“Ach,” said Arachne, waving a hand through the air, “who can even begin to imagine what men are thinking? Best not to even try.” She settled back in her silken hammock chair and sipped her own wine, closing all but two of her eight eyes. I pulled my knees up to my chest and dropped my forehead onto them, trying desperately to keep from making eye contact with Devil again.
Oberon had warned that my emotions would be heightened by the release of magyk, and he had certainly not been exaggerating. I’d felt everything a little too keenly, but neither Devil nor faerie wine had been around to enhance the effect until now. The wine wrapped all my sharp edges in a protective blanket, whichDevil had promptly torn away. His audacity made me so furious I could hardly think, but his mere presence made me feel so safe I did not evenwantto think. Those two feelings were so irreconcilable that I decided, since I could not seem to rid myself of him, I would have to rid myself of the wine instead. It seemed like a foolproof plan, until Arachne shifted forward and held out her empty cup.
“Help an old woman out, won’t ye, princess?”
“When will everyone stop calling me that?” I grumbled, getting to my feet.
“When ye become queen, of course.” Four of Arachne’s eyes winked. I walked away from her on unsteady legs, realizing that I hadn’t even begun to consider the implications of my newfound identity. When I reached for the spigot on the wine cask, there were shadows dancing across the surface of my skin, swirling like oil on water.
“Your magyk gives you away, Mayhem,” said a voice in my ear. I finished filling Arachne’s cup and steeled myself before turning to face him.
“And what, pray tell, is it giving away?” I asked, trying to sound unconcerned.
“How badly you need another drink,” Devil said.
“I am finished for the night, thank you.” I slipped past him, but neglected to hold my breath. His scent filled my nose again and I caught the corner of the trestle table with my hip. “Fuck!”
He trailed after me like a loyal hound and asked, “Are you drunk already?”
“I’m fine!”
“Let me take you home,” he offered.
I handed Arachne her cup, then turned to glare at him. “I can stumble back to your nest just fine on my own, thank you.”
“I promised Oberon I would have you home before breakfast tomorrow,” Devil said rather bitterly. “But since you’ve decided to drink yourself into a stupor, I’m afraid you will not wake up in time to keep that promise.”
I took a deep breath and narrowed my eyes at him. “We would have to fly to the Bower.”
“And?”
“You’re drunk too.”
“You think I cannot fly like this?” he chuckled.
“Not safe…” I mumbled, shaking my head. It was a poor excuse, but I did not want to risk being in close proximity to him again.
“Here.” Devil held his cup of wine out to me. “I will stop, and we can leave wheneveryoudeclare me sober enough.”
“But then I will be drunker than you are.”
He fought back a laugh. “You are already drunker than I am, Mayhem.”
“Well, I don’t…I am not…” I cast around for another excuse, but finding none, I sighed and finished off his wine, then said, “The magyk is…affecting my emotions…”
“Ah,” Devil replied, “I see. Is that why you abandoned me before I could finish the song?”
“No, that was because you were being vulgar.”
“Youasked what sort of song it was.” His peculiar, cawing laugh, and the amused light in his eyes sent another jolt of heat through me—softer and more affectionate than before. I thought about how easy it would be to simply tip forward, lean against him, feel his arms around me, his warmth seeping under my skin…
“I want to go back now,” I whispered suddenly, taking a step toward him. “I want…to see Sir Toby, and…sleep in my bed.”
Devil just gave a soft chuckle and said, “As you wish.”
I hardly even registered saying goodbye to Aliena and the others. The unsteadiness in my body only became worse, and I couldn’t help but feel it was more related to what had happened with the Rot than to the wine. I had grossly overextended myself and now I was paying the price. Shadows continued to curl between my fingers, even as I locked them around Devil’s neck. He slipped one arm beneath my knees and one around my back, then pumped his wings a few times and took off into the chill night air.
Since I could not escape from him now, I leaned my head against the crook of his shoulder and fell silent. The wave of feelings hit me again as soon as our skin touched, and it was everything I could do to force them down.It’s not real, I reminded myself over and over.You don’t really want him. The magyk is flooding you, testing you. Don’t do anything foolish.But the longer I was in his arms, the harder it became to ignore the fact that I was on fire.
