Page 17

She did as I bade, her lips twitching. “I admit, it’s surprisingly very comfortable.” Miko blew out a breath. “Between the tail and your wings, it’s like you have three extra arms.”

“That’s what I said!” I laughed heartily, then glowered at our surroundings. “In all seriousness though, we’re lucky it isn’t spelled to cause pain if touched, at least not without any ill intentions. Witches are trixy wee bitches.”

“And you know our captor is a witch how?”

I shrugged one heavy shoulder. “Ninety, no, ninety-nine percent of the time, if something is spelled or blatantly magical like these,” I expounded, gesturing to the glowing bars, “it’s because of sour pussed witches.”

Miko snort laughed, then jumped, as if she startled herself. “Sour pussed witches?”

My grin spread wider and a deluge of lust poured into me. That fucking laugh is the cutest damn thing I’ve ever heard. “I said what I said.”

The moment of levity quickly dissipated as a horrible, and ultimately very familiar sensation slithered over my skin, digging in tiny pinprick claws like a rat’s and pulling the flesh too taught. I’m in a cage again. No way out. My tail tapped sporadically against Miko’s shoulder, black spots blotching the edges of my vision. “Did the cage just shrink?” I mumbled, sounded incoherent even to my own ears.

“Bane?” Miko asked softly, touching a tiny, smooth hand to my cheek. “You’re okay. I’m here, you’re not alone.” I rocked back and forth, listening to her words but not able to comprehend them. “Can grotesques have panic attacks? I’m sure that’s what’s happening.”

My vision flickered, then cleared, as if her use of grotesque rather than motherfucking gargoyle yanked me from a darkening thought spiral. “I think that’s the quickest I’ve ever recovered from whatever the hell that was.” I turned my gaze on Miko, just as she reached around her back and pulled my tail around her hips and into her lap, a small smile brightening her delicate features. “Uh, t-thank you,” I uttered, tripping over my words, a purr building within me, “something about you keeps the madness mostly at bay. Rather than a full-blow manic episode, it feels more like the drip of lunacy has slowed a great deal.”

Her ears turned a pretty shade of pink, and I fought against the urge to pull her into my chest. I knew why she helped balance me mentally. No doubt it is a side effect of the faux mate bond. Not that I’d ever tell her that. These rationalizations do nothing to get us out of our current predicament. Not to mention, the sooner I get us out of this cage the sooner I can get away from her.

I cannot and will not fall for her. If I don't keep my distance, I don't know what I'll do.

“At least we're both in the cage together this time,” I joked.

Her fleeting smile vanished and she narrowed her eyes at me. “That's not helping. Nevertheless, this is just a dream, right? So, there must be a way out.”

My eyebrows rose, then I scratched behind one of my big cat-like ears. Did she really think none of this was real? “Sure, Hen.” I chuckled as a thought came to me. “You don't happen to have that magic key on you, do you?”

Miko stared at me, expression completely wiped of all emotion, then slid a hand into her pocket and held up the same the same key she had earlier. “This one? It’s just the key to my apartment, plus, I don't see any lock do you?”

I shrugged. “If this is a dream, there is no reason not to try. It worked last time, but this is a magical enchantment not iron forged.” Still, an idea came to me. “Can I see it?”

“What?”

“The key. Pass it to me,” I explained.

Her fist balled around it, then she exhaled through her nose and held out her hand, dangling the skeleton key by the leather thong. I took it from her and narrowed my eyes at our cage. “No time like the present,” I said, then jabbed the metal key into one of the glowing bars.

Magic sizzled and popped around us. A jolt went up my arm and directly to my heart as if I'd been struck with an electrical bolt. My claws shot from the tips of my fingers, stabbing into the thick muscle beneath my thumb as my hand clenched around the key so tightly I feared my bones would crack.

“What the hell? Bane!” Miko shouted in my ear.

I meant to reassure her I would be fine, not meany things could harm stone, but the only thing to pass my lips was garbled nonsense. My teeth ground together as another surge barbecued my heart, everything going dark. I sucked in a breath, wavering on my knees my vision refocusing, just as our magical entrapment burst into a shower of magical sparks. I dove over Miko, unsure if the magic would harm her. Tiny licks of fire burned through my T-shirt but did little to inflict damage on my granite body.

After a few minutes I uncurled and looked over her for damage. My eyes narrowed, but she looked uninjured. “Let's get the fuck out of here.”

Sweet smells cascaded around me as we crept to the door. I gripped the handle of the door only for it to squish strangely in my palm. My brows scrunched together. Again, I tried to twist the doorknob but it just stretched then sprung back into place. It’s then that I understood. Laughing, I raised my fist and punched a hole through the brittle graham cracker door.

I looked over my shoulder at my not-mate, not failing to notice the tiny smirk on her face, making me want to taste her pink shaded lips. “There, no doorknob necessary.” I turned away, then kicked a hole in the door until it was big enough for me to fit through sideways, shoving a large chunk of graham cracker into my mouth.

“Don't eat it,” Miko hissed. “What if it’s spelled, too?”

I shrugged then patted my flat abdomen. “Iron stomach,” I chucked, “or rather, stone. Don’t worry, it won't do anything to me as I don't really need to eat. I just enjoy food.”

Her eyes narrowed skeptically. “You’re ridiculous,” she chastised, then pushed at my back, her small hands grazing the base of my wings.

A grunt slipped passed my lips as we entered the main room of the cottage.

“Took you long enough,” a cracked, ancient sounding voice spat.