14. Kennedy… and Lilith
CHAPTER 14
KENNEDY… AND LILITH
BILLIE
I t’s definitely a human woman. She has a heart-shaped face, dark blonde hair that falls down her shoulder, and a pair of big, brown eyes.
Oh, and she’s visibly pregnant.
Is that what I have to look forward to if I decide to throw caution to the wind and continue this adventure in Sombra? Accept Glaine as my mate and start popping out half-demon, half-human babies while he keeps me pregnant and barefoot in the demon version of a kitchen I can’t use?
I chuckle wryly as I look down at my ash-covered feet. Looks like I got the barefoot part down pat before looking up to see that, while I might’ve stared at her belly before, she’s now gaping at me
Okay. I know I’m a hot mess. I got spoiled at the doppelseers, but they obviously didn’t have any curly girl products. Plus my poor dress is trash.
But is it really that bad?—
“Oh my God! You’re Billie! From Thr33peat.” She cocks out her hip, showing off the slight bump of her belly as she strikes a very familiar pose. “‘One, Two, Three’,” she sings out, managing to match my contralto voice, Tandy’s soprano, and Sierra’s signature rasp in the way she calls out each of our ridiculous stage names. She goes from high to low—just like we did—waggling her finger a little when she gets to Sierra’s ‘Three’ before she straightens, cradling that same bump. “You’re Two!”
I’ve run into fans in the strangest of places. Nothing weirder than having a woman about your age start singing one of your fifteen-year-old hits while you’re awkwardly folding your panties in a laundromat, I’ll tell you that, but I’ve learned to take it all in stride. When it’s between having someone recognize me randomly or having a face that everyone on Earth knows, I’ll take a handful of weekly encounters while still living my life over being trapped in her own fame like my best friend.
Does that mean I expect to find a Thr33peat fan in Sombra ? It was one thing for Glaine to tell me that there are a handful of human mates who live in his realm. He’s immortal. Time runs differently here. I just never thought that the first one I’d run into would not only be my contemporary, but also the right age to be into my girl group during our heyday.
“I prefer Billie.” My voice is firm, but I temper it with a smile.
“I’m Kennedy. Wow. I was a huge fan growing up. I was crushed when you guys broke up, but… hang on. Do you still know Whiskey Rose?”
My smile doesn’t waver. This is pretty common, too. The second anyone puts two and two together—or Two and Three—and realizes that my former bandmate is one of the most popular performers in the world, they inevitably wonder if we kept in touch. That’s why it was such a big thing when I went to the Jessica’s Journey premiere with Sierra before Patrick Ridgefield opened fire. If only for one night, I stepped back into the limelight beside Sierra instead of standing behind her.
Kennedy. Suddenly part of what Loki said makes sense. The demons in charge passed on the responsibility of me and Glaine to Loki because he has a human mate.
A pregnant human mate.
A pregnant human mate who couldn’t have been here too long if she knows about Whiskey Rose…
“I do,” I say. “I actually manage her these days.”
“That’s awesome! I’d love to meet her.” You and me both, sister. “She’s my favorite singer. I even have all of her records downloaded on this mp3 player Shannon brought me. It’s like my Kindle. I can have all my favorite songs and books here in Sombra for when I miss being in the human world.”
Loki’s purple eyes flash, a hint of white overtaking the violet shade for a heart beat. As though he’s completely forgotten about me and Glaine, he moves in on his mate. “My Kennedy,” he murmurs. “I want nothing more than for you to be happy and content with your male here.”
“I am. You know I am. Maybe not at first,” she admits, and the look she tosses my way makes me think I have a ton more questions for Kennedy, “but I love you, Loki. You know that.”
“You are my heart,” he rumbles, taking her hands gently in his, pulling her into his embrace. “My everything.”
Loki bows his head over his mate, pressing his forehead to Kennedy’s, his double pair of horns just skimming the top of her crown as she murmurs something softly in response to her mate.
Purposely ignoring their display of public affection, I grab Glaine by the forearm, dragging him to the side so that we’re not overhead. And, yes, I know he only comes with me because he wants to, not that I can actually make him go anywhere, but still. “Aren’t you going to ask him about the travel spell? So I can go back home?”
Glaine’s lips thins. For a heartbeat, I’m sure he’s going to remind me that I’m his mate, and that despite his implied promise to get me out of the dungeon, then help me return to New York… but then he sighs.
“I will, Billie. He already did more than he should, removing the chains before he spoke to Apollyon and got his permission to interfere. Let’s wait until tomorrow. We’ll know more then.”
Tomorrow. I can wait until tomorrow.
“But what about now?”
If given the choice, I’d rather not watch the happily bonded couple coo at each other. I also don’t think I want to hear Kennedy fawn over Sierra anymore. I’m sure I’ll have that to look forward to it if I bump into Kennedy again before we go—and, if I want her mate to do me a favor, I need to be nice to her—but for now… yeah. I’m okay.
We’re not chained together anymore, but that doesn’t mean that Glaine is ready to give up on our connection. Moving his hand, shifting it so that mine falls from his forearm, he takes my fingers in his. His hand swallows mine up, but he holds it as best he can, turning the tips of his claws to shadow so that he doesn’t accidentally jab me.
“Now? I take you home.”
I’m so excited about finding a place to sit, to rest, to get clean that I don’t even point out that it’s his home, not mine.
Nuit is just what I think of when I hear the term ‘village’. From what I understand, there are countless communities in Sombra, each one nestled together with a communal area known as the village square. There are houses that remind me of squat condos built side-by-side in a large circle, providing a border that protects the demons from any of the threats that lurk in Sombra’s darker shadows.
There are no skyscrapers here. No apartment buildings. Each home is for single demons or mated pairs and their families. A couple have a second floor, though most are a ranch-style with multiple rooms on that ground floor.
Because of his status as a soldier, Glaine has a narrow two-floor home made of burnt wood and magic, similar to the structure where the doppelseers live in their corner of the shadows. The magic provides light and running water; the windowless wood forms shelter from the rest of the village and the oppressive heat.
I don’t know why it’s cooler inside, only that it is. In Glaine’s home, he has a living area that doubles as a dining area, with the table made of the same wood as the house itself. There is a stove in one corner for cooking hot meals, and a box that keeps perishables cold in a way that mimics a refrigerator but it isn’t one. It works the same, though, and I’m amazed by how magic in Sombra makes the hellish realm seem so much more advanced than back home.
Take the demon version of a toilet in the assigned ‘facilities’ room in his place. Sure, it took some getting used to going in a hole in the ground, but once you drop your waste inside, it simply vanishes. A puff of air and a bidet-like squirt of water cleans you up and dries you off; it’s so much more sanitary than toilet paper without having a toilet to scrub when you’re done! There’s a water basic and soap dispenser for your hands, and a tub even larger than the one the demon twins had.
Despite Glaine admitting it has been quite some time since he returned to Nuit, his home is dust-free—if not ash-free—and nowhere near as musty as I expected. I see why when I go to the second floor. There, in the ceiling, are circular cut-outs like they have in the palace.
He gives me an illustration about their use when I ask. Going from his solid demon form to that mess of shadows, he contracts in on himself before whizzing out of the hole.
Shadow travel, I realize enviously. If it hadn’t been for the chains keeping him from turning transparent like that, maybe we could’ve cut a couple of days of walking off our journey to Nuit.
When he comes back, he’s holding his sword. I don’t even get the chance to ask why he is before he’s gripping one of the newly generated horns by the tip, raising his sword up to it as if he’s about to?—
Shear it off .
Oh, hell no.
“What are you doing?”
He pauses, sword still in the air. “Would you rather I go in another room? There won’t be any blood when I cut off the horn, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
No. I’m worried about the demon thinking it’s perfectly normal to chop off his horns. “Why would you do that? You just got them back. If it takes centuries to grow… why would you want to get rid of them?”
Glaine sucks in a breath, lowering the sword as if realizing that I have major concerns about this. “My horns are different. It’s not like losing one in a challenge. These are my second horns. Every few times I turn to my shadows and back, they reappear and I must get rid of them.”
“Why?”
He doesn’t answer me. Because he wants me to see for myself in his essence?
Too bad.
I try another tactic. “Does it hurt?”
“I’ve grown used to it over the centuries.”
That’s not a no. “Why would you hurt yourself? I don’t get it. And,” I add, jabbing my pointer finger at him when he opens his mouth, “I don’t want you to say that I could tell from your essence. That’s not the point. I’m asking you .”
Glaine sighs. “There are… expectations of two-horns. Expectations that I’d rather not deal with.”
“Like?”
Before he can answer me, we’re interrupted by a loud knock at the door, so strong it reaches us upstairs.
“Someone is at the door,” Glaine announces.
No shit.
“Would it be rude to ignore them?” I ask.
I already know the answer before he nods. “Yes.”
Fine. “Okay. Let’s go see who it is. But don’t think this topic of conversation is over, Glaine. I don’t know why you think it’s okay to mutilate yourself, but if Loki can walk around with two pairs of horns, you should, too.”
“Loki is a mage.”
And? “So? You’re a guard. You’d think that having an extra pair of points to threaten the duke’s enemies with would be a plus.”
He frowns. “It’s not that?—”
Knock, knock, knock .
The banging has taken a little more of an urgent edge.
I throw Glaine another look that says we’re still not done, mourn the fact that I didn’t get the chance to try out the wash basin to clean the ash off my feet just yet, then start for the stairs as soon as I make sure he disappears that sword of his.
The heavy footfalls behind me and the oversized shadow falling in front of me let me know that Glaine is joining me.
Once we reach the door, I step aside, letting him open. After all, this is his home. I’m just being nosy, seeing who could be out there since there are no windows for me to peek through.
Glaine pulls in the door, revealing a Sombra demon male standing there.
From my angle beside my demon, I see that the newcomer is about a half-head shorter than Glaine. Like Glaine, he is in his solid demon form. Unlike Glaine, he’s wearing a tan-colored linen shirt, dark brown pants, and black foot coverings.
Glaine’s house wasn’t too far from where we met Loki, but during our quick walk over, I noticed that the village is different from the palace in so many ways. Mavro is a blue-tinged oasis, unlike the reddish rest of the realm, and the heat and humidity is a bitch. The demons here seem to prefer their solid form instead of the inky black shadows of the mages and guards in the duke’s palace, and while some of them wear the same shadow coverings as Glaine—like Loki—others are in real clothes.
This demon has gold eyes instead of Glaine’s eyes,
“Apollyon. After you weren’t there to meet us at the border of the village, I would’ve thought you’d wait until we’d settled in from our travels before you’d come to see me. We had to go on foot, and it took longer than we expect.”
Smooth, Glaine. No mention that we broke out of jail, though I’m sure all of Nuit knows by now, and he just about asks the clan leader to give us until tomorrow to figure out our next step before he pulls rank.
No dice.
Apollyon opens his mouth, then gives Glaine a second look when he notices that he probably has an extra pair of horns than he remembers.
I wait to see if the other demon will comment on it, but after taking a moment to compose himself, he lowers his gaze—and I’m even more determined to keep Glaine from lopping them back off.
“I don’t want to disturb you and your mate, but it cannot be helped. I must speak to you.”
Glaine settles his massive hand on my shoulder. I notice that his skin isn’t as scorching to the touch as it used to be, and I don’t shake him off as he says, “You will speak to us both.”
“Glaine. I’ve had a message from Duke Haures. I’m sorry, but I think your female should stay behind.”
Oh, does he now?
I open my mouth to argue, pausing only when Glaine rubs the side of his thumb along the top of my shoulder blade. It’s a gentle yet possessive caress, not a warning to keep from talking, but I do because the big demon is plenty ready to argue on my behalf for me.
“My Billie is an intelligent female with a sharp tongue. Whatever Duke Haures to say, she should hear it. I’m sure it affects her as much as it does me. I will protect her from all dangers, Apollyon, but I will not belittle her. She doesn’t hide. More to the point, where I go, she goes.”
Poor Apollyon. He’s the head honcho in Nuit, but between Glaine’s arrogance and his soldier bearing, you wouldn’t be able to tell.
I reach down, reaching past Glaine’s shadows, squeezing his solid thigh in a show of appreciation. Maybe he’s been paying more attention than I thought—or he’s a real quick learner when it comes to parsing my essence—because he couldn’t have defended me better if he tried.
Apollyon’s gold-colored eyes glimmer. “Yes, I understand. But?—”
“But,” interrupts a female voice, just out of my line of vision, “you can blame me for this, Glaine. I requested that my mate spirit you off for your conversation so that I could have a moment with the female who seems to have brought the smile back to such a grumpy guard’s face.”
The big demon jolts in place. I take the opportunity to sidle a little closer, peeking out the open door.
She is as tall as Apollyon, with a similar broad build, but that’s where the similarities end. Her skin is a rich golden shade, almost like the other demon’s eyes, and she has orange hair that she wears in a style that reminds me of Sierra: a thick plait that she has tossed over her shoulder. Instead of shadow coverings like other demons, she follows Apollyon’s lead and has on actually clothes: a dress that’s woven from brown and white and yellow fabrics, plus a pair of leather-looking boots that I’d give my eyetooth for at this point. The deep brown matches her dainty horns, so much smaller than the male’s that it’s undeniable that they’re more feminine.
The pretty demoness smiles warmly at us both. “Hello, Glaine. Won’t you introduce me to your mate?”
It takes a moment for him to react. But, instead of offering this demoness my name, he breathes out hers.
“Lilith.”
I go still, the return of my inexplicable jealousy slamming into me so fast, it freezes me in place.
Lilith .