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Back Truth of the Divine Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Also By Lindsay Ellis and Available From Titan Books
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Part 1: It’s A Fool Who Plays It Cool
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. Part 2: Love Has A Nasty Habit Of Disappearing Overnight
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. Part 3: A Crowd Of People Stood And Stared
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. Part 4: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. A Fiction Agreed Upon
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. About the Author

Cora shifted her weight, wondering if it was wise to tell the truth. “Obelus took me hostage, back when he was in his Similar body, so Ampersand bound himself to me to know where I was. So he’d be able to find me after they took me.”

“WHY WOULD HE DO SUCH A THING?”

“He said . . . he’d do anything to keep me alive, and he couldn’t think of any other way to track me down when Obelus took me. So he tried it, expecting it not to work. But it did.”

Enola’s gaze was beyond focused and well into “intense” territory. “DYNAMIC FUSION BONDS CANNOT BE USED TO DIVINE LOCATION. HE COULD NOT HAVE USED YOUR BOND TO LOCATE YOU IF YOU WERE LOST.”

Before she could respond, she heard the sounds of human feet padding along the pine needle–covered forest floor, and Kaveh reappeared. “All right, I’m ready to go destroy some evidence and then make some phone calls. Hey.” He noticed her expression, and mistook it for MSNBC-related jitters. “It’ll be okay! Are you down to follow me back to Yorba Linda?” She nodded. “Cool, I’ll help you with the prep. It’ll be fun! Not like anything important is on the line.”

She stared at him blankly.

“Okay, I’m sorry about that. I’ve got these defense mechanisms, see. I’ve had a tragic life.” He knelt in front of Enola, gave him an affectionate pat on one of the ridges behind his eyes. “Sorry to leave you alone again.”

“YOU MUST TEND TO YOUR OWN, DEAR CLEVER CREATURE.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow. I can’t release you, but I’d like to negotiate something more, for lack of a better word, humane. Even if dear Beloved does want to keep your movements limited, there has to be a better way to do it than this.”

“YOU ARE VERY KIND, DEAR CLEVER CREATURE.”

“I’ll be back sometime tomorrow, I promise.” He grabbed as many of the trash bags as he could carry, leaving Cora the few remainders. She spared a glance for Enola before she exited. His bright eyes were shining, curious, calculating. Set me free. We are sisters, you and I.

“BE CAREFUL, LITTLE COUSIN.”

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21

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21

Cora stood outside Kaveh’s house for a long time before he came outside to see what the holdup was. “Ah, Willkommen!” he said, leaning on the frame of his front door. “Ready for your life to change?”

Kaveh’s house, or rather, Kaveh’s family’s “investment property,” was fucking huge.