“All good,” Addie replied, refocusing on Serenity. “Anyway, like I was saying. I’m determined to convince Zagan to give me Coldin Jr., so I’d like a decently sized room for him.”
Thatsnagged my attention. Serenity and her pretty hair became forgotten as I fixed a confused stare on Addie. “Coldin Jr.?”
I looked sideways to where Zagan and Coldin still stood around the kitchen counter. They’d clearly heard this, too, because Zagan coughed into his closed fist to hide a laugh while Coldin’s jaw tightened—actuallytightened. I’d never seen the demon emote that much unless he was killing something.
“Dante,” Addie sighed, giving me a dramatic eyeroll. “How do you not even know the name of your best friend’s pet?”
I couldn’t keep my face blank, raising an eyebrow at Zagan and Coldin.
Zagan barely managed to smother his smile as he joined me at the couch to fix his gaze on Addie. “It’s not happening.” He tried to sound firm, but the corner of his pierced lip lifted ever so slightly.
Addie crossed her arms and refused to break her glare. “Stingy. I love him more than you. I never see you with Coldin Jr.”
I wanted to demand that someone tell me who Coldin Jr. was, but Bradley beat me to it.
“Who is this?” the human man hedged carefully. “A dog? Cat?”
Addie’s blue eyes brightened. She sat up on her knees and braced her hands on the coffee table, leaning closer. “I’ll show you! He’s amazing, and I want him to have the best room ever!” Addie looked at Zagan. “Will you get him, please?”
Iyla bit her lip, sharing in some amused dance of eye contact with Zagan. She clearly knew who Coldin Jr. was, so why the fuck didn’t I? Zagan didn’t have a goddamn pet, and if he did, he certainly wouldn’t name it Coldin Jr.
Zagan cleared his throat and nodded. “Sure. I’ll grab him.”
“I’ll come with you,” I announced, following after him.
The lead singer gave Coldin a pointed look, signaling for him to follow us upstairs to Zagan’s bedroom.
When we were inside, I looked at my best friend. “Who is Coldin Jr.?”
Zagan couldn’t contain his amusement anymore. He let out a bark of laughter and pointed a finger at our drummer.
“You know the drill, man,” Zagan chuckled as he watched Coldin.
“I never should’ve shown myself like this to her,” Coldin gritted out through clenched teeth.
Black shadows appeared around the drummer, and when they cleared, a large, black snake rested on the ground where he’d been standing. Zagan still wore a shit-eating grin as he picked Coldin up and faced me. He held the Letum demon out for me to see, as if I didn’t already know what he looked like. “Coldin Jr.”
Now understanding, my own laugh tore through my chest. The Letum demon, the worst demon among us all, had been reduced to a pet snake for a bubbly blonde.
“This is too good,” I boomed.
Coldin hissed, so I stepped out of reach, just in case the demon decided to make a move to bite me.
Fixing my amused stare on Zagan’s again, I asked, “Why Coldin Jr., though?”
Zagan shrugged. “Addie liked seeing him every time she came over. Eventually, she asked for his name, and that was the first thing I could think of.”
I followed Zagan back downstairs. He might as well have been gifting Addie the world as he appeared with the large black snake. Her cheerful eyes glittered with glee, and she reached her hands out to carefully take Coldin. She held him closer but turned his head toward Serenity and Bradley.
“This is Coldin Jr.!” Addie introduced. “He’ll be getting his own room at my place. Even if Zagan doesn’t give him to me, I’ll be demanding co-parenting rights, so a room is still a must.”
Serenity smiled while Bradley turned gray, like the sight of the demon reptile had him five seconds away from shitting his pants.
Addie suddenly frowned and looked at me and Zagan. “Where did Coldin go?”
I glanced sideways at Zagan.
The lead singer scratched at his brow piercing and answered, “Snakes scare him. He didn’t want to come back since Coldin Jr. is out.”
