Page 101 of Sorrow & Strangers

“Yuck,” Alice says.

I roll my eyes, my lips tugging up. “Please. With his scent on me, you probably want to fuck me.”

Alice pulls back and yanks the pillow from beneath my head. “You take that back!” she demands, whacking me. I burst out laughing, squealing as she continues to hit me with the fluffy weapon.

“What are you two doing?” Rafe asks, his voice unimpressed.

We both glance at him standing in the doorway, neither of us having heard him enter. My smile dies when I remember his words from earlier. Alice, noticing the change in my demeanor, glances between us and then launches the pillow at Rafe. It hits him in the face, his reflexes still sluggish from the Fall.

I try to hold back my laugh, but I can’t stop it from bubbling out when the pillow catches on something small and sharp protruding from Rafe’s temple. He yelps and grabs it, pulling it away. The small, wicked-sharp horn slices through the fabric, and feathers fill the air.

We stare in silence for a long moment, and then Alice and I dissolve into laughter as feathers float through the room, falling all around us.

Rafe’s cheeks go pink, and he looks at Alice. “This is your fault!”

She snorts. “And?”

“Aren’t you going to clean it up?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Alice shrugs. “Meh. I have a new vacuum.”

I give Alice a look. It surprises me that she even knows the word vacuum. But then she puts two of her fingers between her lips and lets out a loud ­whistle. Heavy footsteps and the sound of claws against hardwood thunder down the hall. Rafe practically jumps out of his skin and falls on his ass trying to get out of the doorway. I gasp and bolt upright in bed as a long, grayish tongue precedes a large Komodo dragon into the room, its dark green scales shining in the light.

“What the Almig— What is that?” Rafe asks, scrambling back to dodge the tongue. Slowly I turn my head and blink at Alice.

The Komodo dragon continues to eat the feathers on the floor. His tongue sweeps over the wooden floors until it is completely covered in feathers before it retracts it. The beast swallows down its prize before doing it again. I grimace when I notice he is leaving residual saliva all over my floor. Waving my hand, a small rune on my wrist illuminates, and the feathers disappear into the netherworld. Even that slight tug on my well of magic reminds me of how drained I still am.

“Summer!” Alice exclaims. “How are we supposed to train the demon baby to have good manners?”

“He wasn’t cleaning it. The . . . reptile was, and that’s not the question, Alice. The question is, why is there a reptile in our house?”

“Well—” Alice begins.

“You know that I’m older than both of you, right? And I am not a pet for you to train,” Rafe says, interrupting us. His eyes remain locked warily on the Komodo dragon circling the room, licking at the floor and seemingly confused by the lack of feathers.

I look between the dragon and the demon and sigh heavily. Do I deal with Rafe first or the giant lizard that has turned my room into a hazard zone with its saliva? Rafe. Definitely Rafe.

I sit up on the bed. “Al, can you take the lizard away? I need to have a word with Rafe, but we will be having a family meeting about your new . . . pet later.”

She nods and slinks away. The creature follows her, his thick tail swishing behind him. I try to think of another rune to remove the saliva from the floor, but when nothing comes to mind, I decide that’s future Summer’s problem.

I pat the bed next to me, inviting Rafe to join me. He sighs and pushes to his feet, making his way across the floor to sit beside me, only slipping on reptile goo twice. Rafe looks at me for a long moment before sighing again and shaking his head.

“I know,” he says, before I even have the chance to start the conversation. “I got upset, but I know my uncle.”

I frown. “I get it, Rafe. But you needed it.”

Rafe nods, and he shifts to face me. “But I need you more.” I meet his gaze. “All right?”

I exhale. I know that can’t have been easy for him to admit. It wouldn’t have been easy for me either.

“Would it help if you knew I didn’t go alone?”

Rafe’s brows draw. “Who did you go with?”

Fuck.

“A friend.” I’m not even sure if it’s a lie anymore. With friends like him, who needs enemies? But he has saved my ass more than once.