Had they taken his arm?
I pulled my foot out of the water and shook it off, thankful for waterproof boots. Still, it was gross, and as soon as things settled down, they were getting a good wash. Or the fire.
Tucking the feather I’d used into the inner pocket of my jacket, I went to the sink and took several deep breaths. I didn’t know how long I needed to stay before it was safe to return.
If I went back too soon, they’d capture me too.
I turned on the faucet and stared at the water running out of it. I’d seen nothing like it before. I scooped some into my hands and then let it go.
It was clear, but it smelled like an apothecary had dumpedhis strongest, worst elixirs into it. Inferna’s water might have been red, but it didn’t smell.
My hands were wet, and I looked around for a stack of drying cloths. The only thing I could find was a small bit of paper hanging out of the bottom of a box. I pulled on it, and it made a sound like a possessed demon, spitting out more paper.
“Ah!” I jumped back, nearly running into the toilet. “That was completely unnecessary!”
I grabbed the paper and tore it free with perhaps more force than necessary because the box let out another shriek and vomited out more paper in retaliation.
“Seriously?” I hissed at it, shaking my head. “You couldn’t let me dry my hands in peace? No need to scream at me.”
The thing offered no apology, apparently content with terrorizing anyone who dared need a cloth.
I dried my hands, keeping my eye on the box. “You’re lucky I didn’t stab you.”
The bathroom door opened, and a man poked his head in. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He was about to shut the door again when he stopped and cocked his head.
Instead of leaving, he walked in and shut the door behind him, locking it.
I reached for my waistband and pulled out my knife, holding it in front of me. He raised an eyebrow and then put up his hands.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was melodic and made me shiver, and not from fear. “I can sense you.”
I backed up, and my ass hit the sink. Water seeped through my pants. Great. I had gross water on me.
“What do you mean, you can sense me?” I narrowed my eyes, assessing him.
He was about four inches taller than me, which meant he was about six feet. It was nice not having to look up foronce—Nico, Val, and Amari all topped six feet by a few inches.
Unfortunately, the man wasn’t bad on the eyes either. He had blond hair that was tousled as if he had just rolled out of bed and had three days’ worth of scruff on his face. If he hadn’t intruded on my safe space and locked the door, I would have considered him hot.
And if he hadn’t opened his mouth.
“Who are you?”
I tightened my grip on my knife. “You’re asking me who I am? You’re the asshole who locked himself in the bathroom with me!”
“You didn’t lock the door.” He crossed his arms over his chest, the gesture making him look like he owned the place. Owning a bathroom suited him.
My jaw tightened so hard the muscle in my cheek twitched. The comment grated on my nerves. As ifthatwere the problem here and the locked door was what I should worry about.
My grip on the knife didn’t waver, but there was a slight tremor in my forearm from holding tension too long. The light above us buzzed like a bug, casting harsh shadows across his face, making him look even more smug.
No, I hadn’t locked the door. I’d been too busy dealing with a shrieking paper demon and worrying about Amari, who had been about to be mutilated, and Val, who would probably get himself killed. The idea of locking the bathroom door had been so far down my list of priorities that it hadn’t registered.
“And you didn’t knock. Are there people on the other side of the door?”
An amused expression crossed his face. “How’d you get in the bathroom? You had to have walked through the coffee shop.”
“I had to pee so bad that I wasn’t paying attention.”
