Don't pretend you care, Death
The nickname had never felt like an attack before, but for the moment, it did.
And I did care, even if I fought like hell against the urge to. I hadalwayscared. I was just good at ignoring things that overwhelmed me, and the way I cared about him was absolutely one of those.
I didn't know how long I'd have Grayson's shadows for, so I slipped out of the room and headed to the parking lot while they were still clinging to me. I needed to talk to Darius. My best friend was the voice of reason when I couldn't handle it myself, and I definitely couldn't handle any of this on my own.
The drive was surprisingly peaceful,with Grayson's shadows dancing over my skin, easing my overwhelm.
The overwhelm was still there, but everything was much simpler than it would've been without his magic.
I tried not to think about how different it would've been if I had already sealed a bond with the demon king.
How much more his shadows would've stuck to me.
How much less overstimulated I would've felt.
The idea was very, very appealing.
Darius was showing a man to his car when I got to his place. He saluted him, and the guy grinned back, waving as he left.
"You didn't tell him you'd call, did you?" I murmured.
“No. He knows I don't do that. Everyone does." Darius slipped his hands in his pockets as I stepped past him, going into his house without an invitation.
I wouldn't be anywhere near as comfortable there as I was at my place, but he'd furnished it in a way that wasn't completely triggering for me.
"What happened with Darke?" he asked, following me in.
"He finally accepted that I'm going to do what I want, but things are worse than I realized for the demons right now."
"Guess the abduction is officially over. It was a stupid idea, anyway. It's much more effective to shove your way into your mate's life than try to drag them into yours."
"Are you speaking from experience?"
"Theoretic experience. I watched Callum and Liv and their mates, and I've had a damn long time to come up with a plan.Assuming I ever find my mate, which looks less likely by the day." He dragged a hand through his hair. "Want coffee?"
"Sure."
I sat down at his kitchen island, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on them lightly. Grayson's shadows moved slowly over my skin.
Darius eyed the magic. "You do know you've caught some sort of disease, right?"
I bit back a smile. "I noticed."
"Is it sexually transmitted?"
"If it was, you'd be in bed with a demon right now. It eases the price of my magic."
Dare's eyebrows shot upward. "How did he give them to you?"
"Some of them cling to me because we're partially mated, but he sort of assigned them to me? I don't know how it works. I feel like I don't know much of anything right now."
"We have that in common." He turned to the espresso machine on his countertop. Kat had given it to him a few months ago, after they bonded over the bitter bean juice. Dare was probably one of the only people who drank more coffee than Callum's little werewolf.
He made me a shot of decaf espresso and whipped up a latte before sliding it over to me. He didn't have to ask why I'd shown up. He knew I got lonely sometimes. Now that I wasn't homebound, I could go to him instead of always having him come to me.
"You're being quiet," I said, sipping the drink.
