In response to her favorite nickname, Suyin shot him a challenging grin and then floored it around a corner. Murmur winced as his body was crushed against the side window.
When they returned to Suyin’s apartment, he shifted back to his preferred form, and they drew the hellgate, linked it up with his study in Hell, and then stepped through. Suyin wandered about the freshly cleaned library while he readied to draw another gate, since the first would remain permanently linked with her house.
“Whoa, what happened to all the books here?” she asked, pointing to an empty section of shelves that had previously been stuffed full.
Her fingers were tipped with little black claws, and he smiled at the sight. She’d been practicing shifting forms and was already gaining control of it. He encouraged her to take her half-demon form whenever they were in Hell to reduce the risk of anyone discovering what she was.
“You will see,” he said from beside the fireplace, where he was inscribing the new gate on the floor. When he finished, he activated it and then straightened and dusted his hands off.
“Ready when you are,” he told his witch, holding out a hand.
“I hate surprises,” she told him with a smile. Nevertheless, she came to his side and placed her small hand in his big one.
He curled his fingers around her palm and pulled her close, bending down to say in her ear, “You’ll like this one.” And then he scooped her up and stepped into the gate.
They stumbled out the other side into the study of his former lair. The windows overlooking the sea were freshly cleaned. The bookshelves on either side were filled with grimoires he had transferred from his new lair. He’d brought furniture in as well—a desk sat in the middle of the room facing the window, offering an exquisite view of the tossingwaves. Down the hall, he’d had another mattress brought in with fresh bedding.
Suyin rushed forward to stare out the window. “Holy shit. I never pictured there being an ocean in Hell.”
“There is, but don’t make the mistake of swimming in it. You’ll be eaten in seconds.”
As if to punctuate his comment, the kraken chose that moment to flail its tentacles out of the water. Murmur lifted a hand and waved back. He was never quite sure if the creature knew he was there, but he liked to think so. And it was always smart to remain on the good side of a kraken.
“Oh my god,” Suyin breathed at the waving tentacles.
They descended back into the waves a moment later, and she spun around. “What is this place? These books—Is this your old lair?”
Murmur nodded. “After the souls were released, Lucifer’s fury unleashed an earthquake, as I predicted, but my lair survived the tremors. I’m beginning to think it’s sturdy enough to withstand the coming tribulations. We’ll have to be careful, but if you’re going to be visiting me in Hell, I thought you would appreciate a place to come away from … everything. My new lair may be heavily fortified, but it’s also a target. I always liked this place because no one ever bothered me here. I thought it would be nice for us to have a quiet space to come to where no one can disturb us.”
“So you basically set up an oceanside retreat for us … in Hell.”
He frowned. “I suppose you could say that.”
“Murmur …” She stepped up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “That’s the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
He made a face. “I hope not. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Yes, it is. You’ve gone to so much effort for me these last few days—sitting through that meeting with Sunshine, lettingme drive you around in my tiny car and take you places in human form. You even came to the coven with me and pretended to be human in front of Marie-Thérèse. I know how much you hated that, and you never complained once.”
“I can complain if you’d rather,” he mumbled, hating the heat he felt rising to his cheeks.
“No, stupid, I’m thanking you for not complaining.”
“Well, stop it. I feel uncomfortable.”
She snorted a laugh. “Fine. But I hope you know that I see the effort you’re making, and I appreciate it. And I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Their gazes met. She smiled softly. Tenderness filled him at the sight—his fierce little half demon giving him such a gentle look—and he brushed a thumb over her lower lip.
“You’re mine, witchling.”
Ours, his inner voice agreed.
“Always,” she replied, and everything in his being practically vibrated with satisfaction.
He stooped to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She held him tightly, but he didn’t flinch or feel the need to pull away. If her embrace was a shackle, it was one he never wanted to escape from.
