“I should go up and knock on the door by myself,” I said. “She might not open the door if you guys are with me.”
“No,” they both said at the same time.
I put my hands on my hips. “Do I need to call Amara?”
Their secondnosounded panicked instead of firm, making me chuckle.
Danzig held up a hand. “I have an idea that would keep us out of sight but make sure you’re not going in there alone.”
“Go on,” I said.
“Remember when I hid in the bag of money that Gio was supposed to trade for you and Mila?” he asked. I nodded, and he continued. “I can make myself small enough to hide on your person. That way you’ll look like you’re alone, but you’ll still have me there to protect you.”
“No, wait, I want to hide in her clothing!” Marduk said, pulling Danzig away from where he was standing and taking his place. Between one blink and the next, Marduk seemed to disappear. His clothes dropped to the ground, empty.
“What the hell!” I exclaimed, jumping back.
Danzig made an aggravated sound. “Dumb bastard, why’d you do that out on the street?"
He knelt down and fished through the clothing until he pulled out a small, familiar dark-green snake. He held Marduk up so they were face-to-face.
“That was rude,” Danzig said with a frown.
Marduk remained still except for a slight wave of his head, but he must’ve been talking to Danzig because I could hear the familiar murmuring in the back of my mind.
Danzig nodded. “Okay, fine, you have a point. But let’s talk about it next time.”
Danzig turned and held Marduk out to me. “He can curl up around your wrist, completely hidden by your motorcycle jacket.”
“It’s a good idea,” I said, holding out my hand, my palm up. Marduk slid from Danzig’s grip and onto my palm. Instead of sliding under my sleeve, he curled up and looked up at me with the most adorable little snake face.
“You’re cute,” I murmured, running a finger over his head and down his back. When I lifted my finger, he grabbed it with his tail and guided it back to his head before letting go.
While I petted Marduk, Danzig picked up the clothing and draped it over his bike, grumbling to himself about annoying brothers.
“That’s enough,” Danzig said, nudging Marduk with his finger, making him hiss and pretend to strike out. “Stop that. Wrap around her arm so we can find out if Gale is even home.”
Marduk hissed one last time at his brother, showing needle-sharp fangs. Then he closed his mouth and uncoiled to slide into my sleeve. He felt warm and soft as he secured himself.
I lifted my arm and hooked a finger in the sleeve to pull it back enough to reveal his head.
“Is that comfortable? Are you sure you’re going to be able to breathe?”
I felt deep contentment coming from him, and he tightened himself around me in a snaky hug. What would it feel like if he was a little bigger and hugged my entire body? Maybe the best bear hug ever, or would that be a serpent hug?
“What are you thinking?” Danzig asked.
I looked up at him, pulled out of my thoughts. “Huh?”
“Your body heated up a little,” Danzig said. “And now you’re blushing. Are you thinking about what Marduk did to you when he was in his larger serpent form?”
I hadn’t been, but now that Danzig said that, memories of our time at Mason’s birthday party made my face get even hotter.
“You are. We could—”
I slapped my hand over his mouth. “Stop!”
His eyebrows lifted, but he remained quiet after I dropped my hand away. “Good boy.”
