Chapter 16
16
C ass tugs JJ and Desi through the rift to his living room, his heart pounding against his ribcage. JJ has been in his house before, of course?—Cass doesn’t think either of them has forgotten curling up together in Desi’s bedroom after her nightmare?—but JJ was almost exclusively in Desi’s domain, surrounded by her books and toys and little-girl decorations.
He hasn’t seen any of the rooms that reflect Cass yet. And as Cass snaps the rift shut behind them and JJ takes his first real look around, he finds himself holding his breath to see JJ’s reaction.
Clearly, though, Desi isn’t quite as interested. “Dragons!” she insists, poking and prodding JJ until he sets her gently on her feet. “JJ, dragons!”
“I do want to meet the baby dragons,” he says seriously, ruffling her hair. “How about you make sure they’re awake, and I’ll come join you all in a minute?”
Desi beams. “Okay!” she says, and she dashes down the hallway. “Kira! Hana! Dragon babies! Wake up, wake up, wake up!”
Cass’s heart melts. “She’s the cutest.”
“She is,” JJ agrees, and he turns in a slow circle, taking in the expansive living room and kitchen. “This is, uh. This is a really nice house.”
There’s a quiet thread of nostalgia in his voice. Without thinking, Cass asks, “Like your house when you were a kid?”
Immediately, he kicks himself. Great idea, Cass. Just go ahead and ask the man if it looks like the childhood home where his family was slaughtered in front of him.
Luckily, JJ doesn’t seem to notice. “A little bit,” he says, and he walks over to the fireplace, tracing his fingers over the rough stone. “My dad always wanted a fireplace, but we never got one. And this is definitely a lot neater than our house ever was.”
Cass’s lips twitch. “Well, it is just me and Desi here. And demon magic is surprisingly good for cleaning, too.”
“Yeah,” JJ says, and his eyes drift to the couch, where Desi has her little nook with her blankets and books and a stuffed wyvern. “It’s homey. I like it.”
With a pang, Cass remembers how sterile and bare JJ’s bedroom at the Sanctum was?—how sterile and bare the entire Sanctum was, really. “I like it, too,” he says softly, and he joins JJ by the couch, picking up the dragon plushie. “This is Herman. Hana’s boyfriend.”
JJ’s eyes widen. “Hana has a boyfriend? Why was I not informed of this?”
Cass can’t hide his smile. “They’re inanimate objects, JJ. I didn’t think Hana’s change in relationship status warranted a phone call.”
“Still,” JJ says, grinning back at him, and for a moment??—
For a moment, Cass lets himself forget. Forget about JJ being a hunter, about him being the enemy, about him and Cass only coming together as reluctant co-parents to their accidentally adopted daughter.
For a moment, Cass lets himself think of JJ as part of their little family. “Well, I’m sure he’s recuperated by now,” he says, handing Herman to JJ. “He was babysitting the little dragons all night, so Desi brought him out here to get some rest. He probably wants to see them again.”
JJ’s smile softens. “Yeah. Good call, Cass,” he says, and suddenly, he frowns down at the wyvern. “Wait. So the baby dragons are Hana and Herman’s? Herman is the father?”
“No, no,” Cass says. “Desi was very specific about the fact that they’re Kira and Hana’s. I suspect parthenogenesis or adoption, but I also wasn’t about to debate the sexual and reproductive habits of dragons with a four-year-old.”
JJ throws back his head and laughs. It’s such an open, carefree sound that Cass almost starts with surprise. “Agreed,” he says, eyes dancing. “We should save the talk about ‘the birds and the wyverns’ until she’s closer to middle school than preschool, I think.”
For some reason, the thought of raising Desi with JJ for years to come makes Cass’s throat run dry. Swallowing hard, he takes a measured step back. “Good plan. And, um, Desi’s room is the first door on the right. You want tomato and bacon on your grilled cheese?”
JJ’s eyebrows shoot up. “That sounds amazing. Thanks.”
“Anytime,” Cass says, and as JJ absently hugs Herman to his side and jogs down the hallway, Cass forces his eyes away and strides into the kitchen, trying to remember how to breathe.
So the wyverns have apparently been very busy.
“… and this one is Tybalt!” Desi says proudly, brandishing her eighth baby dragon plushie for JJ’s inspection. “He likes celery sticks and playing tag!”
“Hey, I like playing tag, too,” JJ says, delicately holding Tybalt in his upturned hands. “I think we’ll get along splendidly. How are you today, Tybalt?”
“Tybalt says he’s great! He’s really happy to meet you,” Desi informs him, and she replaces Tybalt with the final palm-sized dragon. “And this is Lucy! She likes campfires and the color green!”
Suddenly, JJ’s throat feels tight. “Oh,” he says faintly, running a fingertip over the felt scales on Lucy’s head. “Hi. Hello, Lucy.”
Desi notices. “What’s wrong?” she asks, frowning. “You don’t like Lucy?”
“No, I?—?” JJ’s eyes sting. “No, I love Lucy. It’s just that?—that Lucy was my little sister’s name. She, uh. She died a long time ago.”
“Oh.” Desi’s eyebrows furrow. “And you?—you don’t visit her?”
Belatedly, JJ realizes that Desi probably doesn’t understand the concept of death yet. Sure, her summoner probably forced her to hurt and kill people, and sure, she saw JJ himself cut his way through the militia, but??—
But she doesn’t know that people who die don’t come back. “I would,” JJ says gently, “but she’s somewhere that I can’t visit her anymore. I really miss her.”
For a few seconds, Desi is quiet.
And then, decisively, she closes JJ’s fingers around Lucy the Dragon. “Well, Kira and Hana say you should bring Lucy to watch the movie with us! She really likes grilled cheese, too!”
JJ gives her a small smile. “Thanks, Desi,” he says quietly, pulling her into a one-armed hug. And then, remembering himself, he reaches out to pat Kira’s and Hana’s heads. “And thank you, Kira and Hana. Lucy can tell you all about our movie when she comes back.”
Desi lights up. “We should go pick it out!” she says cheerfully, grabbing JJ’s arm and tugging him to his feet. “Come on, come on! Bring Lucy!”
Laughing, JJ holds Lucy protectively to his chest with one hand and lets Desi drag him out to the living room. “What movies do you have, Desi?”
“Lots of them!” She jumps onto her little corner of the couch, bounces once, and gestures for JJ to sit next to her. “Cass, is it okay if Lucy has lunch with us?”
“That’s fine,” Cass says, and JJ’s heart stutters as he glances towards the kitchen. Cass is busily flipping their sandwiches onto plates, the smell of melted cheese and crispy bacon wafting towards them. “Has she eaten already, or should I make her a sandwich, too?”
“I think she’s already eaten!”
“And if she gets hungry,” JJ adds, settling Lucy the Dragon comfortably on his shoulder, “she can have a bite of mine. Right, Lucy?”
“Right!” Desi says, hugging JJ’s arm.
Cass walks into the living room with two plates, giving JJ an indecipherable look. All at once, a flash of panic jolts through JJ.
Crap. Demonically enhanced senses. Cass probably heard every word of JJ’s conversation with Desi, heard him get choked up about Lucy and talk with Desi about death and??—
“Lucy likes the crust best,” Cass says, tapping Lucy’s small felt snout with a fingertip. “So keep that in mind, lackey.”
This is Herman. Hana’s boyfriend.
JJ’s heart swells. Of course Cass knows all of Desi’s little dragon plushies by name, and of course he memorized all the little personality quirks Desi gave them.
He’s good like that. Especially with Desi.
JJ has adored Desi from the start, and Desi was the one who loved Cass first. Maybe, in the end, that’s the biggest reason why JJ’s chest feels warm whenever Cass is nearby.
Swallowing hard, he hovers a hand over his steaming sandwich. “Fresh out of the frying pan,” he says, giving Cass a tentative smile. “Can’t wait to try it.”
Cass smirks. “Prepare yourself for actual home cooking, Jackson,” he says, walking back to the kitchen to grab his own sandwich. “I’ve had over two hundred years to hone my craft.”
“Cass is a really good cook!” Desi says brightly, standing up on the couch cushion and stepping onto JJ’s knees to face him. “His grilled cheese is the best!”
Hastily, JJ catches her hands, trying to balance her on his legs. She giggles as she wobbles back and forth. “Oh, yeah? What else does he cook for you?”
“Lots of things! Do you like cooking, JJ?”
“I?—?” Why is everything reminding him of his childhood today? “I used to. I made tacos a lot.”
Desi looks delighted. “Tacos!”
“Really?” Cass asks, giving JJ a skeptical look from the kitchen.
“Yes, really,” JJ says defensively. “I would pan-fry the chop meat with lots of different spices?—cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder. They were?—?” He hesitates, considering. “Well, I’m not sure if they were actually good, but my parents pretended to like them, at least.”
Desi pitches forward. JJ wrestles her hands back to steady her. “We should have a taco party, JJ! You and Cass can cook together!”
JJ’s heart nearly jumps out of his chest. Fleetingly, he imagines standing shoulder to shoulder with Cass in the kitchen, mixing together spices and cutting up vegetables for Cass to sauté and relaxing into the warm domesticity of it. “Well, I??—?”
“Nuh-uh,” Cass says, waving his spatula warningly at Desi. “I am the master chef in this household, thank you very much. I can’t let JJ steal my title.”
“But he won’t be as good as you!”
JJ gapes at her, appalled. “Hey! Why can’t I be as good as Cass?”
Desi laughs. “Because??—?”
But JJ never gets to hear Desi’s explanation, because at that moment, there’s a flash of purple-gold in the center of the room. JJ jerks to attention, yanking Desi into his arms as the blur of magic solidifies into a rift??—
And as an unfamiliar demon steps out of that rift, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. “Yo, Cass, Gregorio said you wanted some forms? I figured I’d?—?” He stops dead when he sees JJ, eyes widening in shock. “What the? ? —??”