I reached for her, noting that her head was wet. The faucet needed to be fixed, and every now and again, a short stream of water dripped from it.
Lia loved it.
I placed the kitten on my bed, rolled a ball across my sheets for her to play with, and then left her alone while I started the shower.
My arm itched.
I scratched at it idly while I scrubbed my body. My shampoo smelled like vanilla and showering was one of the few moments in my day when I let my mind wander.
My arm began to tingle and I scowled down at it.
The demon clearly wasn’t going to allow me to bail on his stupid Monday dinner.
I had plans, damnit. Samael had taken almost every minute of my time for the past eight days. All I wanted was to veg out in front of the TV and stuff my face with Tom Yum and cashew chicken. Maybe I’d get really wild and open a bottle of wine.
I ground my teeth as the tingling worsened. Samael could fuck right off if he thought I was giving up my one free night to sit around a table and make small talk with demons who’d been doing his dirty work for centuries.
No fucking way.
The tingling turned to a dull ache as I stood wrapped in a towel and dried my hair. I slathered my body in moisturizer and opened the door.
I let out a sound somewhere between a scream and a squeal, slapping my hand over my mouth in mortification.
Vas grinned at me but his gaze dropped to the gold swirls on my arm and he immediately turned his back.
“As soon as I got back to the tower, Samael ordered me to come find you. I’m here to take you to dinner.”
“How the fuck did you get into my apartment?”
“You should probably fire whoever has been doing your wards. I bet Samael would teach you how to set them yourself.”
Don’t kill the demon. Don’t kill the demon.
Vas was standing facing my bed, and Lia chose that moment to pounce at his hand, sinking her sharp little teeth into one of his fingers. Vas stared down at her.
“My smallest feather is bigger than you, cat.”
Lia didn’t care. She let out her squeakiest meow— a clear demand for him to pet her, and I suppressed a grin as the demon gave in and scratched her behind the ears.
“You should get dressed,” Vas said, his back still to me. “Samael isn’t pleased when we’re late.”
“I’m not going.”
Vas sighed. “Don’t make this a thing. I’m tired.”
“You’retired? I had plans tonight. Plans that didn’t involve hanging out with demons.”
“I’ll try not to be offended by that,” he said, his voice carefully neutral and it was my turn to sigh.
“Look, I just need one night off. One night to not think about demons and murder.”
“We’d all like a night off. That’s a privilege none of us gets until whoever is murdering our people is found.”
And now I felt like a petulant brat.
“Me going to this dinner isn’t going to find the murderer any sooner.”
“The sooner you go, the sooner you can leave.”
