Page 32 of Shadow & Stars
Roman lifted his head, water sluicing down his face. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“I didn’t get you inside the bubble.” He took a step back, those incredible amber eyes widening on my broken arm. “You’re hurt.”
I supported my arm again. “Don’t worry.”
“I always worry. I’m so sorry. When I heard Darcy scream, I reacted likethat.” He clicked his fingers for emphasis. “I asked Lizard Guy to protect us. Realized my mistake instantly.” He dipped his head. “Shame on me for forgetting you. What sort of boyfriend am I?” His head snapped up, those eyes wide with horror again. “Erm… Oh, shit.”
That word acted like the best painkiller. “I’d love to discuss what you just said, but we really have to leave.”
His cheeks flushed scarlet. “Good… Good idea.”
Boyfriend. He called me his boyfriend. “And you did what was best for you and your friend. Remember that we’re built differently.”
“Yeah. Guess so.”
Darcy arrived, his wet robe stuck to his skinny body. “Can someone pinch me?”
Roman faced him, scratching the back of his neck. “You wish you were dreaming.”
Darcy shrugged, shivering. “Where’s Margarite?”
“I cannot help you for the next twenty-four hours,” the lizard said. “I will count down now.”
Margarite appeared by Roman’s side in a puff of glittery dust, her hair full of sand. “Counting down.”
It appeared his minions would always be by his side, no matter what.
“Let’s keep going,” I said. “Darcy? Climb on.”
“You’re hurt,” he countered. “I’ll walk.”
“I’m fine to carry you.”
“Unless you would like to ride upon me,” Butterfly suggested.
Darcy was on my back in seconds. “I’m good here.”
Butterfly chuckled. “Such attractive shyness.”
“Such a creepy arsehole,” Darcy muttered in my ear.
We continued our journey across the desert, reaching the other side without any further incident. I put Darcy down for a moment, opening the gate set into an enormous cactus. Warmer air rushed down the slope beyond it—a short incline leading to the next level. Possibly the shortest level-to-level journey in the demon realm. From the next level, I could ascertain where the best crossover point into Earth would be, considering there were now many new access areas.
“There’s a seeing tree up there,” I said. “Essentially, it works as CCTV for certain areas of the demon realm. We can use it to check for any potential exits.”
“Sounds good,” Roman answered.
I stretched, drawing a series of deep breaths to battle the pain.
“I’ll walk now,” Darcy said. “I’m over being a burden.”
“You’re not, but thank you.”
He responded with a warm smile.
My how our relationship had evolved from sniping rat to this. I liked Darcy, admired his loyalty to Roman.
