“She’s fine.”
“Is she enjoying her beef knuckle? Have to say that the smell kinda made me retch, but she seemed excited.”
“She is.”
Now, Kit wasn’t a scintillating conversationalist, but he wanted more than two-word answers. “Is something wrong?”
Quin turned to face him from where he stood in the upstairs hallway. “Not at all. Why would you believe that?”
Kit pressed his lips together. Something wasn’t quite right. “What happened while I was away?”
Quin’s head tilted to the side. “Nothing happened. What do you mean?”
“I-I don’t know,” Kit said. As he got to the top of the stairs, he studied Quin’s expression, trying to discern the answer from his face. Quin wore an amused smile, but nothing about this situation was amusing. There was something else, too.
Quin wasn’t holding himself like Quin.
There was a cocky jut to his chin. His chest puffed out a little too proudly. Kit saw too many of Quin’s teeth when he smiled. And his heart took calm, even beats, not Quin’s usual quick pulses that sang to Kit like a siren, reeling him in.
Everything about Quin feltoff.
Kit’s stomach lurched. His rucksack thudded to the floor as his arms ceased to hold any strength.
“Kit?” Quin asked, voice unduly light.
“What’s going on?”
“Whatever do you mean by that?”
Kit waved a hand in Quin’s direction. “You’re not acting like…” He swallowed down the last word of his sentence. It might cease to be true if he didn’t voice it.
Quin’s head tilted further to the side. “Ah. I always did underestimate your intelligence, darling.”
Darling.
The pet name echoed in Kit’s mind. “What?” he whispered.
A slash of a smile split Quin’s face. “Or perhaps not?”
“No.” Kit shook his head, vehement. “No.”
Quin stepped closer to him. Kit took an answering step backwards, pressing himself against the wall at the top of the stairs.
“You can’t get away from me this time, darling.”
Pressure built in Kit’s chest. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe it. This had to be some sort of sick joke. “Stop.”
“I shan’t.”
Kit screwed his eyes shut. He wanted to run, but his feet didn’t move. He felt small and breakable, like he’d been all those decades ago as a fragile human. One touch would have him shattering into a million pieces. Words slipped from his mouth, unbidden. “Please stop this. You’re scaring me, Daddy.”
Quin’s body was so close that Kit felt the heat pouring off it. “Aw, darling.” The voice coming from Quin was saccharine. “Your Daddy’s not here right now.”
Kit had to be dreaming, trapped in another nightmare of his own making. “Quin,” he sobbed. “I don’t like this.”
“Open your eyes, darling. I’ve missed the sight of them so much.”
Kit’s fingers dug into the wall behind him. The snap of a nail breaking rang in the air as he pressed a claw too hard into the plaster.
