“I’m not exactly sure. I haven’t had time to explore it, though I did force her to agree to break it. With no strings attached, if you’ll excuse the pun.”
“Is that why she was hobbled?”
“No, I hobbled her because she was threatening to open another vortex and invite every demon from here to sunrise into Ordinary.”
Dread hit my belly and suddenly the softness of this space, the quiet little hideaway safety of it felt stifling. “Can she do that?”
“I thought it was better to assume so.”
“Are those cuffs going to hold her?”
“Yes. Until she talks one of your sisters into freeing her. And she will. Because she’s a demon. And weirdly that pink unicorn thing is really working for her. It’s amazing what being cute will get you.”
“Yeah, you should try it sometime,” I said.
He waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe I will.”
“Forget I suggested it.”
“Now, now. There is nothing I want to forget about you.”
I blinked and stared at him because he meant that. It was the truth.
He rolled his eyes. “You’d think I’d get used to this place and keep my big mouth shut.”
I decided to just let it go. We had a disaster to deal with. Several disasters.
“Let me see if I have everything straight,” I said, shoving my feet in my shoes. I was fully dressed, and he was still standing there, completely comfortable in his nudity.
“Correct me if I’m wrong.”
He nodded.
“You and I are bound because of how we closed the last vortex and because your mother can’t keep her nose out of your business.” I paused for confirmation. He nodded.
“We have a dozen or so people who turned into frogs when they hit the vortex.”
“As far as we know. Your sisters might have found a way to turn them back by now.”
“How long have we been in here?”
“Time runs at different speeds for stones. They are very old and durable. They aren’t locked into time’s gears like the living.”
“Not helpful. An hour, a day, a week?”
He tipped his head up and put his hands on his hips. Gloriously naked, I found I wanted to go to him again, feel his arms around me, taste the sweat of his skin. I thought if I stared at him any longer, I’d do just that.
It had to be the binding between us, drawing me to him so powerfully. I was attracted to him, yes. But I’d been attracted to men before.
He’s not a man, my heart whispered.Not any man.
I stared at the sky, wondering what he saw up there. All I saw was a soft turquoise-blue light that diffused around us like sunlight through morning mist.
“An hour? Two?” he finally said.
“All right. You need to take us back.”
“Are you sure, Myra? This could be our life. A good life.”
