In actual fact, I was quite fond of rats.
“Aw,” I said, lifting the dome closer to my face for a better look. “Does this little guy have a name? I bet this one’s called something likePlague.”
Creep’s eyes widened, as did Caitlyn’s.
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth as I carefully set Plague back in the exact spot I’d taken him from, mindful not to disturb a single speck more of dust than I already had.
That was when something else caught my attention.
On either side of the fireplace hung a pair of life-sized portraits, their occupants obscured beneath decades of grime. Even so, it was clear that each painting depicted a couple.
A strange sensation settled in my chest as I studied them. A sense of recognition. Of kinship.
“Are these the people who lived here before?” I asked, unable to keep the awe from my voice. I couldn’t make out their faces, but Ifeltit, that beneath the dirt sat an incubus in each portrait, the brighter colors beside them belonging to their witch fated mates.
I glanced toward Creep, who was still watching me intently. She gave the slightest nod, and my attention drifted back to the portraits.
It suddenly struck me just how old this house was. Not old enough to date back to the original bargain between my clan of incubi and Caitlyn’s coven—but still centuries old at least.
Ambrose would have known. He was forever harping on about architecture—how this carving meantthatage, how a certain arch or beam marked a particular era. He would’ve loved this place.
The thought landed like a punch to the gut.
I immediately chastised myself for letting my mind wander back to him. Here I was, standing in my fated mate’s living room, staring up at members of my own clan, trying to charm a possessed doll, and Istillcouldn’t seem to keep Ambrose out of my head.
I let out a slow, steadying breath and forced myself to refocus. To try harder. To give Caitlyn the space she deserved—or at least enough room forsomethingto grow between us.
I settled my expression into something neutral before turning back to Creep and to a very surprised Caitlyn behind her.
I closed the remaining distance and crouched in front of Creep, bringing myself level with the demon doll.
“Thank you for letting me see them,” I said earnestly. “I hope one day I can...”
I trailed off, not sure what I wanted to say.Have my own place beside Caitlyn on these walls?
“... see their faces properly,” I finished instead.
Creep’s head tilted again. Then, with a faint creak, she raised one small porcelain hand toward me. I reached out, gently hooking my finger beneath her cold ceramic hand, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles as if she were a queen granting me audience.
Then, to my utter horror and undeniable relief, Creep’s eyes fluttered.
Her porcelain cheeks seemed to flush impossibly darker, and an odd, disembodied girlish giggle echoed from the depths of the house. She yanked her hand from mine, creaked upright, and somehow, despite her fingers being cast permanently into little fists, managed to grasp the sides of her dress and dip into a curtsy.
And then she was gone.
In the blink of an eye, she vanished into the darkness, thepitter-patterof small feet fading away, that eerie giggle trailing after her.
I turned to Caitlyn.
The stunned expression she’d worn for nearly the entire exchange had curdled into a scowl. Her arms were crossed tight over her chest as she angrily tapped her battered Converse against the hardwood floor.
“Did I, um, do something wrong?” I asked.
Caitlyn’s lips pressed together. “No,” she snapped, then immediately softened, her frown easing. “Sorry. It’s not you at all.” She huffed out a breath. “It’s just... me being jealous. I’ve lived with Creep for six months now, and she still cuts my hair off while I sleep. You’ve been here less than five minutes, and she’s already warmed to you more than she ever has to me.”
Caitlyn dragged in a slow breath, uncrossed her arms, and pinched her thumb and forefinger together on each hand,drawing them inward as she exhaled. When she looked back up at me, the tight frustration had finally smoothed from her features.
“Well,” she said, “now that you’ve officially been introduced to Creep... how about I show you around, and we can, y’know...” She seemed to fumble for the right words. “... get to know one another?”
