A horrible idea.
Rae made a strangled noise. "Why do I suddenly feel more tired?"
"Mer's panicking a little. Can you grab the headphones from the glove box?"
"Why is she panicking?"
"The clothes, probably," Dare said.
"Why? They look good." Rae glanced at me again, her mouth full of Chinese food and her skin even more gray than usual.
"They do, but the sensations are hard on her. Can you grab the headphones? She'll get her magic under control."
Rae pulled them out and handed them back. I tugged them over my ears, slowly.
Dare pulled to the side of the road long enough to get a blanket from the trunk of his car. He opened my door and tossed it over the top of me. The sound of it landing on me was muffled by the noise-cancelling headphones, and I breathed a little easier with the blanket darkening everything.
Darius pulled back onto the road. I felt the engine’s rumble, but it was soft enough not to trigger me any more than it already had.
"You're not allowed to think she looks good," Rae stated, her voice distant and quiet thanks to the headphones.
"What are you, the compliment police? Do you assassinate people for being nice to their friends these days?"
"Only if they also annoy me."
"Want me to tell you that you look good, too?"
"God, no. Then I'd definitely have to kill you."
Darius laughed, loudly.
He rarely laughed like that. Like he was genuinely entertained. "Then you're the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen, Rae."
"You're unstable."
"I am. Now, try the corn dog."
Rae made a sound of complaint. After a moment, it became a happy groan.
"What the fuck did they put in those? Drugs?"
"They're good, right?”
"Amazing."
"There's a corn dog truck a couple miles from the demons’ mansion. I'll buy you as many as you want if you bargain with me."
"I can buy my own corn dogs without trading my soul, Scorch."
"It was worth a try."
Rae made a noncommittal sound."If I was going to bargain with you for something, it would be a trial run of sex. At least I’d know it was going to end well, with the help of your magic."
"I'm always up for that." There was a pause, then Dare snorted. "That one was mine. Stop stealing my fucking food." He didn’t sound bothered in the slightest.
"No thanks," Rae said, the words muffled like her mouth was full of whatever she'd stolen. A corn dog, probably.
I managedto calm myself down as the drive continued.
