“I’m not saying I think he’s some great guy, because believe me, I know what he’s like. He’s part psychopath, part evil genius. But I learned more about magic from him in the month I spent in Hell than I have almost my entire life. On top of that, he’s great in bed.” She lifted her hands. “What’s a girl to do?”
“Murmur. Is great in bed.” Iris raised her brows.
“Let’s just say …” Suyin took a breath. “I’m used to calling the shots. But he’s the biggest control freak I’ve ever met, and apparently …” She shrugged.
Iris shook her head. “Well, I’ll be damned. You learn something new every day.”
“What?”
“I always thought you’d have dominatrix vibes in bed. I mean”—she gestured up and Suyin’s form—“look at you.”
She laughed. “I’m not a dominatrix.”
“Apparently not, if you want Murmur to boss you around.” Iris waggled her brows and then dragged a hand down her face. “I’m having a hard time picturing it. I’ve only seen him once, but all I remember is him decapitatinga shitload of gargoyles, being totally covered in blood and wielding a sword, acting like a complete lunatic, and making a bargain with Mist that he wouldn’t come after us—which he promptly ignored.”
“You’re only making him sound hotter to me.”
“You’re fucked in the head.” But Iris laughed.
“So are you.” They exchanged knowing grins.
“Look, I gotta go. Are you sure you’re going to be okay home alone? No demons coming to kidnap you?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just gonna crash early.”
“All right, just … call me tomorrow? I gotta hear more details about you getting demon dick.”
“That goes both ways, slut.”
Iris laughed. “We’ll see.”
Suyin turned to climb her stairs but stopped, glancing over her shoulder. “Can you do me a favor?”
Iris raised her brows in question.
“I get you have to tell your man. But if they decide to go after Murmur, can you let me know first? Give me a chance to warn him?” Because of the damned vow, she couldn’t explain to Iris that she wanted Murmur to have time to finish his spell and free her father’s soul. And maybe she wanted to protect Murmur too, no matter how absurd that notion was.
Iris frowned like she was still concerned for Suyin’s sanity, but she nodded. “All right. Bel’s gonna be pissed he twisted the terms of their contract. Again. But I’ll keep you posted.” She turned to go with a smile, waving a dismissive hand. “Murmur, though? Really?
“Says the girl dating the fuckboy,” Suyin shot back with a grin.
Iris scoffed as she strode away, calling back, “You need therapy!”
“So do you, bitch!”
Laughing, Iris raised her middle finger over her shoulder.
Suyin’s apartment was still covered in expired wards from before she was taken, but she couldn’t be bothered to clean them up yet. She wasn’t going to reactivate them. If her demon came back to grab her, she wasn’t interested in keeping him out. She’d be more likely to greet him at the door with a smile on her face. Naked.
She spent the rest of the evening trying to read and getting nowhere. She’d picked up a book on defensive Temporal magic last month and had been excited to dive in, but that was before her stint in Hell. As she leafed through the pages, she found that she already knew most of what they contained, and her thoughts kept returning to Sheolic magic, where everything was still so new.
She went to bed earlier than usual, trying to recover from Hell jet lag. She didn’t feel tired at first, but she was eventually lulled to sleep by the sound of wind in the trees through the open window.
She woke late in the night as she felt a weight dip into her mattress. She blinked and found herself staring into ice-blue eyes.
“Murmur.”
In the darkness, his white hair gave off an ethereal shimmer. He sat on the edge of her bed, twisting to lean over her.
