I snort, glancing away. “It’s a dragon egg. Omen’s soulbound needed an egg. He just swiped the wrong one.”
“What’s a soulbound?” She turns to me with confusion on her face and a small green book in her hands. “Wait. A dragon? You brought a fucking dragon into my house?”
“Uh, no. It’s not a dragon…yet. And technically, Providence brought it here. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I was in the void and she picked it up. Thought I had hold of it when I got pulled away.”
Her mouth tightens as if she’s holding back what she really wants to ask. “Do you still have it?”
I really don’t want to answer her. “A soulbound is basically soulmates. Though it’s a bit more intense than humans make it.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. One soul is bound to another. Can I see it?”
Sighing, I pull it from my pocket and hold it out. She scrambles over, her bad mood vanishing in the wake of something new and exciting. I glance over my shoulder and note her clean plate, filing away the information for later. If thereisa later for us.
She hesitates, her hand hovering over the egg. “Is it hot?”
“Why don’t you just take it and see? It’s not about to hatch so you’re fine.”
Her eyes snap to mine. “How do you know?”
I shrug, then grab her wrist, turn over her hand, and drop it in her palm. “Worked with them for a bit.”
“You worked with dragons? Didn’t they want to eat you?”
I smirk, raising an eyebrow. “You thoughtIwanted to eat you when we first met, spitfire. Which I’m still willing to?—”
“Stop talking,” she growls, but there’s a hint of a smile on her lips. “It’s glowing. And not as hot as I thought it’d be. Wait, is that because it’s dying?”
“For someone who was concerned with dragons eating demons, you’re pretty cut up about a baby dragon not making it.”
Her mouth drops open. “It’s ababy.”
I hold my hands up with a chuckle. “Okay, no jokes about the baby. Got it.”
“Don’t you need to take it back?” she asks as she cradles it to her chest. I start to reply when her nose scrunches. “Who’s Providence. I mean, what’s Providence? And who’s Omen? And Clara?”
“You realize by asking me about my life, you’re going to have to tell me about yours, right?”
She tips her chin up. “If you don’t want to tell me anything, just say that.”
I hold my hands up and gesture her into the living room. If I don’t sit down soon, my knees are going to give out. Not that she needs to know that. There’s nothing she can do for me other than find a cure, which I’m not entirely sure she can. I don’t even know if she would help me. Our relationship thus far hasn’t exactly been stable. Asking again feels like a fool’s errand.
Once we’re settled on the couch, I take a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start. “Omen’s another demon. We’re best friends. Providence is his sister, though it’s not like siblings up here. It’s hard to explain. You just met her, but I doubt you’ll see her again. She keeps to herself most of the time. Um…Clara is the witch Omen is soulbound to. She summoned him, and they’re kind of in the middle of some bullshit. I don’t know. I try to stay out of the nitty gritty—only give advice when it’s necessary.”
Her eyebrows climb up her forehead the longer I speak. “Clara’s a witch? Why didn’t you just ask her about your curse?”
“Did you miss the part about them being in the middle of bullshit? I barely touched her arm a while back and Omen almost flamed out on me. Put me into a fucking wall.”
Alarm flashes across her face. “Why are you laughing about that?”
“Mari, I’m a demon. It’s how we deal.”
“Putting each other into walls and turning into balls of fire? Because I’m assuming when you say ‘flamed out’ he literally turned into flames.”
I nod, realizing how observant she’s been. I thought most of the time she was merely tolerating my presence. Now I’m not so sure.
“So?” I prompt, hoping she’ll open up.
“So what? Oh, is this the part where I spill all my deepest, darkest secrets? Maybe throw in a couple childhood traumas and a good generational prophecy or two?”
