“Indeed, I do.”
“The outfit is missing something, though.” Arachne tapped a finger against her lips, and Herbie, her spikey little…well, Lilith wasn’t sure what kind of creature he was…skittered across the floor. The size of a house cat, Herbie had four beady eyes, and Lilith counted eight legs, so perhaps he was a spider.
“Of course. How could I forget?” Arachne lifted Esther from her spot on the small sofa and draped her over Lilith’s shoulders. “There we go. Totally Lilith.”
Percival cawed his approval from his perch, and Lilith stroked her hand down Esther’s scales. Her familiar hadn’t fully recovered. Far from it, but a washed-out version of her natural color had returned and she was eating, so Lilith brought her on an errand run to spend some time with her oldest friend before she left.
“Spencer is going to want to rip these clothes off you the moment he sees you, but if there’s daylight around, you make him wait, understand? You’ll need all your strength the first time you do it with your soulmate. It’ll be mind-blowing.”
Lilith laughed. “I’m sure I can keep him in line.” Although, after the heat of their first kiss, she’d be the one wanting to rip clothes off.
The memory played in her mind, and she closed her eyes, relishing it. He had felt their bond; of that, she was certain. He would be her life partner, even if it took him some time to adjust to the idea.
Her heart sank at the thought. His life would be a nanosecond compared to her cursed eternity, and he had made it clear turning him into a vampire wasn’t an option.
“Is there something wrong with the clothes? You hate the hat, don’t you? Herbie said you’d hate the hat.” Arachne snatched it from her head and magically rewove it, tightening the stitches and narrowing the brim.
“No, the hat was fine as it was.” She took off the glasses and folded them, slipping them into a magical pocket. The glasses seemed to disappear against her thigh, not disturbing her silhouette in the least. “You would make a fortune if you could sell these clothes topside. Human women would go nuts for pockets like these.”
Arachne laughed. “The world isn’t ready for that kind of magic.”
“Indeed, it isn’t.” Nor was Lilith ready to have her heart wrenched from her chest in forty years when Spencer’s body gave out on him. “Fate has played a cruel joke on me.”
Her expression turned serious. “Fate doesn’t play jokes on anyone.”
“Perhaps I am the exception.” She gazed into the mirror at Esther. Cruel prank or no, her time with Spencer was improving her familiar’s health. Saving her snake would be worth the heartbreak. “Do you have the other set of clothing I requested?”
“Of course.” Arachne handed her a box wrapped in a dark blue ribbon of the same fabric as her clothes.
“Please tell me this outfit doesn’t shimmer. Andrei prefers to blend in.”
She crossed her arms. “Do you really have to ask?”
“Thank you, old friend.” Lilith tucked the box under her arm and strode for the door.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Arachne called as she stepped onto the sidewalk.
Lilith banished the depressing thoughts of Spencer’s short life from her mind and delivered Esther to Deirdre’s house before grabbing her suitcase and making her way to the bar.
Spencer sat at the same table as yesterday, and as his eyes met hers, he stood. He wore jeans and a heather gray t-shirt. His light brown hair was styled into a perfect mess, and the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, making her heart thump hard in her chest. The fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end, the draw of her soulmate so intense she could hardly bear it.
“You look amazing.” He stepped toward her and placed a sweet, tentative kiss on her cheek. He lingered there a moment, his breath warming her skin, and she rested her hand on his cheek, turning his face toward hers.
“How about a proper kiss?” She brushed her lips to his, and her entire body hummed from her core to the top of her head and the tips of her toes.
With a hand on her hip, he tugged her closer, opening for her, his tongue tangling with hers. She closed her eyes and drank him in. Well, it wasn’t quite the kind of drinking she’d have liked, but kissing was good for now.
She broke the kiss and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Spencer’s gaze dipped to her mouth, and his pupils dilated. Sweet Persephone, she couldn’t wait to taste him. “Shall we go? Andrei awaits.”
Spencer blinked as if coming out of a daze. “Yeah.” He grabbed a beige duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Didn’t you say Andrei was a vampire?”
“I did.” She slipped her hand into his and led him out of the bar and into The Underworld.
“Why are we going so early in the day? Aren’t you weakest when the sun is out?”
“We are, but my gift for him requires sunlight. And he’s hosting a vampire ball tonight for which he must prepare.”
“A ball?” Nervous tension tightened his shoulders, and he adjusted his bag.
