Something boils in the pot above the fire crackling in the hearth, the smell of food making my belly grumble loudly. Last night, exhaustion kept me from eating what we had left after the pixies’ theft. And after trekking through these woods on an empty stomach, it feels like my organs are sticking together.
Yana’s lips thin. “We’re not sharing our food.”
I would have considered it rude coming from anyone else, but who knows what she had to do to procure it. “I wasn’t going to ask you to.” My eyes snag on the engraved onyx plaque hanging from a rusty hook beside the oil lantern.
“The stone is spelled. It’s the only way to keep the dead animals from entering. They come at night, claw at the walls.” She shudders before clearing her throat. “Go ahead.”
I had an inkling Thalia might be the oracle, but it’s still unbelievable that a child could possess such power. I drop to my haunches next to her. “Thalia, my name is Iris. I came all the way from the human world so I could speak to you about a prophecy.”
She stops playing and glances at me. Up close and personal, the subtle pink in her light aqua eyes is noticeable. “A prophecy cannot be given freely.”
“What do you want in return?”
“The Fates decide, not me. I have to touch you if you want to find out the price.”
“That’s fine.”
The second her wispy fingers meet my temples, her eyes roll tothe back of her head. A flash of white. Then, I’m no longer in the cabin, but in a sunlit clearing.
Three women stand in front of me. “The price has been decided. Are you ready to pay, Iris Harper?” they ask in a solemn voice at the same time.
“What is it?”
“A happy memory.”
Their words are bone-crushing because the memories—good or bad—I’ve made after the car accident are all I have. But I nod. Everything we’ve gone through can’t be for nothing.
Two women grab my shoulders, while the third places her palm on my forehead, and I’m thrown into the past.
“Hi, angel.”
“Of course, you’re a morning person,” I grumble as I shuffle into the kitchen on autopilot.
Kaiden arches an eyebrow before he lets his heated gaze rake lazily over my body. Like fingers dancing across my skin, I feel it everywhere. “It’s past noon,” he says, extending a large cup of coffee toward me.
Fuck me. He’s dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a sleeveless shirt that puts all his bulging muscles and tattoos on display. I want to kick myself for not even looking in the mirror before getting out of my bedroom. But I’m not used yet to having a demon live with me. And this is the first day. To be honest, it all seemed like a fever dream—him announcing he’s moving in with me over dinner. Glancing down, I notice I forgot to put pants on and am only wearing the T-shirt I slept in, which barely covers my ass. Shit. “Potato, potahto. Noon is morning for me.”
Our fingers brush as Kaiden passes me the cup. I take a sip. The coffee is perfect—just like the last time he made me one after I woke up in his penthouse after the umbra attack. “Man, this is so good, I could kiss you right now,” the words slip outbefore I realize my mistake.
“Careful, angel. Or you might find yourself on top of the counters with my head between your thighs and my tongue inside you. I haven’t forgotten how you made yourself come while screaming my name.”
I almost spit out the coffee as heat scorches the tips of my ears. Kaiden throws me a rakish smile that makes my bones melt. He shakes his head. “I love how easy it is to make you blush.” He closes the space between us and brushes a wayward coal-black strand behind my ear. My pulse skyrockets as our eyes lock. “You’re devastatingly beautiful when you’re sleep-rumpled. C’mon, I’m making breakfast and then we can go for a run.” His big hand engulfs mine before he pulls me to the table.
We spend the rest of the day doing mundane things, and while it seems silly, this is one of the happiest days of my life. Because of its simplicity. Because moments like these are the ones that brand your soul and burrow deep. Because I didn’t even realize how barren my life was before Kaiden barged in.
I hold onto this memory by the skin of my teeth, but it’s futile because in the next breath, it’s gone. It dissipates like smoke in the wind. The only thing that’s left is a hollow in the space between my ribs where that spark of happiness once resided. With another flash of white, I’m transported somewhere else as the Fates’ warped voices ring in my ears on a loop.
“When the blood moon hangs from the sky,
and the clock strikes midnight,
The sacrifice will come forth.
At the twenty-third circle of life,
The Daughter of Starlight and Shadows,
will open the gates and raise the black death,
