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Well, being with them really is never boring.
“All right,” I say, after taking a moment to digest that first piece of information.
Elias smiles. “That is in very simplistic terms. It simply happens that a very small fraction of an energy frequency that would be defined as ‘human’ became… hmm. Are you at all familiar with quantum entanglement? The concept is similar.”
“Quantum entanglement?” I echo. And here I thought I was joking about demon metaphysics being a thing.
“Inexorably linked. The energy of that human soul became entangled with the energy of mine. Whatever and whoever it may have been before is irrelevant. That energy is now part of me and is intrinsic to who I am. I would not be who I am now without it. There is no separating it because it is not separate from myself.”
“You can’t even call us, like, part demon, part human. It doesn’t work like that. And also, if you call me human, I’ll fuckin’ punt ya.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” I say, offering a small, supportive smile to Caelan.
“He is correct. We are something else entirely, neither one nor the other.”
“Like... a cake?” I suggest.
Elias slowly raises an eyebrow. “How so?”
I laugh at his bemused expression. “I mean. You have separate, distinct ingredients to make a cake, right? Sugar, butter, eggs, and flour, whatever. But combine them together and cook them and what you end up with is something new entirely. Utterly unrecognizable as any of its components, and it’s completely impossible to ever get any of the original ingredients back out. Cake is cake, not sugar and butter and eggs and flour. And you’re Elias, not mostly demon Elias and some part human.”
Caelan sniggers. “That’sadorable.”
Elias considers this. “I suppose so. The basic notion is not incorrect if you apply the same concept to energy instead of matter.”
Caelan perks up, much more interested in the conversation. “What kind of cake would Elias be?”
“I think you’re missing the point, Caelan,” Elias says.
I laugh. “A super rich, dark chocolate cake, with some strawberries and different fruits on top.”
“I’d eat that.”
“You’d eat anything. Also, please don’t literally eat Elias.”
“I’d eat himout,literally,” Caelan amends, and I choke back an inelegant snort.
Elias is looking at the two of us with a mix of amusement and exasperation. The conversation has gotten a tad derailed, I’ll admit, but maybe that’s for the best. I still have so many questions.How does that even happen, for one?But Elias is a very private person, and I’ve pried enough.
I lean in and press a soft kiss to his lips. “Thank you, though. For taking the time to explain.”
Elias grips my waist and lifts me just enough to sit me on the wooden railing along the edge of the pier. He keeps his hands there, steadying me. My knees frame his hips, and the extra height makes me slightly taller than him—a perfect position to rest my forehead against his.
There’s so much more I could say—how I appreciate his growing willingness to open up, what it means to me, how much I care for them. But the right words are hard to find, and I don’t want to get too stupidly sappy in case they’re not comfortable with that.
So instead, I let him kiss me, melting into it as he pries my lips apart and thoroughly tastes every inch of my mouth for several minutes straight.
Elias eventually draws away with a chuckle, leaving me speechless and flustered. “People,” he warns.
“Huh?” I blink dumbly before realizing he’s referring to the approach of a few walkers heading up the pier. Elias and Caelan seamlessly return their glamours to place, and Elias helps me down, my face still red.
“We should start heading back anyway,” he says.
ChapterTwelve
Now that Elias has mentioned it, I’m conscious that the time for the upcoming gala is steadily drawing close. It’s already taken a good while to get this far. An hour of casual strolling, plus the longer stop for food, then pausing at the end of the pier. I’m not worried about being late, though. We’re presumably going to be traveling back the way we came, through the abyss, and we can do that from any point Elias and Caelan choose.
That’s not a problem. It’s more the gala itself. I’d rather focus on my time with the two of them than be nervous about that, though.
