Page 10 of Shadow & Stars
“Get inside,” Xavier said curtly.
Right. Good idea. I hurried inside, remembering to take a breath to steady my nerves.
Man, were my nerves being put through the wringer. The unease wouldn’t let up, getting me ready for the next wave of bullshit.
Damn.
Spittle Guy’s death played across my mind. Dead by my wish. Was that really what I did? Think my desire and then have someone else pay the price? Had I been looking at him when I’d said it? What about that demon queen whose head did an impression of a water balloon meeting a needle?
Oh, God. Treading carefully might be a good idea until I got to grips with this. As for Margarite’s display…what the hell had that been about?
Questions for later. Safety first. Especially for my bestie. I mean, I was shivering. Cold as fuck. But at least I had some clothes on. His lips were turning blue, Xavier’s heat not enough to sustain him.
If he died, I’d never forgive myself.
Xavier yanked a lever, causing the elevator’s door to slam shut. He then pushed a series of gold buttons beside the lever. The elevator shook then began its ascent.
I stroked Darcy’s honey-blond curls, running the back of my hand across his fair, sun-kissed face. “Everything will be okay, buddy. I promise.”
He smiled at me, his chin resting on Xavier’s shoulder. “My kingdom for a hot bath.”
“There’s one in your future for sure.”
Xavier’s white demon eyes snared me in their exquisite trap. I actually gasped, fully understanding that we were backtogether again. No long quest to find each other. Just one death of a prick who deserved it, then bingo. Here we were.
His glossy, bee-stung lips parted, warm breath drifting out of them. “Roman.” God, he looked so tired, so ready to tell the world to fuck itself with the bristly end of a toilet brush.
Amen to that!
I took him by the hand, tracing my thumb across his knuckles. “I’ll forever be bitter that your skin is softer than mine.”
That got his mouth curving upward in a smile. He even chuckled.
I brought his hand to my lips, planting a kiss on it.
Darcy possessed enough energy to roll his brown eyes at us.
Yeah, he’d definitely be alright.
“Where are we going?” I asked, releasing Xavier’s hand.
He took a few moments to answer, the elevator shuddering on its way up. “Level 668. It’s an uncomplicated area. From there I can get us to Level 88 by using a bypass.”
Whoa. That skipped a lot of levels. “What’s there?”
“A safe place while we figure out our next move.”
“I like the sound of that,” Darcy said.
I trusted Xavier completely. I wouldn’t have the first clue where to go in this place, and would probably stumble into some nasty situation in no time.
Would we be going back to Earth? Things weren’t exactly rainbows and sunshine, my name mud. But shouldn’t we warn Piper about these demon monarchs? We didn’t have any means to communicate with Earth right now. And trying to find Queen Piper amid the chaos of magic dying wouldn’t be a stroll in the park.
I stopped thinking for the sake of my poor skull.
“Two levels I have never frequented,” Butterfly said in response to Xavier.
The sound of his voice made my fillings throb.
