Page 57 of The Wishing Game

I gawk at her in shock. Did she just tell me an abbreviated history of the human race? And all of it while naked? Her kind certainly doesn't have the same sensibilities as us mere mortals.

"Of course, by mortals I don't mean only humans," she adds, almost as if reading my mind. "Mortal is any species that is not eternal—that is not godly. Whether humanoid, non-humanoid, or shapeshifting, they are all considered mortals because their bodies age and decay. Some might have increased life spans, and others lower. But they all die in the end."

"So you mean prayer works? What about holy water? Is that effective against demons?"

"Lower-level demons, yes. Those prayers are purified by our priestesses, as is the water you call holy. It's a temporary weapon against demons, but the higher the level a demon is, the more you're just going to piss him off."

"I don't get it. Then what happens to higher-level demons?"

"You have people like my brother, who dedicate their lives to eradicating them. It's why he's much more comfortable with your world than I am because he's sometimes sent on missions to kill rogue demons."

"I see," I murmur. But I don't see it. At least not at this moment. It's too much for me to digest and wrap my head around.

And just like that, once more, everything I thought I knew about the world is moot. Damn! But now it makes sense why those otherspecieswere competing in The Wishing Game. Although they look different, they share the same circumstances with us humans—wow, it's so weird to refer to myself ashumannow.

"Does the cross have the same effect then?"

Thea nods.

"It's a holy symbol, imbued with power by the priestesses."

Okay, so various religious paraphernalia work againstsomedemons. Good to know.

Done with the lesson for today, Thea proceeds to ignore me as she looks pensively at the two dresses she picked, turning them around and assessing them in great detail. Before I know it, she throws the purple dress toward me.

"You try that on. I'll try this."

"They're not ours, Thea," I muster a feeble protest. The material is luxurious in my hands and the color happens to be my favorite. I know I shouldn't, but...

"No one will have to know." She winks at me, already halfway dressed. She quickly shrugs the sleeves on and buttons her top before adding the belt.

Gliding to the mirror, she twirls around, her features rapt as she watches the material float in the air.

"Come on, Luce." She turns, pouting at me.

Relenting, I stand up, sliding the straps of my dress down my body. Thea's watching me curiously, her eyes taking in the marks on my body.

For a moment, I'm frozen in place as I realize this is the first time someone other than Nikki sees my naked body and my marks. She comes closer to me, and just as I'm waiting for her to comment on my scars, she surprises me by pointing at my bra.

"What's this?" Her eyes are full of curiosity as she pokes a finger into the material. Her gaze dips lower to my underwear, and she blinks repeatedly, as if in shock. "And this?"

FOURTEEN

"You don't know what underwear is?" I frown.

She slowly raises her gaze to meet mine as she shakes her head.

"This is a bra." I point to my chest. "It helps support your, ehm, breasts." I clear my throat. "And these are panties and, well..." I pause. I'm not even sure what exactly they do.

"Fascinating," she whispers, sparing me the painful explanation of what panties are. "I need one of thesebras," she says, her hands cupping her breasts and lifting them higher. Going back to the mirror, she checks her reflection, nodding to herself. "Yes, I need one as well."

As I button my purple dress, Thea rummages through the wardrobe in search of a bra, somehow finding a red glittery one to fit her. She's so happy about her find I don't have the heart to tell her that's a bra for an adult show, not one you'd normally wear under clothes. Discarding her blue dress, she soon finds a pair of red boy shorts that she puts on in an effort to emulate my lingerie.

"What do you think?" she asks as she admires the way her breasts sit higher and perkier than before.

"Uhm, you look good?" And she does. More than good. With her voluptuous figure, she looks like a model.

"I never knew of this contraption before, Luce. This is revolutionary," she marvels at the lingerie.

---