Slip Song (Devany Miller Series) by Jen Ponce Read Free Book Online Page A

would never understand what it was like to be Ravana’s play thing. Ellison and I were her favorites. What you saw her do to me was a gentle pat compared to the stuff she thought up over the years. Perhaps I feel like I owe you for saving my sanity.”
    Don’t trust him. Don’t trust him. I chanted that over and over in my head. Abusers often used sad stories to rope in their victims. Tytan was savvy enough to do the same. I wanted to believe him, which also made me wary. “Do you think you could find Arsinua for me? I need her help to get this heart under control and I have no idea where to start looking.”
    “ When she wants to hide, she does a damn good job of it. But I will find her. Count on it. I’ll come to you when I do.”
    Uh. “Not when my kids are around, please.”
    He nodded. “Of course.” A pause. “Will you help me find Cyres?” Seeing the look on my face, he held up his hands. “If you find her and protect her, that will be enough.”
    Right. “I’ll try. If I can find her and get her somewhere safe, I’ll do that.”
    We stared at each other. I itched to stick my hand out so we could shake on it but damn it I had to stop touching him. Instead I slipped my hands into my back pockets. “I’ll see you in a week, if not sooner.” I formed the hook and stepped through it before he could say or do anything else that might tip my world into further imbalance.
    I was back in my room and my eyes went to the clock. Five minutes had gone by, those five minutes spent dumping Vasili off outside the homeless shelter. Yawning hard enough to hurt my jaw, I fell into bed with my clothes on hoping I would go right to sleep.
    But there was Tom to think about. Tom and his horrible death. Tom’s golden soul tucked safely inside my body. Who would I talk to about that? Arsinua? She would freak out. Maybe Marantha.
    I sat up, my heart thudding at the sudden thought. I’d had Arsinua inside me. Marantha had helped me force Arsinua’s soul into a Skriven construct I’d named Lucy, thereby giving Arsinua a new life.
    Could I get Tytan to help me make another Formless One and push Tom’s soul into it? Could I bring him back to life?
    I curled into a tight ball, my mind racing along with my heart. The steady beat, beat of my blood through my veins made me feel like it would explode out of my skin at any minute. Making a Formless one was horrible, soul-wrenching work. I’d vowed I would never do it again.
    How would I explain Tom’s sudden reappearance?
    No. I couldn’t do it. It would be wrong. He was gone.
    Still. To give the kids back their father would be the most amazing miracle. I knew how to do the transfer. The question was, could I do it again?

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    -SIX-
     
     
    Bethy woke me early, crawling into bed, her face swollen and eyes red. “I hoped it was just a bad dream but it wasn’t, was it?”
    I hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. “No. I’m so sorry.” Her ragged breathing tore at me. “He’ll always be with us. In our hearts and memories. We keep him here by talking about him and remembering the moments we spent with him.” My own breath hitched in my chest.
    Grief is a funny thing. It stretches time out to agonizing slowness and yet the last moments we had with our loved ones before they died were too short, too brief. To make it worse, Tom and I hadn’t had many nice things to say to each other the last few months. He’d hurt me plenty with his cheating. I’d hurt him by ending our marriage. Why is it we lose sight of the fragility of life so easily? Get angry, stomp off to work, only to never see that person again because of a freak accident, a heart attack, a murder.
    “ It won’t always hurt this bad, sweetheart.” When my mom died, I couldn’t cope with her loss. I would forget she was gone and dial her number. I’d drive halfway across town only to remember she’d died. I’d try to remember who my first grade teacher was and