Page 80 of Devoured

Portia rolls her eyes. “Obviously, it’s a crown.”

“But… it’s pink.” Evie’s lip curls in revulsion.

“And orange,” Portia adds with a soft smile. “The colors of the lesbian flag. I thought you should have a piece of your culture to cherish.”

Evie seems torn between throttling Portia and lighting the crown on fire. “I am Korean.”

Portia crawls closer, leaning in to conspiratorially whisper, “You’re also a lesbian.”

Evie groans, and I can’t help the laugh that bursts from my lips. Though it makes my head pound harder, I don’t care.

“You don’t need to say it like it’s a dirty secret,” Evie says.

“Oh, I know. I am so proud of the woman you are becoming—”

“No.” Evie slices a curt hand between us. “Gods, no. Even my parents didn’t give me this talk. I’m gay, not terminal.”

Portia lifts her chin and announces, “And I—am heterosexual.”

Evie groans again as I fall backward on the bed, dissolving in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. For once, I don’t think of Celeste or Oona. Not because I don’t miss them, but because—for this one second—I almost feel normal again. Almost feel like a person. The war will always be there to fight, and the grief and the heartache, but Portia’s cheerful wink? It exists too, and that means something.

“You don’t need to come out as straight, Portia,” Evie snaps.

“I’m offering you solidarity.”

“What a good ally you are. Here, have a crown.” Evie throws the flower crown at Portia, who catches it with an evil grin. “Now, please, shut up.”

I can’t stop laughing now. My head aches. My sides ache. Tears drip down my cheeks. I curl tighter, as if it might muffle the sounds, but I just can’t stop. Portia turns to me and asks brightly, “And you, Vanessa? Is there anything you’d like to declare?”

“I didn’t declare that I was gay,” Evie growls, though a small smile twitches on her lips.

I stifle my laughter enough to say, “I… don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I don’t really care about gender at all—”

“Fantastic.” Evie leaps to her feet. “Now that that’s cleared up, let’s discuss anything else. Before I start reading Kaax’s letters with fondness.”

Portia giggles. “Sure.” Glancing at me, she says with a sly glint in her eyes, “Okay, Vanessa—kiss, marry, kill. Calix, Sin, and Evelyn.”

Evie picks up a pillow and launches it at Portia’s head, and the three of us burst into another fit of laughter. I never want it to stop. I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed this way.

Portia stands too soon, however, after her stomach gives an audible growl. “We’ve been in here all day!” she protests when Evie snorts, pressing a hand to her stomach before adding with dignity, “I am going to supper now. I’ll bring you both back some food.”

She departs without another word, leaving Evie and me sprawled on the bed alone. Our laughter gradually fades into silence. Not an uncomfortable one, just… quiet. Companionable. Even the pain in my head seems to subside. “I’m glad you’re back,” I murmur after another moment.

She turns to look at me without speaking. Then, when I think she might roll her eyes, her expression softens. “I’m glad you didn’t die in the dungeon.”

Warmth spreads through my chest at her words. Truth. And maybe I don’t know where I stand with Sin or Calix, but at least I know where I stand with her. That’s enough. For now, it’s more than enough to have a friend in a place like this—and Portia too. The three of us. Together. My chest warms further at the realization. I have friends.

For the first time in months, I’m really not alone.

28

SINCLAIR

DID YOU FIND OUT ANY MORE INFORMATION?” I ASK.

Arielle perches on my bed, on the same rumpled sheets still laced with the scent of Vanessa, her hair knotted in a messy pile of auburn curls atop her head. She pushes a few strands out of the way, and her Delta brown gaze widens. She always looks so innocent, or maybe naive.

Often, I find myself jealous of that naivete. Of Arielle’s ability to sit there with claws prodding at her fingers—a werewolf’s heart beating in her chest, fangs close to puncturing her gums—and still remain human enough to flinch, to fear with her whole heart. She is afraid of so much. She hasn’t stopped being afraid since she stepped foot in this hideous place.