Page 36 of Realm of the Wicked

Not me. Even the way he’d told me I deserved someone to look out for me for a change. It was all just a bloody game to him.

That was fine. I could accept it. I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, and if Grace was truly safe, I could make peace with my life here.

It had never been about me anyway. Not since my parents died. It had always been about her. And she was safe, so I could live with that.

I didn’t even bother looking over at the shadows in the corners outside my room. If the Nihil wanted me that badly, they could have me. But the shadows stayed silent as I slammed my bedroom door shut behind me. Pressing my back into the door, I slid to the floor with a groan.

If I was so certain I could live like this, I didn’t know why I felt like such a mess. I didn’t want to look too closely at the fact that my instincts were telling me to run back to Damien.

Archie meowed, and my eyes widened as I found him curled up next to Luna. On my bed. ‘Absolutely not,’ I said to the Hellhound, who was currently making herself comfortable on my pillows. I pointed to the door. ‘Go find Damien. Actually, on second thought, go find Agatha. Damien’s in a miserable mood.’

With a baleful glare, Luna got to her long legs and stalked toward the door, but not before butting her head into my hand.

I grabbed Archie and clutched him to my chest. ‘Hey, buddy,’ I whispered, running my hands through his perfect white fur. ‘I’m a bit of a mess, aren’t I? Ridiculous, really. You’d think I’d be a bit more concerned about being trapped in the Fringe, but I’m more annoyed that Damien didn’t even bother to look at my dress.’

Archie stared up at me with petulant eyes, confirming my worst fears.

‘I know. I know. We’ll get through this, won’t we? Besides, according to Clarissa, it’s not forever.’ I stroked his head as he purred, settling in my lap. ‘Either Damien gets away with not taking my soul, and I live a perfectly normal-length life, or Clarissa finds out and that’s the end of me. Cheerful, right?’

Archie opened a singular eye, pinning me with an annoyed glare, and offered a meow.

‘Sorry. I’m not exactly in an optimistic mood tonight.’ I yawned, resting my head against the door. ‘I think I just need to sleep. I’ll feel better in the morning, when the sun is shining. Or the moon. Whatever it is here. What do you think Grace is doing right now? Do you think she misses us?’

The knowledge that Grace wouldn’t miss me hit me like a bullet to the chest. She wouldn’t miss me, because she couldn’t. The first tear slipped out before I could stop it, and once they started, I couldn’t stop them.

Before long, I was sobbing, curled up at the foot of my door with Archie in my lap. I cried for the life I didn’t even know I wanted, the life I didn’t know I was capable of losing.

* * *

I must’ve cried myself to sleep, because the next thing I knew, there was a knock inches away from my head. I jolted upright, Archie glaring at me and rushing back to his perch on the bed. Sunlight streamed in through the soft open curtains.

‘Sorry,’ I murmured, rubbing my back as I took inventory. My eyes felt swollen, and my back was stiff in multiple places. Obviously, I was not young enough to be crashing on the floor any more.

Pulling myself to my feet, I stretched, doing my best to work out the knots already settling into place. Agatha was probably waiting on the other side of the door for me, and I didn’t want to scare her off with my current state. I was still dressed in my clothes from the night before, but I wasn’t about to make her wait while I changed. With one last scrub of my hands over my face, I pulled open the door.

The hallway was empty. I stuck my head out the door, looking either way, but neither Agatha nor Damien was in sight. Shit. Probably something else that wanted to kill me.

I stepped back to close the door, and a gleam of silver caught my eye. On the floor just outside my room sat a small, silver speaker, an outdated MP3 player sitting on top.

On top of them sat a note.

I’m sorry.

Damien. With one last look down the hallway, I snatched my prize and hurried back into my room with a smile on my face.

He wasn’t great at apologizing, to be sure, but how many times did the Devil really have to apologize to a human? The fact that he’d heard me, remembered what I said, and had the thought to even give me this was… a lot to process.

My heart felt like it was swelling, beating a bit too fast, and I felt helpless to stop it. I barely knew him, and yet sometimes, it felt like I’d known him forever.

Archie eyed me carefully from the bed while I set up my speaker, scrolling through the music. It wasn’t quite my taste, but the options were a lot better than they could be. Somehow, I couldn’t imagine these being Damien’s choice in music, either. Agatha must have had a hand in this, and the image of Damien skulking back to the kitchen to ask for help after he was such a dick brought me almost as much joy as the speaker did.

I settled on a rock song, letting the music slowly fill the room, absorbing the heavy silence I’d been sitting in since I arrived. Immediately, my soul felt a little lighter. I dug through the wardrobe until I found some casual clothes, pulling them on while the song shifted to the next. Grabbing the book I’d inadvertently stolen from the library, I flopped back on the bed, oddly content. For the first time in years, I didn’t have responsibilities.

The morning passed peacefully while I read, Archie on my lap, and the speaker filling in the gaps. I found myself lost in the fictional world in front of me, so much so, I only realized Damien was in the room when he called my name. With wide eyes, I stuffed the book beneath my pillow, not wanting to get caught with his book of all things.

Archie, upon noticing the open door, rushed out, presumably to find his new best friend.

‘Shit!’