“We should probably get you some underwear and stuff, huh?”
She attempted a smile. “Yeah. Maybe tomorrow I could go shopping.”
“Sounds good. In the meantime, help yourself to anything. Clothes, weapons, toiletries, whatever you need.” I glanced at my phone. “We need to take off. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
Evie nodded and headed back toward the sofa. I eyed her. “There’s a great Chinese place a few blocks away. They deliver. The menu is on the fridge.”
“Thanks.”
I chewed on my lip as Vas followed me into the elevator.
“I’m worried about her,” I admitted.
“Me too.”
“My instincts are telling me she shouldn’t be alone. I know you’re probably busy, but would you mind hitting the mall with her tomorrow?
“Already planning to.”
“Thanks, Vas.”
The elevator doors opened and I squeezed out first, picking up a stray feather that had fallen from his wings.
“Give that back before Samael loses his mind,” Vas said.
I rolled my eyes and pinned it to the bulletin board in my apartment lobby.
The air was cooler than it had been for a while when we stepped outside. Fall would be here before we knew it. Vas gathered me into his arms and climbed into the sky, banking toward Samael’s tower.
It stood like a beacon in the distance, looming over the entire city. Vas and I were both lost in our own thoughts as we flew toward it. I wanted to sit next to Samael for a couple of hours about as much as I wanted a root canal, but as always, I’d made a deal. And now I had to hold up my end.
“Deep thoughts?” Vas asked.
I sighed. “Always.”
He shook his head, and I glanced up to find him frowning down at me.
“You know what your problem is?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
He ignored that. “You want to be happy. And you canseehappiness. It’s so close you can almost touch it. But you can’t get out of your own way long enough to reach out and take it. You’re so wrapped up in who you thought Samael was, in the promises you made your mom, in your reputation, that you may just lose everything.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is. Every time you get close, you leap away, as if he’s on fire and you’re afraid of being burned.”
“Every time I get close, I learn more about how he manipulated me. Lied to me.”
Vas shook his head, banking left toward the tower. “You’re judging him by human standards again.”
“I grew up human. They’re the only standards I know.”
“He’s changing, Danica. I’ve known him for over seventy years and I’ve never seen him smile as much as he has recently. Never seen him make allowances for a woman or compromise the way he does with you. You need to make a decision.”
I’d never been indecisive. Never questioned my decisions once I’d made them. Until now. And I hated it.
By the time Vas landed on one of Samael’s balconies, I’d convinced myself that dinner wouldn’t be that bad. I may not be excited about spending time with the demon who’d dented my heart, but it wasn’t like it would be just the two of us. There were enough other demons there that I could focus on them and ignore the looming presence sitting beside me.
