For a few seconds neither of us spoke before I admitted quietly, “I thought he’d come back.”
Nina’s expression changed slightly after that. Not teasing anymore. Before she could say anything, something slipped from the hoodie pocket and landed softly against the floor beside the couch.
Both our attention shifted to my hand at the same time. A black ring rested against it, simple dark metal marked with faint silver symbols curling along the inside.
Nina stared at it for one full second before turning toward me. “Please tell me demons do friendship rings.”
“I don’t think demons do friendships.”
“ And I really don’t like that .”
The ring glowed faintly, before disappearing .
Both of us screamed. The light spread briefly across the apartment walls before dark symbols burned themselves into the paint near the kitchen doorway.
Nina grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise. “NOPE. Absolutely not.”
I was already staring at the wall. Three words slowly appeared through black smoke curling against the paint.
Come get me.
The apartment went completely silent. Nina's eyes moved from the message to me.
Then at the shoes already in my hands.
“…Eva.”
“I need to make a very bad decision.”
Nina stared at me for a long second before pointing dramatically toward the glowing message still burned across the kitchen wall. “Okay first of all, I need it officially documented somewhere that this is the worst idea you’ve ever had.”
“That feels dramatic.”
“You are trying to go to HELL.”
“In my defense,” I muttered while shoving my feet into my shoes, “this week has been beyond difficult to me.”
Nina followed me as I moved around the apartment gathering candles from random surfaces with the energy of somebody making terrible life choices at alarming speed.
“You cannot seriously be considering this.”
“I’m not considering it.”
“That made me MORE nervous.”
I grabbed the gold chalk from beside the coffee table while the black ring continued glowing faintly against the floorboards nearby.
The apartment felt exactly like it had the night I summoned him. Only now I understood what I was doing. Which was significantly more dangerous.
Nina watched me clear space on the living room floor before speaking carefully. “Eva.”
When I lifted my gaze, I realized she wasn't joking this time.
“You know this could actually kill you, right?”
The honesty in her voice hit harder than I expected.
I studied the chalk in my hand for a second while silence settled across the apartment again. His hoodie still hung oversized around my shoulders, carrying that faint smell of coffee and smoke and him.
