“Do you have a family?” Absolis asked sweetly.
“Yes, tell us about your family,” Vilanos said with a grin. “That is what we want to know.”
“Your gift to us will be telling us about your family.”
“My what now?” Seymour’s thoughts spun. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about? I, I don’t have a?—”
But he did.
Sariel and Day.
They were his family.
“Them!” Seymour pointed. “Day! She’s like the lil’ sister I never had! Or like the kid I never knew I even wanted until she popped into my damn life, and now I can’t imagine a fuckin’ second without her! Hearin’ her laugh, seein’ her smile. And Sariel—” His voice cracked. “Bein’ with him is like comin’ home. He’s everything I’ve ever fuckin’ wanted, and there is nothin’ on this whole green earth I won’t do to be with him?—”
It is the terms of our deal that binds me to him.
That I am his until my family comes to claim me…
Which, of course, I know they never will.
Oh, fuckin’ hellfire.
Mr. Heiss rolled his eyes, dragging Sariel toward the doorway. “Lou, if you or your mate have any affection for this flesh bag, get him out of the city. Once I have Sariel back home, I am going to kill him if I?—”
“Hey!” Seymour fought against the squeeze in his chest, grunting as he struggled to stay upright. He dropped to one knee, shouting, “Hey! You! Fuck ass! I claim him!”
Mr. Heiss stopped mid-step. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me!” Seymour wheezed. “I claim him!”
“Me too!” Day shouted, even though Mr. Heiss couldn’t hear her. She was at Seymour’s side now, grabbing his hip to help him stand.
“We fuckin’ claim him! And we’re his goddamn family, you motherfucker! We love him! I—” Seymour put his hand down on Day’s paw. “I love him.”
Sariel gasped, and his golden eyes glowed even as they filled with tears.
Seymour held his head high. “So, how ’bout you go sit on a traffic cone sideways, get fucked, and give me my goddamn angel?”
Mr. Heiss turned around then, the fire in his crown and in his gaze burning like an inferno. “Oh, I’ll give yousomething. You worthless, impudent, little?—”
Clink.
It was Sariel’s collar.
It had fallen off and hit the ground.
Sariel touched his bare throat, eyes wide, staring at the collar.
Myrna screamed, both her regular-sized hand and giant one flailing excitedly.
“What the fuck just happened?” Seymour asked, his voice hushed and trembling. “It… It fuckin’ worked?”
“It worked!” Day wailed as she ran forward. She leapt into Sariel’s arms and rubbed her face against his cheek. “It worked, it worked, it worked?—”
“The terms of any deal are very important,” Vilanos said sweetly.
“So very important,” echoed Absolis.
