He nodded slowly. “It is the same, yes. Exactly the same. Which I realized when I was sitting here, waiting for you. That’s why I called and made an appointment for Mordecai before you got here. The details will be delivered to you tomorrow. I’ve prepaid for the procedure, but everything’s in his name. I meant it as an apology, of sorts, for having forced your hand. But now…” His smile drifted back. “Let’s call it a nod of respect, for misjudging you…while still getting my way.”

An unexpected laugh shook me. I looked away, trying to get my bearings. This version of Kieran was the man his minions saw, I had no doubt. A real guy with a surprising sense of humor. If I was around this guy too much, I was liable to forget about his possessive, domineering side. And that was dangerous.

“You bought the blanket for Mordecai before you knew what I was,” I said, back to reality (except for the deep ache that would not go away). “Why? Or could you feel what I was even then?”

“Without assessing you, I never could’ve known the entirety of what you are.”

I shifted on the seat. This was the second time he’d alluded to my being more than someone who could see and work with/boss around spirits. But before I could ask about it, he’d already plunged on.

“My mother died a slow death,” he said. “The sickness of a selkie kept from her skin is like cancer. I watched her erode from the inside out.” He clenched his jaw, and rage burned brightly in his eyes. “Toward the end, we couldn’t rely on in-home care. We needed machines. Equipment. It was in those trips that I learned, firsthand, what it was to be poor and sick. What it was to see suffering people who couldn’t get help. At first, I shrugged off most of it. I ignored it. But one day, a child with a scarf on her head walked by, so weak she could barely keep upright. She was dying, but her parents couldn’t afford treatment to ease her pain. It…” He turned away. “It woke me up, to say the least. It struck me deeply. So when I saw you studying those blankets, trying to figure out a way to afford the one that would comfort him most…” He shook his head. “It was the least I could do. A tiny gesture.”

“It wasn’t a tiny gesture for him.” I shrugged and smiled. “Well, it wouldn’t have been if the situation hadn’t involved stalking and unresponsive mace.”

“We’ve already discussed my struggle to avoid being like my father.”

“Right, yes. Yes, we did. Anyway…” I clasped my hands and leaned forward, not really sure where to go from here. My perception of him was changing. Had changed.

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, since now we’d be working together, or a really, really bad thing.

“Anyway,” he said, mimicking me, back to facing the ocean. “I’ll let you get your affairs in order and look over the contract. After Mordecai is seen to—if you haven’t changed your mind—then let one of my guys know. We can handle the paperwork and get started.”

Hearing the finality in his voice, I stood from the bench. “No one gave me their phone number. Besides, my phone is dead, remember? It’s sitting in a bowl of rice, but won’t turn back on.”

“Just walk outside and let them know. They won’t be far.”

I froze in my turn. “Wait. They’re going to keep hanging around my house?” He didn’t answer, which I took for a yes. “But what about my free will? And this job being my choice?”

“Working for me is your choice. Sharing my bed is your choice. Setting up protection for you is my choice.”

“Protection? From who, random bored spirits who want to chat? The only person I need protection from is you.”

He turned and hit me with a hard stare. “You will never need protection from me. I hope I just proved that. But the magical world is not a kind place. You’ve drawn my interest. That will be noticed, despite my attempts to safeguard the knowledge. Your magic will draw more interest still, if someone pokes around. I’m being cautious. I told you, I protect what is mine.”

I put my hands out, my mouth hanging open, completely incredulous. All the soft warmth that had been building over our conversation flew out the window. “We literally just talked about this. You said you didn’t want to corner me into doing your bidding.”

“I’m not cornering you. I’m safeguarding you.”

“Yeah, until you browbeat me into submitting to you.”

Passion sparked in his eyes. A smile curled his lips. “I very much want you to submit to me, but I don’t need to browbeat you to do it. I must merely wait until you’re ready. You want me, Alexis. I can see it, even now. Even in your anger. You crave me, as I do you. One day you’ll give in. I was raised among the Irish. I know what it is to be stubborn. To dig in one’s heels and never say die. You don’t have it in you. Not in this. You’ll come around, and when you do, I’ll show you delights you’ve only dreamed of.”

Tight bands of desire squeezed my chest. My legs trembled. I didn’t dare speak because I wasn’t sure what I’d say.

“You haven’t asked what was in your file, Alexis. Are you not curious about your results?”

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, fighting through the hunger boiling my blood.

“I’d planned to keep them from you, but…” He walked toward me slowly. I stood frozen, unable to back away. Not allowing myself to go forward. “You’re more powerful when you control your fate. One day you’ll be my equal in all but power, and I have every reason to suspect you’ll find a way around that. Or else your wards will.”

He smiled again, stopping mere inches in front of me. He looked down into my eyes.

“I’m scared to know those results,” I blurted, betraying myself. “I’m scared it will change my life, and endanger the kids.”

“It will change your life. I’ll make sure it doesn’t endanger those kids.” His warm hands cupped my shoulders before sliding down my arms. “You have the blood of Hades in you. It’s potent. You are not a Demigod—but as a class five, his gifts have manifested in you in intriguing ways. You are a Spirit Walker, Alexis. You are the rarest and highest form of necromancer. But more, your gifts have been amplified by the boost of divine blood. That is why you can see spirits as though they were people. That is why you can easily call them, send them over the Line, bring them back—all of it. You are one in a million.”

I stared mutely, horror-struck. “I’m a soul stealer? I joked about that the other day to some Chester. Without knowing it, I was actually being truthful.”

His hand came up and he traced a thumb across my chin. “You have that ability, yes. To rip a person’s soul out of their body.” He stepped back and drew a line down his chest. He fisted his hands near his middle and then spread them, as though pulling open a trench coat to flash me. “I felt it the first time I met you. I feel it right now. It’s a helpless feeling. Terrifying, if I’m being honest. More so because you don’t know you’re doing it. You don’t know how to control it.”

I clasped my hands together. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes. Exactly.” He stepped closer again, and this time ran his thumb over my bottom lip.

I barely felt it.

Shock riddled my body. Fear. Disgust.

Soul Stealers were the most ruthless villains in any magical society. Everyone knew that. They could walk through a battle and rip the very life out of a person. Then they could shove that life right back in, creating a sea of walking corpses. Lifeless bodies lay in their wake, or mindless drones followed behind them. It was like being an extremely powerful Necromancer and an Encourager rolled into one, and the very idea made me shiver.

“I’m not one of those,” I spat. “Your test is wrong.”

He studied me for a moment. “In the hands of my father, you would become everything you fear, but I will not let that happen to you, Alexis. I swear it. I will protect you, from him and from myself. You already have a just and moral heart. You help others. You protect the realm of the dead, whether you realize it or not. That is the job of the Spirit Walker. A soul stealer is what happens when the corrupt prey on the less powerful. When good people are mind-raped and used for ill.” His grip was hard on my arms. His eyes held ruthless determination. “Trust in me, Alexis. I am not always a good person, I don’t always have the best of intentions, but I will not allow that to happen to you. I will protect you with my dying breath. I vow it.”

I blinked back tears, fear and hope swirling into a cocktail in my stomach. I didn’t want to believe the results. Couldn’t. But I wanted to believe he’d protect me. If the results were true, I wanted him on my side, even though he was…him.

“I have to think about all this,” I said.

His eyes roamed my face. He nodded slowly.

“I want proof.”

He nodded again.

“That’s why you thought you could find out who my father is. He’s a Demigod.” My heart tightened with the words that came out of my mouth. I could scarcely believe it. And if it were true, I knew my mother had known. She must have. And given her love of assholes…