Chapter 18 Right Place, Righter Time
Right Place, Righter Time
Brioni
There was a quiet shuffling on the other side of the door that Brioni had her ear pressed to.
She didn’t usually hesitate or snoop, not like this anyway, but since her second stint in Heck’s infirmary, things felt different, like she needed to pay a little more attention.
Unfortunately, the attention she was paying didn’t tell her a darn thing, so she finally opted to knock.
The door opened slightly, a blue eye peering out through the crack. Dim purple light illuminated Kat’s form, much taller than Brioni’s but perpetually hunched. The two women stared at one another in silence.
“Can I…”
“Oh, yes, yes.” Kat scurried in her mousy way behind the door as she opened it onto a furiously tidy bedchamber.
Brioni swept her gaze over the made-up linens with tightly tucked corners, a neat wardrobe without a single piece of clothing left on the swept floor, and the textile tools lined up like soldiers on her desk, nary a stray thread to be found. Then Brioni’s mouth fell open.
“Oh, my gods, you look gorgeous. Like if Nhil and Frank had a baby.”
Kat whimpered something about blasphemy and swept her hands down her front like she’d been told she was covered in spiders.
“I’m just trying it on.” The dress she wore was sapphire, a stark contrast against Kat’s light skin, which Brioni realized she’d never really seen so much of.
The fabric barely covered her breasts, leaving a generous dip between them before flowing all the way to her feet, but her hips were totally uncovered by large cutouts on either side save for a few delicate chains of silver keeping the whole thing together.
“Did you make this?” Brioni spread her fingers and gestured to every glorious inch of her, the fact that the dress wasn’t at all suited for first thing in the morning barely crossing her mind.
“No, I could never,” the other woman said, though Brioni was sure she was wrong.
“I’m just taking it in…uh, in case…Anyway, how are you feeling?
Is there anything I can do for you? Are you tired?
Hungry?” As Kat stammered out questions, she grabbed the neatly folded throw from the back of her work chair and wrapped it around her shoulders, hiding herself away under white yarn.
Brioni shook her head. “I actually wanted to thank you for everything you’ve already done.” She went to the desk and pulled a papercraft of Stephan out of her pocket to place next to the others she had gifted Kat, then sauntered over to the bed and sat.
“Oh, well, you’re welcome.” Kat hesitated by the door. “And?”
Brioni took a deep breath. There was an “and,” and she felt kind of bad about it. But not bad enough to not say. “And…how do you know if a boy likes you, Kat?”
The other woman snorted. It was such a ridiculous sound coming from someone whose voice was otherwise teeny tiny. “Wait, what?” Kat reined in the bewilderment. “Are you really asking me?”
“Yes!” Brioni dropped backward onto Kat’s bed and threw an arm over her face.
“I’m no good at figuring it out on my own, and I screwed up so bad before.
That’s how I ended up here, you know—I thought a boy liked me, and it was all a huge mistake.
And now I might be making a fool of myself again, and it probably won’t get me sold to slavers this time, but what if something even worse happens? ”
There was quiet in the wake of Brioni’s outburst, then the sound of the door gently shutting and Kat’s slippers on the floor until the bed depressed beside her. “I definitely don’t have a good answer for you because I have almost zero experience, but, Bri…everyone likes you.”
Brioni peeked one eye out from beneath her arm. “What?”
Kat’s tawny hair shrouded either side of her face as she tipped her head forward, but the shadows didn’t hide the knit to her brow that was calling Brioni a dummy without words.
“You’re pretty and you’re nice and you can talk to anyone about anything.
I saw you make Xergeran laugh just last week, and he doesn’t smile for anybody. ”
Brioni groaned. “They’re probably laughing at me not—”
“No.” This time, Kat’s voice was harsh. “That’s not it. Some demons just don’t like humans no matter what, but Alamar says you can make the streets light up without a lantern. She’s so proud of you for that. You should be proud of you too.”
There was the guilt again, the one Brioni had been trying fruitlessly to escape for days, the one she needed some relief from but feared she’d never get. She bit her lip and dropped her arm.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell,” Kat said despite barely raising her voice.
She pulled the blanket tighter and gazed into her lap.
“It’s just that if there’s a man…or, a demon, I guess, who doesn’t like you, he’s probably just not paying attention or maybe he hit his head or he might only like other male demons.
And even then, I think he’d make an exception for you. ”
Brioni chuckled. “I don’t think it works like that.”
Kat laughed lightly too. “I know, you’re right.
I’m just trying to convince you, okay? I’m probably the last person you should be asking about men anyway.
I’ve never been someone’s someone, and I don’t even know if I can play the part…
” She scrunched her shoulders and shook her head.
“And anyway, it’s different here because they have those soulbond things. ”
How Brioni hadn’t yet heard that word was a mystery, or perhaps a failing of the author, but something in her heart fluttered akin to familiarity, and she sat up. “What’s that?”
“You know, like their partners?”
“Their mates? I’ve heard them say that word a lot. Doesn’t it just mean, like, girlfriend?”
“No, not exactly. They use those words too, but soulbond means something different because they definitely date and call each other mates and still break up.” Her eyes widened a little like she could see something annoying that Brioni couldn’t.
“But a soulbond seems to be something…more? I don’t know if it’s really magic, or if it’s just the way they explain being in love, but something happens inside them, and they just know, like a candle being lit.
It takes them time to figure it out, I guess, because it’s always a new feeling, but when they get it right, then that’s their person—forever—because something really ancient and all-knowing deep inside them said so. I guess.”
“Wow,” Brioni breathed. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I know, right?”
Both women shared a huff, and it wasn’t a huff of swoony bliss but one of impending defeat.
“So there’s a demon out there for every demon,” Brioni said miserably.
“Well, no, see that’s the thing: Alamar says she’s never felt it, and that’s normal because sometimes it just never happens.”
Brioni whined a sad sound, but Kat quickly shook her head.
“She’s not upset about it. She says she’s actually glad because she’s never been interested in a mate. She also said sometimes demons feel it with more than one demon at the same time, and it apparently doesn’t turn into a big mess like you’d think because they all feel it for each other.”
“Oh, my gods, don’t tell me some of these demons get two boyfriends, and we’re going to be stuck in Heck forever alone because we’re stupid ole humans.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Kat waved a hand from beneath the blanket, corner of her mouth lifting and tugging at her scar. “The magic or ancient urge or whatever it is works with everything that has a soul, so humans should be included.”
Brioni sucked in a breath. “You really think that’s true?”
Kat shrugged. “It’s a theory. Though I don’t know if it accounts for…” She lifted a hand from the blanket again but stopped before she touched her cheek. “You know what? Yes, I do believe it. I would bet my best needle that whoever this demon is that you like is your soulmate, er—bond thing.”
Brioni launched herself at Kat and pulled her into an embrace.
She knew the other woman might not really believe it, and she was sure she wouldn’t give up any of her needles for something so silly, but even if she was just saying things, she was saying them for Brioni’s benefit, and that was nice.
Nicer than her sister and brother had ever been to her, in fact.
Kat was trapped under the blanket and Brioni’s arms, but she didn’t have to hug her back, Brioni would do the hugging for them both. She squeezed her eyes tight against the sentimental tear that she refused to let fall and took a deep breath. “You’re a good friend, Kat. Thank you.”
Kat mumbled something that sounded like gratitude from under Brioni’s hair.
“Hey, how’d you know I made Xergeran laugh? I was outside, across the street, and you’re always in the mailroom.”
“Not always,” she said, taking a breath as Brioni released her. “Is that Alamar calling for breakfast?”
No one had called, but since Kat had just been so kind, Brioni decided not to dig any deeper for the moment. Her friend would eventually give up the details, she knew, she just had to wait. And not even that long, probably just two more books worth.
***
After a full day of deliveries and a long bath, Brioni returned to her bedchamber to pace. It was tough work, what with all the things strewn on the floor, but she couldn’t leave too soon for Ragnar’s. A soulbond probably never showed up too early—they were probably always right on time.
Soulbonds were always right on time; Brioni didn’t need to be born into demon culture to know that.
She just didn’t quite understand that the time they showed up was exactly right whenever it happened to occur.
But she couldn’t really be blamed because that was kind of nuanced in a way the author wasn’t even sure she was explaining all that well.