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Still, his feathersoft touch sends a shiver up my spine. “I’ve been meaning to do that all day,” he says.
“I thought you came by to warn me, not make out with me.”
“I came by to do both,” he says, his smile turning into a grin. “But I was more looking forward to the second thing than the first, to be perfectly honest with you.”
“Good. I would be offended if you hadn’t been.”
He smiles at me before his eyes darken. “Trine…”
There’s a knot in my throat. I’m pretty sure I know what he’s going to say, but I know I need to hear him say it first. “If you stay with Malon, if you believe what he says, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“But you can’t guarantee my safety no matter what I decide to say or do. It isn’t your job to guarantee my safety at all,” I say. “I just...look, no matter what decision I make, I just want you to stick around. Do you think you can do that?”
“Of course I can do that. It doesn’t matter what you decide to do. My being around isn’t contingent on whether you do what I want or not. I get that this is something deeply personal. I know it’s your choice. That doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“You aren’t angry with me for this?”
“No,” he says quickly. “Of course not.”
I look up at him, searching his face for an explanation. “Why not?” I ask, when he doesn’t offer me an answer.
“Like I said,” he says softly. “I don’t get to tell you what to do. I can try to tell you what I think, and then you can make a decision based on that. But I don’t expect that. None of us do. Right?”
I guess this is the first time I’ve noticed that Rei is looking at us over his shoulder, his eyes narrow. “Of course,” he says. “You can make whatever decisions you need. We’re right here for you.”
“No matter what,” Misha says.
I sigh as he tightens his grip around my shoulder. They both clearly mean it and I instantly heave a sigh of relief. I guess I didn’t realize just how worried I was about this until they both told me that they would stick with me no matter what I decide to do going forward.
I don’t want to ask what it means for them going back to Boston, though. If they have no business here, there’s no reason they should stay.
And if I’m just going to stay possessed…I feel a shiver down my spine as I think about what the implications of that might be. Before I can go too far down that road, the taxi comes to a standstill in front of the gates to our destination.
Rei and Misha both look past me. “Wait,” Misha says. “Where are we?”
“Where we always come when things are fucked up,” I say. “Alana’s house.”
LUKE
Bryony gives the taxi driver directions as if we’re going on a regular trip.
It’s surprising to see how composed she is considering all the weird things that have just happened. The taxi driver doesn’t speak English and none of us speak whatever his mother tongue is–Farsi, I think, though it’s hard to tell–so even with the GPS, it’s a little hard for Bryony to point him the right way.
Even then, she manages to guide him with mostly smiles until we’re right outside the city. I’m not sure exactly which way we’ve gone because I don’t know Orlando that well, but I know that this isn’t in the suburbs.
I also notice that Malon is barely talking. I can’t feel too bad for him, considering he’s a demon and I’m pretty sure that he’s out to hurt Trine. But what he shared did seem to take a lot out of him.
It’s hard for me to read him. It’s part of my job to try and understand what people do and why they do it, and to guide them toward something better. But Malon isn’t people.
He’s a demon.
I don’t know if it’s my job to help him.
And if he’s trying to hurt Trine…everything in me says that I need to protect her from him. But if that’s not what she wants, then what the fuck am I supposed to do?
Bryony seems to read my mind. She turns to look at me from the front seat, tucking a strand of dyed pink hair behind her ear. “She’s going to be okay,” she says. “I mean, I don’t know what all of you were talking about in there, but Trine is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
That seems to catch Malon’s attention. He straightens up, throwing his shoulders back, his eyes widening. “What do you mean?”
