“Demonic weakness?” Alistair teases.
“For this demon, absolutely.”
“Bathroom’s down the hall.” Alistair points as he heads for the kitchen. “In case you have any other demonic weaknesses you need to take care of.”
“Demons do pee. That’s correct.” Ciprian stands up and stretches, his shirt pulling up to reveal a chiseled slice of stomach. “But we never poop, Celine. If anyone claims otherwise, let me know and I’ll take care of them, because they’re a liar.”
I close my mouth to abort the laugh before it can escape. “I’llkeep that in mind,” I assure him as he heads toward the bathroom. “After you’re done in there, though, I do have something I need to tell you.”
Ciprian looks over his shoulder at me, eyes sparkling. “What a tease. I’ll hurry back.” He disappears down the hall, whistling cheerfully under his breath.
“Have you decided what to say to him yet?” Alistair asks.
I shrug. “The bare minimum.”
“Understood.” He bustles around the kitchen, and before long the smell of coffee fills the apartment. Like magic, Luca appears, his nose tilted toward the smell. Without a word to me or Alistair, he digs through the cabinets, banging the doors closed one after the other until he finds the mugs.
“Make yourself at home,” Alistair drawls.
Luca grunts, then holds his borrowed mug out insistently.
“You aren’t the only coffee addict here,” Alistair tells him, holding the full pot out of Luca’s reach.
“Cool.” Luca snatches the pot from him with a snakelike strike and begins to fill his mug. “Celine?”
“Can I have a sip of yours?” I ask, keeping my tone light.
Luca looks at me, his face twisting into an expression of abject horror. “I-I mean, sure?—”
“Gods, don’t panic.” I shake my head, not bothering to hide my grin. “Of course I want my own. Although I’m starting to wonder if you have a problem.”
Another grunt is all I get in response.
“It’s only a problem if you stop giving him coffee,” Ciprian quips as he rejoins us, the ends of his hair damp. Even soaking wet, the strands are only a couple of shades darker than usual, candied caramel instead of icy blond.
To my surprise, Luca retrieves another mug from the cabinet without complaint and fills it up, putting it on the counter infront of Ciprian.
Shaking my head, I tug the fridge open, grateful to see creamer hiding in the back behind the bagged blood. I’m not sure how anyone can drink coffee black. If I wanted to consume liquid despair, I would go back to the celestial realm and sip on my own endless supply of tears.
The room is silent as we drink our coffee, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. Especially considering the fact that we don’t actually know each other all that well, except for Luca and me.
“You’re edging the hell out of me with this wait, babe,” Ciprian says to me, his lips curling. “I’m kind of into it, but do us both a favor and put me out of my misery.”
“Are you sure?” I run my finger over the rim of my mug, dropping my tone to a husky rasp. “I’m happy to let the anticipation keep building.”
I’m not sure what possessed me to say that, but his jokes make me want to join in. Some part of me wants to make him laugh when he least expects it for a change.
Ciprian groans and closes his eyes. Alistair shakes his head, but I’m pretty sure he’s more amused than annoyed. Luca doesn’t even bother to look up from his mug.
I clear my throat. “There’s no sugarcoating it, so I won’t bother. Helping Alistair last night put you at risk. They might come after you next.”
Ciprian’s face shows no visible reaction to my words. “I killed them all,” he reminds me. “Unless there’s a hell of a necromancer around, I don’t see how they plan to come after me.”
“There’s another player,” I admit, having expected this exact response. “Someone else is working with them who didn’t join the ambush.”
“How do you know that?” Ciprian asks, his brow furrowing.
I cross my arms over my chest, careful not to spill my coffee. “I just do.”
