I liked the sound of that, even if the thought of facing Violence made me want to throw up.
“Is this okay?” he asked after a moment, the only sound coming from the whisper of wind outside. “I don’t want to presume just because we have a bond now—”
“Pain,” I cut him off, angling my head to kiss the pulse in his throat. So beautifully and startlingly alive, even though he was dead. “It’s okay. More than okay. I know this is new, and we barely knew each other before we were put in those iron coffins but—”
I swallowed, reached for all my bravery and boldness so I could face the memory. The feeling of cold metal on everyside of me, the way my breath rebounded on my face, the claustrophobic lack of space, so tight I could barely twitch my hands.
“I wouldn’t have gotten through that without you. Any of it. Not the iron maiden or fighting Cruelty or what happened in that room with Violence. We’re not just bonded because I can feel you; we’re bonded because we went through that hell together. And I give you full permission to hug me, any time you want.”
“Well, in that case I’m not letting go,” he joked. Or maybe he was serious. Either way, I was in no rush to leave his arms.
“Pain,” I murmured after another long stretch of silent moments, companionable and comfortable. “I wasn’t the only one locked in that place. And what thatthingforced you to relive—”
“I’m fine,” he assured me.
“How quickly you answered makes metotallybelieve you.”
He groaned softly. “Curse my inability to lie.”
I tentatively lifted my arms and slid them around his waist, holding him to me. “Talk to me.”
He shrugged. “Crappy childhood. Trauma I wasn’t able to drop even when I died and became a god. What else is there to say?”
I tipped my head back to look at him, reached up to brush a curl off his forehead, smiling at the flickers of shadow brushing my shoulders, my arm, tracking my movements. “Is he dead?”
“Yeah. I tracked him down in the domain a while back. Made sure he was given eternal suffering and all that jazz. It didn’t make me feel any better about all the times he fucked with my head.”
“He’ll suffer forever,” I murmured, “and you’ll have a life full of happiness and affection and Madde’s nipple tassels.”
He groaned. “Stop. I’m trying to forget the way he spun them earlier. You’d think being blind would have spared me, but my own magic betrayed me. The mental images were too clear.”
“What can I say? My man’s got talent.” I smiled, the first genuine smile since I’d woken. “He’s a burlesque superstar.”
“I’m going to see heart-shaped sequins every time I close my eyes.”
“You know he’d sayyou’re welcome.”
“And give me another show, for free,” Pain agreed, his smile wider, brighter. “I like him. I like all of them. My brother-husbands.”
Now it was my turn to groan. I couldn’t believe that term had caught on.
“I can think of worse people to call family,” he added tentatively. “If you plan on keeping me that is.”
“You’re mine.” I leaned up to kiss him, a tender brush of my lips to his. “I’m keeping you.”
His smile this time was as bright as the sunlight of his soul, like literal sparkles. I had no choice but to kiss him again, deeper this time. We hadn’t really spoken about the ghosts that kept us awake, but I felt lighter anyway, his presence and gentle care a balm to my bruises. When we got back in bed, my sleep was undisturbed by nightmares.
At least until we rose in the morning.
CHAPTER 26
CAT
“I’m going to kill them,” Miz hissed, rattling and deep. A hooded cloak of shadow covered his body, not a single glint within the darkness. No glowing eyes, no skull—a total void with a voice like gravel and death. “I’m going to rip them into pieces and feed them to that army of stalkers.”
“No, you’re not,” I said calmly, stepping into his path as he whipped around the room like a tornado. He rushed past me, shadows trickling over my arm and making me shudder at the icy brush. “If you kill them, we’ll never find Peach. She’s our first priority.”
His answer was a guttural hiss.
