norms of brownie behavior. This was their way of ostracizing him. But I couldn’t be more thankful he was here.
“That’s okay. At least I can get away with not having to really clean.” Opie continued to sweep absently at the blanket, forcing a smile back on his mouth. “I mean, upstairs everything has to be perfect, but down here?” He motioned around with a shrug. “Minus the shit, vomit, piss, blood, or brain matter, it’s the easiest job ever.”
“Brain matter?” My eyes widened. Was he cleaning the cages down in the lab?
Chirp.
“Bitzy thinks you’re an idiot.” Opie skipped over my question.
I pinched my nose, still trying to accept they were here. They were real. “Shocker.”
“Do you enjoy being in a cell so much you had to find another?” Opie sighed. “I mean, I’ve heard a lot of women are into being chained up, especially by Lord Killian, but this seems a bit excessive.”
“Gross.” I gritted my teeth, a flush of chagrin heating my neck. “That man is arrogant, heartless, and—” My mind rolled back to the night before, the feel of his body pressed into me, his power vibrating down my bones. The intensity of his gaze as his finger grazed my neck.
“Hot?” Opie pipped in.
Lowering my lids, I glared at him.
Chirp.
“What?” Opie peered between Bitzy and me. “Like you two weren’t thinking it.”
“No.”
Chirp.
“You are both full of shit.” He rolled his eyes.
Chirp.
“Please, how many times have you wanted to put your finger up his nose or other places?”
Bitzy blinked, her head tipping in thought.
“Double gross.” I rubbed my head, sitting back more firmly against the wall, dragging my knees up, yawning. After the traumatic, emotional day before, I pretty much had passed out, my night haunted with cries, blood, and skeletons attacking me. “Any way you can sneak me coffee down here?”
This place could be considered more ruthless than Halálház; at least there, I could get coffee before lashings.
“I’m sorry, do I look like a barista to you?” He motioned down to himself.
“In your outfit, you’d be a good one at Madam Kitty’s.”
“Kitty?” His eyes bulged, peering around him. “Where? Where?” He crouched down, his arms poised to fight.
Chirp.
“I can so fight.”
Chirp.
“I did not scream like a peacock and hide under a pillow.”
Chirp.
“Well, the cat was huge! And I swear it was out to get me.” Opie circled his arms in some generic karate move. “And don’t get all cocky. You hid under the pillow with me. I didn’t see you running out and challenging it.”
Chirp.
“Okay.” I broke off their repartee, holding up my hands at them. “What is going on?”
“You said there was a kitty.” He kicked out his leg. “Come on, fuzz bucket. Come face me now!”
A laugh burst from my chest. It was like clearing out the cobwebs in an abandoned house, letting light into my soul. The giggles bubbled from my mouth, making me feel lighter. I couldn’t even remember the last time I laughed.
“What?” Opie peered back at me.
“There’s no cat.” I held a hand to my mouth, the giggles bursting through my fingers.
“No cat?” Opie lowered his arms slowly, still gazing around.
“No.” I shook my head, wiping away a drop of moisture that escaped from the corner of my eye. A tear shed in amusement, not pain.
“Then why did you say there was?” Opie huffed.
Chirp.
Finger.
“Madam Kitty. She’s a person. She runs a brothel in the Savage Lands.”
“Savage Lands?” Opie went still, his mouth dropping. “You were there?”
“I was.” I tipped my head back to the wall, every detail of my time there still vibrant and loud in my mind. “Only for a few days, but it definitely made an impression. I think you’d fit in well where I stayed.”
“What’s it like?” Opie stepped closer to me, his eyes glistening with wonder. “I’ve always wanted to go, but Master Finn says only the depraved and disreputable brownies go there. We should appreciate what we have and not venture out of our world. We already have the best. No point to see anything else.”
“The best for who?” I flicked the tassel out of his eyes, hitting Bitzy in the face. She glared and flipped me off. How sad that her gesture felt so comforting to me. “Best is relative, isn’t it? What’s best for asshole Finn might not be best for you.” Damn, if I didn’t sound similar to my old Druid friends. I thought about Tad and Kek a lot, hoping they were okay. That they escaped and were safe somewhere. “I was raised