“Look how cute she is,” Dimitri coos.
“Fuck me,” I breathe, planting my fists on my hips and tucking my chin to my chest.
“Shit. Omen? I think she's hurt.”
My head snaps up and I rush toward them. No matter how much I want to drop-kick the feline into the sun, I can't let it dieon me. Clara seems to love this thing. I never got to ask her if he was her familiar, though Dimitri mentioned the practice fell off a few centuries ago.
Still, Clara isn't your typical witch. From what I've seen, she dabbles in the old arts more often than not, what with that damn book she uses. Even if Sunshine isn't her familiar, he's definitely important to her. She'd be devastated if something happened to him.
I drop to my knees, and the cat gazes at me over his shoulder. His dark squished face looks exactly the same. He's not favoring any of his limbs and there's no blood that I can see.
“Where?” I snarl as I run my hands through his fur.
“She looks like she ran into something. Cat's faces aren't supposed to look like that.”
I heave out a sigh, tipping my head back. “First of all, it's a he. Second, that's just his face. I think Clara rescued it or something.”
Dimitri snorts and gathers the cat up in his arms. “Let me get this straight, your little witch has a cat, which probably is a familiar?—”
“Or she rescued it.”
He plows on, ignoring my interruption. “You're freaking out about it being hurt, but you hate cats. And you're still clinging to the fact you don't care about Clara?”
I scowl, glancing away. “I never said I didn't care for her. I'm just acutely aware of the risks of getting involved with a witch.”
“Uh, Omen?”
“None of which has anything to do with her personally. A witch doesn't belong in Hell. If she'd just get rid of the summoning circle…fuck, if she never chalked it in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess.”
A soft sigh behind me has me closing my eyes. Of course, she followed her damn cat all the way to the depths of Hell. Becausewhy not? I'm not even surprised she popped up right when I was talking shit.It's not like I have any luck to speak of whatsoever. To be fair, very little of my rant had anything to do with her.
She's not to blame. She just wanted to have a jar opened. I could have told her to get rid of the circle or left as soon as she called for me the next time. I could have stayed away or kept my walls up around her.
Except I know I wouldn't have been able to resist her. Not with our souls being bound to one another. We were always destined to meet. I didn't have to weave our lives together, though. And now I've fucked it up before I've really explored where our future could lead.
If I don't turn around, I won't have to face her. Maybe she'll just poof out and forget everything in the void. From Dimitri's grimace, I doubt Fortune is on my side. He's a fickle creature, much like Karma. For as similar as they are, they bicker like the siblings they are, rarely teaming up. I'd be content to never cross either one of their paths again. Not that Karma leaves anyone alone.
“Omen,” Dimitri hisses, and I snap back to reality.
“Sorry,” Clara says softly. “I didn't mean to interrupt. Actually, I didn't really think this would…I decided against…” She huffs, then clears her throat. “Your cat was about to eat hemlock. I stopped him and the summoning circle sent me here. If someone could just point me to the nearest portal, I'll be out of your hair.”
Dimitri clutches the cat closer to his chest, and I roll my eyes. I push to my feet and snatch the feline from him despite his protests. I'm not letting him keep her pet. When I finally face her, she's avoiding my gaze. I don't blame her. I shove Handsome or Sunshine or whatever the hell she calls him, through the bars and wait.
Her nostrils flare. “I'm not taking the cat, Omen.”
“I'll take him,” Dimitri calls, and a flash of heat bursts from the top of my head. “Or not.”
“Well, I sure as shit ain't taking him. He's yours.”
She shakes her head, pressing her lips together. I pull the cat back and twist around to drop him into Dimitri's lap. I'm not about to argue with her about a fucking pet while I'm locked in a cage.
“Can you find a key?” I ask as I turn back to her.
“So, you are in trouble?”
“Trouble? Not really. Energy is probably just off or the magic. Either way, we're stuck in here.”
She nods, staring at the lock. She steps closer and a shiver runs through my body when I finally get a good look at her. Dimitri better be absorbed with her cat instead of staring at Clara's bare legs. Not much time must have passed between my leaving and her coming. I wince and my cock hardens. I'm sure she was pissed when I left her on the edge of an orgasm. Makes two of us.
