“You’re so sweet!” Athaliah purred. “That’s very thoughtful of you!”
Frankie squeezed Snod’s hand to bring him back down out of his rage, soothing, “It’ll be just a quick
drive home, okay? Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Snod didn’t like the idea of letting Athaliah out of his sight, not when he had just gotten him back. He
knew that arguing would be pointless now that he had made up his mind. If nothing else, they had both
inherited their father’s stubborn streak.
“We’ll stop by the liquor store and pick up provisions,” Athaliah was going on cheerfully. “God! I
still can’t believe I found you! This is an amazing fucking day.”
“It really is,” Snod murmured in awe, shaking his head. The shock still hadn’t completely worn off
yet. He hugged Athaliah firmly as he warned, “Go to the store and then straight to Frankie’s. No
shenanigans.”
“I will be shenanigans free,” Athaliah swore solemnly. “See you soon, dear brother. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Snod replied, his very soul warming up to hear those words again.
He hated to watch him leave, but took comfort in knowing that he would be back with him soon. He
would be reasonably safe with Lorenzo, he decided. If Lorenzo tried anything, he could break his
fingers. That thought was quite comforting, humming contently to himself as he imagined Lorenzo
crying and wailing in pain.
“Stop thinking about hurting Lorenzo,” Frankie sighed, his observation so spot on that Snod had to
laugh.
“Mmm, don’t need a bond now to know what I’m thinking?” Snod chuckled, not denying his violent
fantasies in the slightest.
“Not when you have that murderous look on your face, and then you start giggling like a crazy
person,” Frankie scoffed, affectionately nudging Snod’s shoulder.
Snod followed Frankie to the car, enjoying a few moments of silence before admitting passionately, “I
still can’t believe he’s really here. I ran outside, and there he was. Like he was magic.”
“It’s a miracle,” Frankie said with a small smile.
“Yes,” Snod agreed, waiting for Frankie to unlock the door so he could slide into the passenger seat.
“My song,” Frankie said as he sat down behind the wheel, waiting to crank the engine, “I’m sorry that
it upset you. I thought—”
“No, please,” Snod said quickly, reaching to rest his hand on Frankie’s thigh. “If you hadn’t, I may not
