Page 6 of Eight Embers

Adam shoves his way between us, kissing me on the forehead. “So…the demon, huh? You think he’ll be your last?”

I look at my arm, at all the mate marks I've already got. “It seems silly at this point that I have to say this shit out loud. I believe Rush is my mate.”

As expected, another circle appears above the others. “Lovely. If only I could cheat and find out how many more dicks I'm expected to entertain by saying, ‘I think I have three more mates.’”

I go back to brushing my teeth when my arm is rudely grabbed and throats are cleared. “Uh, Delaney? Maybe you just affected that. You couldn't have said, ‘I think Rush is my last mate?’”

I pause, my mouth full of toothpaste foam, then spit it everywhere when I now see three empty circles I apparently just asked for indelibly marked on my arm as a sense of completion washes over me.

Adam grabs a washcloth from the shelf and wets it, peering through one eye as he does so he doesn't get toothpaste in it. Once he cleans his face, I grin at him sheepishly. “Oops.”

August barks out a loud, booming laugh. “Only you, Delaney. Gods, I love you. You know that? Okay, three more. You sure you don't want to try again, just to make sure?”

I throw my hands in the air and decide to throw out a crazy number. “I think I have ten more mates.”

Everybody holds their breath, but nothing happens. My arm stays exactly the same. “See? Chill.”

Nobody says anything else as I floss and rinse and leave the bathroom.

I get about five steps into the living room, my toes sinking happily into the shag carpeting before Adam asks, “Who's gonna tell her?”

I spin around ready to say something sassy, but then Leo is there, spinning me towards him and grasping my other hand. “What's all this? Are you ill? What sort of symptoms are these? Shall we phone a healer?”

I look down in horror at my right arm, which now bears seven marks as well, unable to say anything. My tongue flaps around in my mouth as I forget how to breathe, and then I'm fairly sure I black out.

???

Colors swirl around me and something smells like…cotton candy. I know I'm dreaming, but at the moment I have no idea why.

Maniacal laughter starts to echo throughout the cloud-like atmosphere I'm floating in, but I don’t see the source of it.

The cloud puff carries me further around, like a non-sentient escort, until I'm overlooking an entire city built on clouds. They're clearly very different from the clouds in my world, and absolutely everything seems to be either pastel or covered in glitter. Or rainbows. There are a lot of fucking rainbows.

I can't even begin to figure out what my brain is trying to tell me by creating this weird dream space, but the bustling city in front of me feels and looks too real to be a figment of my imagination.

Plus, there's a giant ass billboard in front of the closest city block cloud that reads, ‘THIS ISN'T A DREAM, DELANEY’.

It's creepy, is what it is.

Why does that billboard know my name? Or is it the biggest coincidence ever conceived?

Of course, the billboard magically changes at that thought.

“IT IS I. YOUR FAIRYGODDESS UNICORN. WELCOME.”

So much nope.

The cloud I'm on decides that's a great time to race towards the billboard, which apparently is more of a portal? I don't hit a solid surface as I careen towards it, but instead I yelp when the surface of the board feels like I'm being tickled everywhere at once, lasting about three solid seconds while I pass through a fully permeable surface.

“Fucking hell,” I gasp, trying to catch my breath.

“I'm offended to be mistaken for such a place. Is this not the most magical place you've ever seen?”

I honestly can't look past her absolute dump truck of an ass, because she's a massive fucking unicorn. Like, horn and everything with a white coat encrusted with what might be actual diamonds, neon rainbow mane, and tits just out and proud.

“Wow.” Why can’t I look away?

She looks down at her chest proudly. “I know, right? Being a goddess seriously has its perks.”

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