Maybe it’s overstepping, and maybe it’s presumptuous to think that ‘freshening up’ means drawing myself a full bath, but hell if that’s going to stop me.
By the time I’ve spent a good half-hour soaking, washed myself from head to toe, and pulled on a fresh set of clothes, I feel almost like a person again.
An exhausted, sore, mentally drained person who almost died today, but at least I’m clean.
And a little more clear-headed.
Clear-headed enough to feel a brand-new wave of nerves about going back out into the living space and facing Callum.
But there’s no sense in hiding out here any longer. I’m going to have to come out eventually, and I guess now’s as good a time as any.
I ease the door open and peek out to find Callum in the kitchen. He’s cutting into a loaf of bread, there’s a plate of sliced meats and cheeses on the counter beside him, and even though I wouldn’t have thought I’d have much of an appetite after everything that happened today, my stomach growls.
Callum glances over his shoulder, and I press a hand to my belly.
Did he hear that?
“Hungry?” he asks, turning back to the food.
“A bit.”
I cross the room and sit down at the tiny kitchen table. He joins me there, setting a plate down for each of us.
We eat in silence.
And really, what the hell is there to say?
What do I talk about over dinner with my supposed demon mate who saved me from certain death, traveled between realms with me, offered me a place to stay, and then fed me even though I’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve it?
“Can I get you any more?” he asks when my plate is empty.
I shake my head. “No. And thank you, really. For all of this.”
The corners of his lips curl into a not-quite smile, and he shrugs. “It’s nothing.”
Before I can argue with that, he stands and takes the dishes to the sink.
Goddess, I can almost bite into the awkward tension in the air. Thick, cloying, way outside my wheelhouse for knowing how to deal with it.
If we were back in my realm, I would probably just leave. I’d take the first excuse to get out of here. I’d go distract myself with something else so I didn’t have to sit with all these… feelings.
But that’s not exactly an option right now.
I mean, sure, I could probably find some other demon to give me a lift back to the Veil, and I’ve certainly dealt with worse than some awkwardness on my other travels through the realms, but somehow I just can’t.
I can’t go.
Not now.
Not yet.
There’s a small settee at the far side of the room. I walk over and sit down, letting my head tip back to rest against the cushions.
“Do you want to talk about any of it?” Callum asks, finally breaking the silence from where he leans against the workbenchin the kitchen. “What happened in Faerie, or… back at your coven?”
I let out a groan. “No to the first,hellno to the second.”
He chuckles, and it eases some of the tension in the room. “For what it’s worth, I think you could have handled yourself with those lizard fae, if the bastard hadn’t shot that mushroom through.”
