Chapter 10 #2
I sat down and closed my eyes, pulling my cardigan a little tighter around me.
I was going to be fine.
I'd figure my shit out enough to get through the plan, at least. Worst case scenario, Darius would have to intervene, but I knew he wouldn't care.
Rae had a dish of Chinese food with a corndog plopped right on top of it when she slid into the passenger seat and glanced at me. "You good?"
Dare held a bowl with seven corn dogs stacked in it as he took the driver’s side. "She's fine. Just give her space. Her magic is a bitch."
"Unlike yours?"
"Mine's an asshole too."
"How?"
"Just eat your corn dog."
"I'm not eating that thing."
"Your loss." Darius took an emphatic bite of his, starting his car.
"Can you turn music on?" Rae asked, loading her fork with noodles.
"Nope."
"You're as much of an asshole as your magic."
"That was never a question," he agreed, backing away from the house.
My breaths started coming out faster as panic started to engulf me.
The fighting clothes were a bad idea.
A horrible idea.
Rae made a strangled noise. "Why do I suddenly feel more tired?"
"Mer's panicking a little. Can you grab the headphones from the glove box?"
"Why is she panicking?"
"The clothes, probably," Dare said.
"Why? They look good." Rae glanced at me again, her mouth full of Chinese food and her skin even more gray than usual.
"They do, but the sensations are hard on her. Can you grab the headphones? She'll get her magic under control."
Rae pulled them out and handed them back. I tugged them over my ears, slowly.
Dare pulled to the side of the road long enough to get a blanket from the trunk of his car. He opened my door and tossed it over the top of me. The sound of it landing on me was muffled by the noise-cancelling headphones, and I breathed a little easier with the blanket darkening everything.
Darius pulled back onto the road. I felt the engine’s rumble, but it was soft enough not to trigger me any more than it already had.
"You're not allowed to think she looks good," Rae stated, her voice distant and quiet thanks to the headphones.
"What are you, the compliment police? Do you assassinate people for being nice to their friends these days?"
"Only if they also annoy me."
"Want me to tell you that you look good, too?"
"God, no. Then I'd definitely have to kill you."
Darius laughed, loudly.
He rarely laughed like that. Like he was genuinely entertained. "Then you're the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen, Rae."
"You're unstable."
"I am. Now, try the corn dog."
Rae made a sound of complaint. After a moment, it became a happy groan.
"What the fuck did they put in those? Drugs?"
"They're good, right?”
"Amazing."
"There's a corn dog truck a couple miles from the demons’ mansion. I'll buy you as many as you want if you bargain with me."
"I can buy my own corn dogs without trading my soul, Scorch."
"It was worth a try."
Rae made a noncommittal sound. "If I was going to bargain with you for something, it would be a trial run of sex. At least I’d know it was going to end well, with the help of your magic."
"I'm always up for that." There was a pause, then Dare snorted. "That one was mine. Stop stealing my fucking food." He didn’t sound bothered in the slightest.
"No thanks," Rae said, the words muffled like her mouth was full of whatever she'd stolen. A corn dog, probably.
I managed to calm myself down as the drive continued.
Darius put the car in park, and had my door open pretty quickly. He helped me ease the blanket off, and offered me an arm that I took silently and gratefully.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Any time." His voice was light, but I could see his concern.
"Grayson will give me more of his shadows when he realizes what condition I'm in. I can pretend to be fine until then," I murmured.
With a glance away from my feet, I realized Darius had parked right in front of the stadium that always hosted these fights for the throne. I could see the entrance from where we were, and on my other side, I could see the parking lot.
Leaving your vehicle there definitely wasn't legal, but my family and I didn't particularly care about legality. Anyone who came to tow us would realize who the vehicle belonged to and back away slowly.
"You sure about this?” he asked me.
"Positive."
"Alright, I'll see you in there. Darke is going to be even more obsessed with you after this, so keep your chin up. If you look confident, everyone will believe it."
I let out a quiet breath. "I will be the face of confidence."
Dare grinned. "Just channel the rest of us. We've got enough to get you through anything."
Rae slipped out too. “Save me a seat, Scorch.”
He flashed her a grin. The expression met his eyes, for once. “I will. You'll be in my magic's splash zone, though. Might not be able to resist me."
She rolled her eyes. "I can resist you just fine."
Dare's grin widened, but wisely, he didn't say anything else before he turned on his heels and strode toward the doors.
I followed him and the Wraith into the stadium, fighting like hell just to keep it all together.
I could handle this, even if I didn’t feel like it.