I turn to Rogan. “I think I’ve reached the hangry part of my cycle,” I admit, and he laughs.
“Good to know, but on the plus side, only one more phase and it’s cuddle slut time,” he announces as though we’re almost home free.
“We have silenced the cage and will keep it that way until the procedure is over. Would you like to be present for the soul retrieval or simply informed when it’s complete?” the yellow twins query in unison, as though we’re not talking about snatching souls like it’s no big deal.
First bodies and now souls. Oh dear, I think I’m escalating.
I shake my head at myself. What is this world even doing to me?
I think about what Rogan said about Elon and having seen enough bad things in life. I look over at him, and he nods in the way that tells me he’s good to do whatever I want to do.
The glass of the cage rattles slightly as Sorrel pounds on it furiously. She screams and snarls, her eyes so full of hate and her face contorted with rage. Venom pours out of her mouth, and I’m grateful I can’t hear the vitriol being spewed at me right now. My eyes land on the Contegomancer, Bordow. His face is swollen, and bruises are starting to mottle the skin of his cheek and jaw from where I hit him. He looks resigned but completely unremorseful as he turns to say something to Rogan’s dad. The High Priest doesn’t respond; he just stares blankly at a pile of bones as though they have all the answers. Maybe they do, I know how much a pouch of bones changed my life for the better.
I take a deep breath and then let it out slowly, turning away from the evil in the cage once and for all.
“Just let me know when it’s done,” I tell the twins, and then, as easy as blinking, they disappear, taking the glass cage with them.
“How do you know they’ll do it?” Rogan asks, eyeing the cage’s former spot warily.
“Look at the marks,” I tell him simply. “If my marks disappear, then the contract is fulfilled. If they don’t, I’ll know something is up,” I tell him, and he considers that.
“Seems like a solid system,” he agrees after a beat. “Where to now?”
I smile at him sweetly as I feel for the magic that everyone keeps using to get in and out of here. “Let’s go home.”
24
Iyawn and lean back against Rogan as he lazily plays with my hair. He wraps a strong arm around my chest, and I tuck the soft as fuck blanket around me a little tighter, feeling all kinds of warm and cozy, and relishing the fact that I’m all kinds of warm and cozy.
I seriously need to ask Rogan where he gets all this soft crap from.
“Just tell me one more time what happened when you told her you owned her contract?” Elon asks, and he just looks so damn adorable and peaceful as he does, that I have no choice but to give him what he wants.
“She didn’t believe it at first. She tried to throw her weight around, but it wasn’t until Lennox stuck out her foot and told her to ‘look at the marks’ and Bordow looked at his mark, that’s when she started to stammerwhatand thenhow,and then she called on her magic, trying to get all threatening, so the other demons locked them up in a cage,” Rogan recounts, and I stare bleary eyed at the fire crackling in the fireplace and try hard not to think about anything.
Elon laughs at the cage part, and for whatever reason, it makes me want to laugh too.
“Fitting that the efforts she went to in order to lock me and Rogan in a cage, is what ultimately led her to dying in one. If that’s not a slice of justice, I don’t know what is,” Elon declares, his laugh now slightly hollow.
My heart tightens as I watch him get lost in thoughts for a moment, and I can only wonder at the demons darkening his door right now. I know none of this is easy for him or for Rogan, but I also know the rest of us will do everything we can to protect them.
I look over at Prek and Tad on the couch, and I can hear Cohen upstairs packing so he can head out. I think his hurry has something to do with Diem and maybe wanting to track down Colby, but I don’t ask him. If any of them need anything from me, they’ll track me down.
“Anyway, after the demon checked my blood and confirmed I had demon magic, they read through the details of the contracts. Did you guys know that the contract between a demon and someone else is actually written in the demon mark itself? Then the shape made by the lines in a contract is based on the demon’s magical signature and the other person’s magical signature. Cool, right?” I tell them, but no one seems to be as into it as I am—I blame the demon magic.
“I think it’s cool,” Rogan whispers in my ear, and I smile widely at him and then settle in against his chest again.
“Man, I wish I could have been there,” Elon sighs, staring wistfully at the high ceiling, like he’s picturing every word that we’re saying.
“I’m pretty sure I shit my panties at least five times before they pulled Rogan down, and I honestly thought that was it for all of us. It was brutal, so don’t let the semi-happy ending fool you,” I reassure him, and he offers me a soft, understanding grin.
“Semi-happy?” Prek asks, looking from Tad to me.
I make a mental note to ask Tad about that. I swear I’ve caught both of them staring all moony-eyed when the other one isn’t looking.
“She’s grumpy because before they would let us leave, the High Demon Cozen insisted that Lennox had to come train with her twice a week until she mastered her demon magic,” Rogan teases, and I scoff like a petulant teenager.
“I hate school, and I’m a super busy person, so it’s just really inconvenient,” I whine, and everyone chuckles at my expense.
