?” She ached with exhaustion, but this was the first time someone was actually telling her something, and she needed to get as much out of it as she could.

“The fae are simply hedonists. They enjoy earthly pleasures.”

Ursula glanced at Zee, whose arm dangled limply over the side of the table. “We can save her if we find Abe.”

“Abrax.” His eyes blazed. “And maybe we can get Hugo’s soul back from him, too, so Emerazel doesn’t need to claim your soul. Then I’ll crush the life out of him.”

“What happens if we don’t get the rest of Zee’s soul back?”

“She won’t live for more than a few days.”

Dread snaked up her spine, and she pulled her white stone from her purse, rolling it between her fingers. “She’ll die?”