“Like I said, I’m just startled.” I gave her the most genuine smile I could muster. “I was in the middle of a weird dream and got a bit disoriented. Thanks for offering though.”
That was finally enough to get her moving. She trailed down the corridor and vanished out the door while I gathered my bag and tried to calm my racing heart. I hadn’t been lying about one thing. My dreams were super weird. I kept picturing Lucifer’s terrifying smile as he stabbed me over and over again.
When I got off the train, it turned out I’d landed in a rural town in Vermont. I hadn’t even known I’d crossed state lines, let alone gone that far north. A sunset streaked across the skies, lighting up the world in pink and orange hues. The air was cool against my bare arms as I lumbered out of the station and into town.
It looked like something out of one of those made-for-TV movies. The main road cut through a tree-lined street full of aesthetically pleasing red-brick buildings home to crafty boutiques and artisan coffee shops. Most of the businesses were already closed, but I spotted a Bed & Breakfast at the end of the block.
I waffled a bit as I approached. I needed something more like a motel, a rundown place where no one would want to chat about the weather or ask about my family and health. These Bed & Breakfast people would be chatty. I could tell by the cute animal trinkets hanging in the window.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have another choice that I could see. With a sigh, I trudged inside and asked for a room from a bubbly teenager behind the front desk. Likely the daughter of the owners.
She showed me to my room and handed me a welcome pack without peppering me with a million questions. Maybe I’d misjudged the place. Or maybe she could tell I needed to crawl into bed by the look on my face.
I’d never been more tired in my life, and I knew this was only the beginning. I had no idea where I was going or how I’d get the money to survive.
The motto of the Legion rattled in my head.
One day at a time.
26
Ten hours of sleep did my body a lot of good, but my mind was still frazzled. It felt like I’d stuck my finger into a light socket. Repeatedly.
I’d done it. Shocking, really. Getting out of New York had happened in a whirlwind of panic and fear, and I hadn’t fully thought things through. But I’d done it. Now, I had to figure out my next steps.
After showering and tugging one of Az’s shirts over my head, I tried to ignore the overwhelming scent of him and get on with things. I’d paid for two nights at the B&B, but I needed to plot out my next move now.
A knock sounded on my door. Ah, there it was. The intrusion I’d been expecting. They’d left me to sleep all morning, but their curiosity would have gotten the better of them by now. Who was their new guest? Where had she come from? And why was she wearing a shirt that was three sizes too big?
I’d had all night and morning to plot my story. I’d lean in to my southern roots and distract them with stories about my childhood when they got too inquisitive about my current situation. There’d be no mention of New York. And definitely no talk of demons.
When I pulled open the door, my eyes were met with a dark, fitted t-shirt over sculpted muscles. My eyes followed that shirt up to a familiar throat and jaw. Despair rushed over me when I met Asmodeus’s gaze. I shook my head, stepping back. How the hell had he found me?
“Mia,” he said roughly, hands fisted by his sides. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was actually going to ask you that exact same question,” I whispered.
A part of me was relieved to see him. My body yearned to rush toward him and leap into his arms. It had only been a day, and I’d missed him so much my soul hurt. But I couldn’t. I’d left New York for a reason.
“Why do you think I’m here?” he asked, turmoil rolling through his eyes. “To track you down. You vanished, Mia. I’ve been losing my fucking mind.”
I winced and craned my head around the doorframe to check the corridor. This probably wasn’t the best conversation to have anywhere there might be curious ears. “We should probably talk inside my room.”
“Fine,” he growled, storming inside and slamming the door behind him. I winced. “Mia, how could you have left like that? I thought Lucifer had gotten to you. I thought you might be dead.”
“I figured it would be obvious,” I whispered harshly as my own hands began to shake. “I overheard you talking to Caim. You were never going to try to save the Legion by fighting. You were going to sacrifice yourself and spend an eternity in Hell. And every single one of your demons would have followed you. Caim, Phenex, Bael, Valac, Stolas. You’d be trapped there. For a long, long time. Did you really think I would be okay with you doing that when there was another solution right in front of us all this time?”
All the words tumbled out of my mouth in one breathless rush. All my thoughts and feelings were twisted up together, tearing me apart from the inside out. He shouldn’t have come here. We’d been so close to fixing everything. How had he even tracked me down?
“Thisisn’t a solution.” He gestured at his shirt, at the room, at the fact he was here. “Those are the only clothes with you. Aren’t they? What about cash? Do you have any?”
I swallowed hard. “I had a little. I used it to book this room.”
“How much is left?”
“Um, five or six dollars?”
“Right.” He folded his arms, shadows whipping across his skin. “And what are you going to do when that runs out? Where are you going to stay? How are you going to eat?”
