“I agreed to meet with Trent. I wanted to apologize for threatening him,” she said. “I wanted to hear how his genetic treatments are keeping our species alive when magic could not. The afternoon went surprisingly well, and his gardens are so lovely—silent, but lovely—so we had tea the following week, and I told him of my life with Al.” A tear spilled over and ran a quick path to her jawline. “I wanted him to know so he’d understand that the demon smut wasn’t a sign of one’s morals but simply a mark of imbalance upon one’s soul. I thought he was beginning to understand,” she said softly. “We even laughed at a shared jest, but when I touched him, he jerked back, and though he apologized and turned red, I saw the entire afternoon was a sham. He was entertaining me because he felt he needed to, not because he wanted to.”

I could see it clearly in my mind. Trent was slime.

“So I finished our tea, playing the part of a courtesan entertaining the son of a potential ally,” she said, and I felt her hurt pride and the shame her words couldn’t hide. “I thank God that I saw his true feelings before…my heart softened to him.”

Ceri sniffed, and I handed her one of the cotton napkins she had arranged about the teapot. Though she said she didn’t care for him, I saw that it had wounded her deeply. Probably too far for Trent to ever make amends to the self-admittedly overly prideful woman.

“Thank you,” she said, dabbing at her eyes. “Quen drove me home that afternoon as usual. He had witnessed the entire miserable affair, and when I fled his car to find solace in my garden, he followed me, taking me into his arms and telling me I was beautiful and pure. Everything I wanted to be. Everything I know I’m not.”

I wanted her to stop, but she had to tell someone. And I knew how she felt, wanting to be loved, accepted—only to be reviled for things she couldn’t control. A hot tear spilled over and ran a quick path to my chin when Ceri’s eyes rose to mine, red and swimming.

“I spend time with Trent now simply so that Quen may escort me there and back,” she said softly. “I think Trent knows it, but I don’t care. Quen is confident and secure in his mind. When I’m with him, I feel beautiful and unsullied. I didn’t have the ability to say yes or no to a man’s attentions for a thousand years,” she said, her voice gaining in strength. “I was a thing to Al, something to teach to showcase his talents, and when Quen stirred my passions after a particularly trying engagement with Trent, I realized I wanted more than his gentle words.”