“Anal smear? That’s … creative.” She smiled half-heartedly as her eyes met mine.

“Your brother?” I prompted darkly.

“My brother doesn’t know any of this. Ezra—that’s my best friend—is the only person I’ve told. Until now.”

Heat bloomed in my chest, even as I glowered down at her. “Why the fuck would you not confide in your brother about this?”

She hmphed. “Let’s just say we don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“What kind of relationship do you have?” I pressed.

“A shitty one.” Her eyes flitted away, and she wrinkled her nose. “Why do you even care about this, anyway? If you had nothing to do with … today, and you’re not here for FiendPay, then why are you here at all?”

She suddenly twisted, ducking under my arm and backing away. I turned, flexing fingers that felt suddenly cold without the press of her flesh.

“I …” I shoved my hands into my pockets because the stupid things wanted to reach out, to grab her closer again. “I am still learning about the capabilities of the Soul Token, so when it was filling with energy this morning, I decided I needed to investigate the … ah … root cause.”

I scuffed a toe against the floor, the way I had when I was a naughty little devil making up lies about why I’d been down in the impery petting the imp cubs when I was supposed to be with my governess learning about the seven deadly sins … and how to use them against humans.

“Are you telling me …” she began, her tone promising violence as she stalked towards me, eyes narrowed. “That you put a piece of my soul into some … some Hellish relic that you don’t even know how to work properly?”

Her anger was like heat, pulsing between us.

“I’ll have you know I invented that ‘Hellish relic’. And I do know how to work it properly. I was just … curious, about the level of misery it was harvesting from you today.” I met her accusing glare with a piercing one of my own. “And given everything you just told me, my curiosity has been thoroughly satisfied.”

She opened her mouth. Closed it again. Scowled at me. I fought a grin, and only half won, a lopsided leer pulling at my mouth instead.

“Well,” she muttered, leaning back against the wall, her arms folded once more. “What do you intend to do with all my emotions once you’ve sucked them into that thing?”

Her question caught me completely off guard. I’d never once given thought to the humans getting curious about the process of their souls being harvested.

I hadn’t accounted for the insatiable curiosity of Jemma Bliss.

“I am as yet unsure about the use for it,” I hedged. Not entirely a lie. “You’re the first person I’ve used it on.”