A sign of struggle.
“Oh no,” I moan, propping myself up on shaky wrists. “Oh,fuck no.” I stumble from her living room into the kitchen. “Evie? Please,please.”
But there’s no one here. Her kitchen is tidy, but there’s a stack of dirty dishes in the sink.
A sob catches in my throat, snags on my tonsils.She’s fucking gone.
I have to find Orfeo and Leo. I have to tell them. We have to save her. I hope we can still save her.
I take off to the bathroom where I avoid my reflection and scrub the filth from my hands and arms. I’m still covered in Alfo’s foul blood, thick and black like gutter sludge. I know it’s on every inch of me. I scrub at my face and watch big chunks of it flake off and circle the drain. It’s in my hair too, but I don’t have time to take care of that. I rush into her bedroom and rip off my filthy clothes, rifling through her dresser until I find leggingsand a sweater. Then, I steal socks and pray we wear a similar shoe size.
I shove my feet into a pair of sneakers, but as I’m lacing them up, I notice a pair of glowing green eyes in the doorway.
I freeze.
They’re far too close to the ground to be a demon.
Then, the shadow meows.
“It’s you,” I whisper. The black kitten Evie hadn’t found a home for yet. Poor baby. How long have they been here alone?
I stand slowly and approach the cat. They try to make a run for it between my legs, but I snag them up into my arms.
“You poor little thing.” Irrationally, tears spring to my eyes. My face aches with the need to cry. “How long has it been since you ate?”
I don’t have time to dwell. I search her pantries for the kitten food, then yank on one of Evie’s jackets and tuck the kitten into my breast pocket. I hold the cat close as I head back out into the night.
Leo lets me into Hades House through the back service door. He, too, looks like he just crawled out of hell. And didn’t we? We may not have crossed the Styx, but we fought off more demons and hellion beasts than Hades has guarding his fortress.
His face is marred by fresh gashes that chart the violence of his attacker. His neck is already starting to show signs of deep, purple bruising. When he waves me inside and starts down the basement steps, I notice the way he sways with a limp.
Halfway down, he comes to an abrupt stop and turns to me.
We’ve never been this close before.
His eyes are so green. Glassy and bloodshot, and yet still so pretty.
“He was gone, Diantha.”
I choke on my next breath. Then, I force the word out between my teeth: “Gone?”
“He’s back now, but…I can’t make any promises that he’ll be exactly as he was before.” His voice trembles, and I’m momentarily terrified I might have to find a way to comfort Leo, even as my heart actively rips apart in my chest.
“But he’s not gone?”
“No.” Leo presses his lips together into a compact, grave smile. “He survived because of your blood.”
Orfeo
I awaken in my bed,in my loft, in my carriage house.
I am naked, but I am not alone.
First, I see Diantha’s stuffed dog slumped against the pillow beside me. Tucked into the sheets with me, his vacant eyes warming my undead heart.
I stir and find Leo sitting on a chair beside my bed, those big, pretty eyes going wide with shock. Then his mouth falls open to form an O. He jumps to his feet. “Diantha.He’s awake!”
“Really?!”
