“I think a kiss is a big thing,” he tells me, his voice low and quiet. “I think when offered and accepted, it can be one of the most life-altering experiences souls can have. That first spark of connection, the possibilities that are created in that moment, the paths that can be taken because of it.” His golden eyes flit back and forth between mine as he speaks, and now all I can think about are his profound words and what it would be like to experience the kind of kiss he’s talking about.
“I thought you weren’t going to get all cheesy,” I joke, suddenly needing to lighten the heaviness of the moment. I want something from him. But not here in this place. Not when there’s so much horror and pain mortared into every stone that makes up the walls that cage us in.
He snorts and finally lets go of my hand, though instead of dropping it completely, he sets it down so that it rests on his knee. “I knew it. You’re already giving me shit,” he says with a smirk that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Isn’t that what maybe-mates do? Give each other shit?” I reply, my fingers itching to move over his knee, to trace his skin the way he traced mine. If we were anywhere but here, I would. I would push the boundary with no self-consciousness or hesitation, simply because I could. I would abandon all fear of falling or rejection because that’s what it means to truly live, but I won’t taint what could be with this place. So I’m content to just rest my hand on him.
“I wouldn’t know. I never thought I’d actually find a maybe-mate, let alone a mate.”
“That makes two of us,” I reply, my rebellious index finger tapping slowly over the bend of his knee.
Toreon lets out a frustrated sigh. “Every time I hear about your life in the Mortal Realm, it makes me want to punch someone. I hate that you lived like that. And now you’re here in a special kind of hell no one should have to endure.”
His outrage on my behalf warms my heart. “It’s okay. Maybe it’s like you said to Vudu, that everything was meant to happen this way. I was meant to be captured by Morax so that I could be here, in the dungeon, to meet my sister...and you.”
His teeth flash in the dim lighting as his golden eyes glint with mirth. “Now who’s being cheesy?” he replies, nudging me slightly through the bars.
I don’t even try to deny it. We both know cheesy looks good on me.
18
I’m not sure how much time passes as Toreon and I talk. Minutes? An hour? There’s no way of telling how long Medley has been gone, but he keeps a steady stream of conversation going, never giving me the chance to slip back into my quiet worry. He tells me things like how he grew up in Ūnus, isolated from all other demons other than his family and Vudu’s.
We talk about simple, fun things too, like our favorite foods and our most embarrassing moments. Mine: lasagna, and accidentally mooning the asylum’s visitor room when the drawstring to my pants ripped. His: some weird Hellish soup, and the time he got so drunk off demon spirits Vudu had to carry him home. Like a baby.
I laughed so hard at that story that tears sprang to my eyes, and my stomach ached. But Toreon did the impossible. He distracted me. He made me forget where I was and what we’re up against. Just for a little while.
But when the heavy door to the dungeon clangs open, our little bubble pops as we spring apart, and reality comes crashing down around us.
Morax strides in alone. “You’ll be happy to know that you’ll be reunited with your sisters soon,” he says, coming to stop right in front of my cage.
With a quick press of his palm, he magically makes a doorway and motions me out. I don’t waste time scrambling up and doing what he wants, regardless of the fact that he’s not ordered me too. With Medley and Delta out there, I won’t risk angering him. There’s too much at stake.
My quick move to please him lights amusement in his white, slitted eyes. “Already so well-trained,” he says mockingly.
I bite back a retort, and then he unexpectedly places a hand on my back between my wings and shoves me forward hard. I