“I can think of—”
“Don’t. Don’t think about anything. Just go to sleep.”
Baikal laughed but didn’t continue.
It was weird, how comfortable Rabbit felt, in the arms of a madman who he’d once thought he hated. Maybe a part of him still resented Void for forcing him, but that part seemed to be growing smaller and smaller with each passing day, and it was getting more tiring trying to pump air back into it than it should have been.
“You’re nothing like her, by the way,” he said after a quiet had settled over them. He felt Baikal still beneath his cheek. “My mother. You two aren’t the same. You both torture me, but with her, it’s for purely selfish reasons. With you…You’re all kinds of fucked up, but you care for me. I don’t understand why, but you do. That’s something she isn’t capable of.”
Baikal held him tighter.
“I’m going to tell Professor Ludo that this upcoming performance might be my last.” Rabbit had been thinking about it all day, and while he still wasn’t certain, saying it out loud helped to make it feel real at least. “I’ll need to again for my final, in order to graduate, but this upcoming one is ungraded. I agreed to it because I could never say no before.”
“Whatever you decide to do,” those fingers went back to combing through his hair, “I’ve got you.”
“I know.” Having the Brumal Prince, a Devil of Vitality, in his corner shouldn’t be as big of a relief as it was. Hell, the man had come home covered in blood earlier and Rabbit still hadn’t gotten the full story.
But when they were like this, with that Devil petting him like he was something worth protecting, something precious, it was impossible for Rabbit to deny the truth.
He was falling in love with Baikal Void.
Chapter 28:
Someone latched onto his ankle and yanked him clean off the bed.
Rabbit came to when he hit the floor, his shoulder blades connecting with the hard ground, sending spikes of pain throughout his entire system. There was a slight chill in the room, but the morning sun streamed through the thin, gauzy blinds, lighting the space up and chasing away all of the monsters that may have been hiding in the dark only a few hours prior.
Except for one, who stood standing over him, absolutely enraged.
Her hair was a similar shade to his, though a bit more on the platinum blonde side, and she wore it in a tight bun with not a single strand out of place. Her makeup was sparse, with natural tones to help highlight her wide hazel eyes and the high arch of her cheeks, but nothing overly noticeable from a mere glance. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt, the formfitting material showing off her toned body. Staying in shape and keeping herself young looking took up a third of her time, but all the effort and money had paid off. She didn’t appear to be a day over thirty-five, despite the fact she was pushing fifty next June.
Reporters had frequently commented that the two of them could be brother and sister, and she’d giggled and swooned and pretended like she didn’t agree. Pretended. Because it was a show to her. Everything was always a damn show to her.
Even her own son.
Even this.
December Trace didn’t wear any other shoes but heels, and she was tapping hers against the floor, glaring down at Rabbit with so much vitriol he actually cowered like he was still a five-year-old boy who’d upset his mommy. At his reaction, she gave a dramatic huff and planted her hands on her waist.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Baikal’s cold accusation cut across the room and Rabbit’s head snapped up and in his direction.
In the midst of it all, he’d momentarily forgotten that he wasn’t alone. He started to rise to his feet, but his mother’s shiny red pump lashed out, kicking him in the shin hard enough to send him sprawling out on his back once more. He clutched at the injury, and rolled onto his side protectively, already anticipating there being more.
There always was.
December didn’t do anything in half measures, not even beat her son.
Rabbit was so used to the routine that he caved in on himself and waited for it, but the next blow never came, and with a frown, he risked glancing past the protective barrier of his arms to see why.
Baikal had moved around the bed and was standing in front of him, fully nude. He didn’t seem to give a shit about being naked in front of the older woman, however, quite the opposite, in fact. His spine was straight, his shoulders back, and the air around him felt menacing, like a separate entity weighing down the air in the room, causing tensions to skyrocket.
He was beautiful, Rabbit’s Devil.
But he was also facing down the monster in the dark and the last time—
Rabbit shot back onto his feet with renewed vigor, putting himself between the two people who had haunted his existence, though for entirely different reasons. He held his arm out in front of Baikal to silently keep him back and pulled himself to his full height. He’d never stood up against her before, but he tried to imagine this wasn’t his mother in front of him.
This was just another outing and he was simply playing another part.
