Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons #2) - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,24
spare time to some good use. Research is what I’m good at.”
"You can take your research and shove it up your pale ass!"
Piers stood up so we were more on a level, and looked right at me. ”Are you okay?"
"Everyone needs to stop asking me that! I've never been better." I grabbed a stack of books.
"Bevan, they're very delicate. You need gloves to touch them." He held up his hand. "I told you to be careful about taking Variel's power."
"Of course you don't want me to take Variel's power, you little shit."
But when I looked at him…oh, damnit.
Piers knew me well enough to know that I was a very calm personality. I wasn't acting like myself. I saw it in his eyes, and I knew it, too. I wasn't controlled anymore. All I could think about was beating up people I was angry at, doing grandiose things that would anoint me the leader of all familiar-kind, and taking Jenny for my own like she was some sort of prize.
"I know how you're feeling," Piers said. "The power coursing through you makes you feel like you can do anything."
"Don't compare anything you did to how I feel. Familiars have been used by people like you. And by you personally, for that matter. It is not the same."
“Yes. You're right," Piers said. “But just because you have good reasons doesn’t mean you won’t do something regrettable.”
“I can control it, though. I'm not trying to do anything like what you tried to do."
"I know warnings are probably useless," Piers said. "But 'I can control it' definitely falls in famous last words territory."
"You're really the last person who should talk." I was scowling at the cake box now.
"Jenny told me I should try to find something I can do to make the world better," Piers said.
“Variel said he wanted to study familiars to make Jenny happy. What happened to him, I wonder?”
“He walked into the library,” Piers said. “But I had already checked out all the material, and the librarians told him to leave. They don’t trust a demon. I guess I managed to pass muster. Librarians always did like me…”
“I guess I’d rather you than him,” I said.
“I just find myself wanting to protect you,” Piers said. “Because she loves you, and she deserves happiness. She’s so good, so loyal, like Chester was. I don't want to get in the way. I swear on all that’s holy, Bevan. She still doesn't even realize the extent of the damage I caused, or she'd hate me more than Variel. I just want to beg one thing of you: don't corrupt that girl. You'll never forgive yourself.”
“Do you really have a little life left in your shriveled heart, Piers?” I groaned. “I can’t believe you don’t just want something.”
“I want—redemption!” Piers said. “I want to stop feeling like I despise myself and I don’t even deserve to enjoy my breakfast, much less…magical research. Which I used to love. I know why you don’t trust me. I wouldn’t either. But if I can actually help you and Jenny—I’d feel like I could breathe again. Just a little.”
I pushed the cake box toward him.
"What's that?" Piers asked.
"Jenny wanted you to have some cake." I shrugged. "She's bringing some to Gillian and Jameson. I volunteered to find you." I started to leave.
"Bevan," Piers called. "Hang on."
"What is it now?"
"Do you want to know what I've been finding out in these books? That's what you really wanted to know, isn't it?"
Chapter Eleven
Jenny
Now that I was getting over my sickness, I realized I was in the most wonderful and romantic place in the world. I must have walked miles every day, just exploring the streets and the palace and visiting the patisserie and some of the smaller bake shops as well.
If I was ever fortunate enough to do what I wanted in life, I would certainly become a baking witch and learn how to make pastries that healed people and gave them insight. La Serenissima had several shops of the type, and even if I couldn't become an apprentice yet, I spent as much time there as I could. I would order a sweet and a coffee and nurse it for a long while, watching what customers ordered, what they needed, and how they reacted to the flavors if they ate it there in the shop. I saw how they settled in, how it was a happy part of their day. Even when they were sitting alone, they seemed content.