Saint looked up at that moment, their gazes locking, increasing the warmth in the room tenfold.
“Best night of my life,” he whispered. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m drunk, okay?”
Knight smiled, helplessly ensnared. “It was the best night of my life, too. And I’m not drunk at all.”
“Best night ofyourlife? Truly?”
“Truly. Honestly,” Knight said seriously.
Saint stared deeply into his eyes, his own eyes burning with naked longing. Knight’s grip around his hips tightened.
“Thank you, again. You made it—I don’t know if it would have been the same without you. It just felt so good to have you there. To—to be like that. With you. Even if it was pretend.”
Knight’s insides once again felt too big for his ribs. “I wasn’t pretending.” He heard Saint’s heartbeat stutter, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. It told him perhaps Saint hadn’t been pretending, either. “And I thought I told you not to thank me.”
Saint bit his lower lip, but he was smiling. “Where are you?” he whispered, lifting his hand to cup then pat his face, his movements clumsy, still affected by his inebriation.
Knight frowned, about to respond that he was right here, when he realised. Oh. He’d forgotten. For some odd reason, he found his heart racing like he’d just escaped a sentry’s chase as he let his human skin melt away.
Saint sighed. He brushed his fingers against the shell of his ear, lightly tracing over the pointed tip. “There you are.”
Knight felt scraped raw. Tender. “Here I am.”
“Kiss me until I fall asleep?”
Knight couldn’t refuse him. Not when he wanted it, too. He adjusted them until they were on their sides, then dutifully joined their lips, kissing his human soft and sweet until he finally fell asleep.
The moment Saint fell into a deep sleep, Knight decided to pay a visit to Hell. At first, he hesitated, afraid that the journey through the Veil would break his tether to Saint, but reassuredhimself that nothing but him fulfilling their contract could break their bond.
He still breathed a sigh of relief when he appeared in Almianck forest, and the bond remained strong and firm in his chest. He exhaled yet another sigh of relief when saw that his fellow nicquiris hadn’t yet moved to a new spot. Had it really only been two days? It felt like he’d lived an entire lifetime since he’d made his contract with Saint.
He was filled with a strange tension and excitement as he searched around for Pink, taking care to keep out of sight of the other demons. They were gathered around a makeshift fire, their voices just a little too shrill, telling Knight they’d probably just finished dreamscaping and were coming down from their high off the druntreame. Knight felt a pang, even though the thought of his contract with Saint ending and him having to return to this life made him feel a little ill.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand grabbed his arm. He spun around, his smile widening and then fading.
“Pink! What happened?”
Pink had swollen, black circles underneath her eyes, which were a bit sunken. Her lips were dry and cracked, her hands slightly trembling.
“Come on.” She tugged his arm, her wings jerking. Knight took her cue, lifting into the air a few ways away until she landed on the thick branch of one of the trees. She eyed him carefully. “You look different.”
Knight tried but couldn’t stop his smile. Almighty, if this was the reason Pink had been glowing all this time—
“I made a mistake.”
Knight’s slight smile disappeared. “What?”
Pink reached out, her claws digging into his arm. “I made a mistake. I-I gave her my name. MyTrueName.”
Knight stared at her with slowly dawning horror. Giving someone your True Name was the ultimate show of trust, commitment and devotion for a demon. If what Pink was implying—to twist that trust like a knife; Knight couldn’t begin to imagine it.
“I need to know how—how can I rid her of this power over me? Is there a way to reverse—to render the Name useless? I don’t know what to do.”
Knight felt painfully helpless. “I don’t know,” he whispered.
Pink made an anguished sound. She buried her face in her knees, shaking. “I trusted her. I gave her everything, and I thought she felt the same, but all she’d wanted was a—apet!” She snarled the word out. “A guard dog and a magician to get rid of all her problems without her having to lift a finger. Fuck, I can’t believe I was so gullible!”
Knight adjusted his position so he could pull Pink into his arms, holding her tight. He didn’t know what to say. “Sorry” would be painfully inadequate.
