Quickly, I grabbed her by the hilt and pulled her back. “Woah, let’s all calm down a notch, huh?”
“See!” he sneered. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t trust a demon further than you can throw them. First, we get orcs and minotaurs stinking up our streets, and this morning a freaking dragon of all things lands in the middle of uptown as if he owns the place!”
“Alright!” I shouted, holding up a hand to cease his rambling. “We get it, we’re going.” Alexis thrashed in my hold, nearly taking me off my feet. I dug my heels in when she tried to lurch forward, then slowly dragged us backward away from the coliseum’s entrance.
“Cherry, what the hell?” she snapped.
I pulled her in front of me to whisper closer to her hilt. “I know, he’s a piece of shit. But he is also not the only guard in this area. I don’t know how many of them it’s going to take to throw us in a dungeon, but I can guess how many they’re going to use.”
Her hilt grew red hot under my grip and I released her. “Fine,” she hissed. “But I will not forget this transgression.” The angry coloring faded from her as we walked away.
“I’m sorry,” I said, unsure of how to comfort her.
The sword giggled in a way that sent a shiver down my spine. “Oh, don’t you worry, I’ll get back at him. One way or another.”
Well, at least she’s optimistic.
Alexis remained silent the rest of the way back to the house. I stayed quiet and let her be. Clearly, she needed to work through her frustrations. When we finally made it back inside, I set the chicken and lemon cake down on the table. Almost as if they had a mind of their own, my feet carried me to the bedroom, eager to see Dante again. It was ridiculous, seeing as I had only left him a few hours prior, but I missed him. Whether it was from the magic bond or actual feelings, I wasn’t sure. The ache between my legs was easy to identify. That was obviously magic.
I think.
The door to the bedroom was cracked open, and I peeked inside to see Dante still in the bed. His face was scrunched up as if he was having a nightmare. Just before I opened the door to wake him, I noticed a large shadow cast on the side of the wall. Fear gripped my heart, and I swung the door open.
Instead of a large shadow creature, Rebekah sat on his chest. Candlelight from the bedside lantern cast a wide shadow on the wall and I let out a breath of relief. The kitten stared down at Dante’s face with intense concentration. She had slowly turned her head to face me after the door had creaked. The intensity in her icy blue eyes made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I shivered. “Geez, no wonder Alexis thought you were some terror creature.”
“Oh, perfect!” the sword chirped behind me. “Just the little monster I wanted to see.” She ducked underneath me and floated next to Rebekah. “Up you go,” she said as an orange glow appeared around the kitten and lifted her off of Dante.
Flailing, the kitten swiped uselessly at the sword, hissing and spitting in an adorable fit of rage only a kitten could manage. Alexis ignored her protests and moved to leave, the kitten floating helplessly behind her. “Excuse me,” she said.
I stepped aside allowing her to pass. “Where are you taking her?”
Cackling evilly, she raised the kitten up higher, showing off her prize. “I’m going to put kitty cat here in the knights’ barracks. That’ll show those disrespectful little shits.”
I tilted my head. “So she pees on their stuff? I asked. As far as petty revenge schemes went, it wasn’t a bad idea. Cat piss was damn near impossible to get out. The smell was so rancid it could make your nose curl.
There was a pregnant pause. “… Yes. Don’t wait up for me.” Rebekah gave one last yowl of protest before she and Alexis disappeared back into the busy streets.
A deep voice whispered my name close behind me.
“Ah!” I whipped around to see Dante looking down at me with tired eyes. He raised a brow at my outburst and I quickly covered my heart to smooth its frantic beating. “Hissing pumas, you move like a ghost.”
“Alas, I’m still alive,” he said, sardonically, then tilted his head toward the table. “Please tell me that food is for me.”
At my nod he wasted no time in helping himself. Growing up with two brothers had gotten me accustomed to watching men eat their food with gusto. Yet it still didn’t prepare me for how quickly Dante tore apart that chicken like it owed him a debt. “No one’s gonna take the chicken from you, Dante. You can slow down. Maybe taste it a little.”
“Hmm.” He cracked a smile but didn’t slow down. It wasn’t long until he finished it off and moved on to the neatly wrapped dessert. His lips parted on a gasp. “Cherry, I didn’t think you’d be so forward in your advances.”
“What are you going on about?”
“If this lemon tart is your way of seducing me, it’s working.”
“You are shockingly low maintenance if that’s all it takes.”
He ignored me in favor of dramatically eating a spoonful. “And there’s caramel glazed drizzle on the top? Oh, you saucy minx.”
“Are you feeling any better?” I asked, draping my coat around a chair. When I pulled it out to sit, he held out a hand to stop me.
“Hold on, this is new,” he remarked, gesturing at my outfit. “Give us a turn, I want to see it.”
