Like something sleeping—wailing.
For fucks sake it’s like I’m Piper Bellamy, sleeping cursebreaker extraordinaire—great. Just. Fucking. Great.
Exactly what I needed.
I swallow hard. “So what does this mean?”
Slade steps closer, brushing his fingers beneath mine as if assessing the object’s magic without touching it himself.
“It means,” he says softly, “Veda left something behind. And it went to you for a reason.”
My heart races, palms sweating as I grip the bell.
“Piper,” he adds, voice dropping, “this is the first clue she ever left.”
And maybe—just maybe—the truth hidden for five hundred years finally wants to be found.
***
Slade watches me for a long moment—too long—while I clutch the tiny brass bell like it’s a live grenade with excellent manners.
I carry it to the kitchen table, setting it down gently. The metal catches the soft glow of the Christmas lights, shining dully like it hasn’t seen daylight since before indoor plumbing.
I inhale. Exhale. Ignore Slade hovering over my shoulder like an overly attractive gargoyle. “Rhea is better at this,” I murmur.
Slade hums—dark, displeased. “She’s impulsive.”
“She’s also aBellamy, and so am I.”
He snorts. “She doesn’t have what you have.”
“And what is that exactly?”
Slade’s gaze lowers to my mouth, slowly. Too intentionally. “Me,” he says.
“Oh my god, Slade—stop.”
He smirks. I pick up my phone and send Rhea one of our code messages:REINDEER EMERGENCY. COFFEE? NO DEMONS.
Her reply is immediate:BE THERE IN TEN. IF SLED—SLADE—TRIES TO FOLLOW, I’LL HEX HIS HORNS OFF.
I hide a smile and turn to the demon in question. “I need an hour,” I tell him.
Slade tilts his head. “For what?”
“To meet my cousin. Alone.”
Slade looks…offended. “I don’t want to leave you alone when the curse is stirring.”
“Well, you are today,” I snap, completely flabbergasted.
His jaw clenches. “No.”
“Yes,” I argue.
The air crackles like it’s considering becoming a lightning storm. Slade steps closer, shadows curling at his ankles. “Piper, if something happens—”
“Nothing will happen at the coffee shop.”
