I arched one eyebrow. “Then why do you assume he would feel any differently? He is, after all, your soulmate. And don’t they say soulmates start as one soul that’s split into two?”

Her face turned red. “We are one soul in two different bodies.”

I nodded. “So, really, would you doubt your own soul?”

She chuckled, then pushed to her feet. “Thank you, Frankie.”

I wasn’t a hugger, yet I watched as I pulled her in for one anyway. Something about the pain in her eyes and aura just made me want to hold her. Maybe it was knowing she didn’t have someone she could talk to. If I’d only had my uncle as support growing up, life would’ve been so much harder. Sometimes a girl just needed to talk to another girl. I squeezed her tight, resting my chin on her shoulder as I held her for a long moment. She didn’t pull back either.

“Goddess, you give good hugs,” she said as she held me tight. Then she pulled back and wiped at her eyes. “I needed that.”

“I think I did too. Look at us, we’re already crushing this friendship thing.” I smiled and gave her a wink as I started to back away. “I’ll be inside when you’re done with my phone, but no rush. Take your time talking to him. And if you’re really feeling shitty about it, try FaceTime.”

“FaceTime. Right. That’s a good idea.” She stared down at my phone, so I turned to give her privacy. “Oh, hey, Frankie?”

I paused and glanced back at her. “Yeah?”

“Just so you know, for whatever it’s worth, he never slept with Sam. That was all a show for Sweyn.”

Pressure in my chest lightened. I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding on to that fear or those emotions. He never slept with her. My pulse quickened. My emotions wanted to come out to play. I smiled at her. “Thanks, Saber, that actually is nice to know.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

FRANKIE

For the first time in our bestie-ship, I had to keep a secret from Mei-Ling. I hadn’t had any intention of keeping my being a witch a secret from her forever. The plan in my mind was to tell her as soon as it was safe to. Tegan simply beat me to it. Which was a relief. My best friend and I didn’t keep secrets from each other. Ever. Even when someone made me promise not to tell anyone, that never included her.

Until now.

This wasn’t a game. Lives were at stake. If word got out that Saber was secretly Everest’s daughter, it could mean the end of her life. I refused to let that happen on my watch, even if it meant keeping a secret from my best friend.