“Don’t say it. My bad.”
Great. So Iris had evidently told everyone about the catastrophe that was Suyin’s relationship with the Necromancer. Had she told them how he’d taken her stupid feelings and crushed them into tiny pieces by trying to kill her? Because that would be the cherry on top.
“So!” Lily announced, apparently sensing the tension. “Who wants a drink?”
There were several murmurs of agreement, and then Belial announced that he was making martinis, and everyone got involved, and that was the last they spoke of Murmur the entire time.
There was also no talk about Lucifer or the coming war Murmur had spoken of, and by the way everyone very carefully dodged around the topic, she figured that was on purpose. Likely Belial didn’t want to talk about it any more than Suyin wanted to talk about Murmur.
Unfortunately, not talking about him didn’t keep him from her mind. As she sat at the edge of the group, watching them interact, laughing and teasing one another, she thought about him more than ever. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get him out of her head.
She declined a second drink so she could safely ride home, watching everyone else get drunk with veiled amusement. Except Belial. He drank the most out of everyone and gave no sign of it affecting him.
When Meph started telling everyone the story of how Belial had chopped his fingers off—showing off his regenerated and freshly tattooed hand—she decided it was time to go. Belial was grinding his teeth, and Suyin had seen firsthand what happened when he got mad and wasn’t feeling up for a repeat experience.
She signaled to Iris that she was heading out, figuring she’d slip out without disrupting the party, but of course, that wasn’t what happened at all.
“Everyone!” Iris announced. “Suyin’s taking off, so say goodbye.”
“Bye, Suyin!” several people called out.
“No, wait!” Eva said, running forward. “You can’t go until you have a cookie. Bel helped me bake them and they’re my pride and joy. Where are they, Bel?”
“On top of the fridge. I hid them from Meph.”
“I can reach the top of the fridge, you know,” Meph said.
“Yeah, but you’re like a dog. Out of sight, out of mind.”
Meph laughed, apparently not offended by the comparison.
Suyin happened to be standing right next to the fridge, so she stepped aside when Eva hurried over. Eva rose to her tiptoes, feeling around for the plate. “Jesus, Bel, why do you have a six-foot-tall fridge?”
“Have you seen him?” Ash said.
“Good point.”
“Eva, let me help you,” Bel said.
“No, I got it—Oop!”
She didn’t have it. In fact, in her effort to slide the plate closer so she could grab it, she knocked the entire thing off. Onto Suyin’s head.
Suyin flinched, bringing her hands up in preparation for the glass cracking onto her skull. Except it never came.
As if she had an invisible force field around her body, the plate bounced off, flew to the side, and hit the ground a good three feet from her. She looked around to see if anyone else had seen what happened. Judging by the way they stared with open mouths, they had.
“What the hell?” Meph said. “How did that just happen?”
“I’m so sorry,” Eva was saying. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Suyin replied distantly, catching the pointed look Iris was giving her across the kitchen.
“Was that a protection spell or something?” Eva asked. “Because that was crazy.”
She brushed it off and let everyone assume that was what it was. Conversation resumed, and shortly after, she made excuses to depart, hoping to evade the questions that would follow if anyone guessed what had really happened.
Unfortunately, Iris followed her out the door.
