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"I was so worried about you," he whispered

"I know I’ like this wouldn’t happen again because we both kneould Like it or not, violence was a part of my life It had been ever since I was thirteen, and it wouldn’t stop now just because Mab was dead But I was the Spider, and Fletcher had trained me to face whatever the world threay He’d ain, to take her and more determined than before I wasn’t about to disappoint the old one

I pulled back, stood on ently kissed Owen He returned ainsthim I closed ainsthis warmth spill into the cold, dark places in ht And then I sighed with relief, with love, with everything I felt for hi into words

"I know," he whispered again "Me too"

I could have spent the rest of the day in Owen’s strong, co as that was, it wouldn’t solve the problem of how to kill Dekes Like it or not, it was tiain So I opened my eyes and pressed another kiss to Owen’s lips before slipping out of his arerator door and eyed all the vittles inside that we’d brought ho over and doing the sa to the cabinets Once I’d taken stock of everything, I started grabbing the items I wanted Butter, salad fixings, and more soon crowded onto the kitchen counters

"You’re not seriously going to cook now, are you?" Bria asked, eyeing the boxes and bottles that I’d lined up in neat rows "Shouldn’t you still be resting?"

"I think I’ve rested enough," I said "Besides, I’irl"

My sister didn’t sallows hu through the drawers, looking for dishes, glasses, silverware, and more Finn, Owen, Sophia, and Jo-Jo settled the rooot to work First I added a generous dash of salt and black pepper to the flour that I’d poured into a small, shallow dish Then I cleaned and soaked the chicken in a bowl full of butter it in the flour mixture A few seconds later, the first piece sizzled when I put it in the skillet full of olive oil that I’d heated on the stove More pieces joined that first one, until the sot all the chicken in the skillet, I took the rest of the buttermilk that was left in the carton anda thick, creamy batter, while a black cast-iron skillet went into the preheated oven so that the shortening I’d coated it ouldwas one of my passions in life, and it never failed to make me feel better, even if I’d alht The fa soothed me, as did the aros in the air By the time I slid a pan of cornbread into the oven to bake, I was starting to feel likespinach salad, I told the others what had happened at Dekes’s mansion How the vamp had knoho I was thanks to McAllister and how Dekes had used Vanessa and Victoria as hostages against ed me into submission How I’d pretended to be dead and had found h the marsh over here to the other side of the island The only things I skimmed over were the brutal details of the vamp’s attack on et every drop ofthe toainst each other," Finn said "Vanessa can’t leave or fight back because Dekes has Victoria as leverage"

"And he’s draining the blood and their ain," I said "That’s probably why I didn’t sense Vanessa’s ic, because Dekes had recently fed off her And Victoria was in really bad shape: thin, unconscious, and ane before Dekes kills her Then he’ll do the sa to Vanessa because he won’t have her sister to keep her in line anymore After that, he’ll find so the to them He’s one sick bastard"

"Sick," Sophia rasped

The sound of the Goth dwarf’s hoarse, broken voice reminded me that I wasn’t the only one here who’d been tortured Many years ago, Sophia had been kidnapped by a man named Harley Gris Gri her breathe in elemental Fire, which had destroyed her vocal cords Jo-Jo could have easily healed Sophia and made her voice whole once more, but the Goth dwarf had refused her sister’s offer I supposed Sophia felt the same way about her ruined vocal cords as I did about my spider rune scars They were both reh - of e’d survived

I looked at Sophia and saw the sadness that always glittered in her black eyes My suffering at the hands of Dekes had been nothing to what she’d endured with Grith to survive all the horrors Griest people I knew, and sheto be, I vowed Because I’d be damned if I left Blue Marsh while Dekes was still alive

"So what happened on your end?" I asked, turning the pieces of chicken over in the skillet so that the other sides could brown

Finn shrugged "We could all tell that Dekes’s giants were getting a little too interested in us, especially after you left with the ood our getaway We slipped away froiants followed us They chased us into another wing of the mansion, well away from the press conference"

"Did you have any trouble with them?" I asked

"Not after I blasted the first one’s brains out of his skull with the help of my new silencer," Finn said in a not-so-ht be a slick, polished invests off a fly with any gun he picked up Finn was even better with firearms than I was, and he always had one or two tucked away on his body soht ofon theelse the va away ot a little upset that his buddy’s blood was all over his face," Finn continued "Which gave Owen enough ti with it"

"It was solid silverstone," Owen said "A couple of good whacks across the back of the head, and the second giant went down"

Not too long ago, I’d seen Owen take on a group of giants using a blackshter he was He could wield heavy, blunt weapons just as easily as I could knives

"It was a thing of beauty, wasn’t it, Owen?" Finn asked

The two h five across the table Bria rolled her eyes and shook her head at their antics

"And while the boys were congratulating therabbed another candlestick and took care of a third giant who’d snuck up behind them and was about to squeeze Finn’s head between his hands like it was an oversize lemon"

Finn draped his arm overthat I will be forever grateful for, cupcake"

"If you don’t stop calling me cupcake, I’ll hit you with the candlestick next tiroused, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face