When he settles in the chair across from me, I sink into my seat. We dish everything up in silence. Suffocating silence. I open my mouth more than once to break it, always thinking better of it before I make a sound. He doesn’t notice he’s so focused on his plate.
His fork is halfway to his mouth with a heaping pile of hashbrowns when he lets out a growl. I freeze, glancing around. Nothing moves. Maybe it’s a Hell thing.
“Fuck off, Providence,” he snarls, never taking his eyes from his plate.
“Um…”
A woman materializes next to me. I yelp as my chair tips back and I fall in slow motion. And then the world stops. Or rather, I stop my sluggish descent. Dimitri’s foot tugs on the bottom of my seat, righting me. My hands slap the table, and the silverware rattles against my mug.
“What a way to greet me,” the woman,Providence, says with a sniff. “You forgot this.”
She drops an iridescent object on the table, narrowly missing the eggs.
How did he know I like my eggs over easy and not scrambled?
I shake my head, focusing on Providence. She might be a demon, but she seems more like a goddess with her straight silver hair cascading down her back and her eyes flashing from silver to gold before finally settling on solid black. I press my lips together, unable to rip my gaze from her.
“Knock it off, Prov.”
She tilts her head as she stares at me. “Or what?”
“Squids.”
Her nostrils flare and her sharp cheekbones become plumper. I blink several times, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.
“No need for that,” she snaps, then turns her attention to my demon.Thedemon.
“Then you can leave.”
I clear my throat, and Providence’s gaze flicks to me. I point to the object. “Sorry, what is that?”
She rolls her eyes to Dimitri. “Another little witch? Are you two collecting them or something? Next thing you know, Triton’s going to be hiding one in his attic or something. I swear, you demons get bolder with each passing cycle.”
“Would you shut the fuck up?” Dimitri growls. “I’ve got enough problems without you piling on more?”
She holds up her hands and steps back gracefully. Actually, I think she’s floating. I glance at her feet, but white clouds obscure her from the knees down. She bends, forcing me to focus on her face. I swallow hard. She’s not particularly scary. For some reason, her presence unsettles me. Especially when she tilts her head and stares into my eyes. It’s as if she’s searching for my soul to snatch it up and eat it.
Her lips twitch, and I wonder if she can read my mind. I repeat one word over and over in my head. If she wants to decipher my thoughts, she’s going to have to try harder than…before? What the fuck am I doing?
“Petrichor? The smell after a good rain?” she murmurs, and I gag on my own spit.
“What are you babbling about?” Dimitri interjects, but neither of us pays him any mind.
“No, witch. I can’t read your mind.”
“Then how?—”
“You were mouthing the word.” She grins, and it transforms her face into something not as terrifying. “Welp, I better get going. Lives to destroy, couples to devastate. You know how it is.”
Dimitri sighs heavily and grabs the object she dropped on the table. He tucks it away in a pocket I can’t see. From the way he’s acting, I doubt he’ll tell me what it is. Honestly, it looked like an egg. Not one I’ve ever seen before, though.
“Get on with it then,” he growls, still staring at his plate. He hasn’t looked at me once since he stumbled into the kitchen.
“Nice to meet you,” I whisper.
She narrows her eyes, that smile still playing on her lips. “Little piece of advice, dear. Don’t wait. Good things never happen to those who do.”
She gives a pointed look at Dimitri before wiggling her fingers at me, then vanishing as quickly as she appeared. A barrage of questions sits on my tongue, and I open my mouth to unleash them. They die on the tip when he holds up his hand. His shoulders slump and he slowly shakes his head.
