Page 19 of A Soul's Curse
“Ivy?” I stepped over her to shut off the gas stove. “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you get into my house? How did you even know where Ilive?”
“Theo,” she whimpered. “Help me!”
I crouched beside her. “Okay, it’s okay. Tell me what’s wrong. How can I help?” I checked her over as best I could. From what I could see, she had changed into leggings and a thick sweater. The crack in her horn was still there, along with some bruising from earlier, but I didn’t see any serious injuries.
“Asshole.” I turned around at the screeching curse to see a small green and yellow bird perched on top of the kitchen cabinets. I must have gotten distracted when my phone vibrated and forgot to close the cage.
“Ivy, are you scared of the bird?” Carefully, I reached for the knife in her hands to take it from her before she panicked and stabbed me with it. “It’s okay. She has a mouth on her, but she’s otherwise harmless. I promise.”
“Fuck you.” Fluffernutter’s beady little black eyes were staring right back at Ivy. She then flew down from her perch to land on the counter. She bobbed her head in Ivy’s direction like she was trying to intimidate her.
The demon flinched and yelped. “W-was that a curse? Theo, it cursed me! Do something!”
“Not the same kind of curse, Ivy.” I wasn’t sure what I should have been more worried about—the fact that a random demon I helped yesterday had broken into my home to make me breakfast, or that she was afraid of a little bird.
“It’s just a parakeet.” I held out a hand and the bird took flight to land on my finger. I stroked her soft feathers, the bright colors dotted with black. “Her name is Fluffernutter … because she’s fluffy and sweet. Well,wassweet until she started learning curse words.” I glowered at the bird, and I swore she scowled back at me.
Ivy winced. “T-that’s not abird,Theo.”
“Huh? Sure she is.” The bird, still perched on my finger, started preening herself.
Ivy slightly relaxed, but still didn’t dare move. “Under her right wing, Theo. Look.”
Thoroughly confused, I carefully lifted the bird’s right wing. On the underside of wing was a barely visible rune, a diamond shape with what looked like a lightning bolt running through it that was made to blend into the pattern of her green and black feathers. When I touched it, it gave me a zap like a static shock. “What the …? How have I not noticed this before?”
“Because it was designed to remain hidden. I only noticed it because I … well, I’ve felt that magic before. When someone tried to sealmeaway.” She nervously brushed her hair behind her ear.
“Seal you away?” I didn’t have time to unravel that mystery. My gaze fell back to the bird. “Wait … I recognize this rune. It’s the same one that sealed Thomas in that urn! Ivy, there's someone trapped in the body of this bird!”
“Who is Thomas?” Ivy questioned. “Theo, that rune is acurse. You don’t know who was sealed and I’m sensing malicious intent and—”
My finger ran over the symbol, and it gave off a faint warmth against my skin. It was nowhere nearly as strong as the one that had sealed Thomas, the magic fizzling under my fingertip. There was a sharp popping noise and almost immediately, the bird’s body swirled within a mist of magic that transformed into a human being. Startled, I fell backward as my back smacked against the wood floor, the impact intensified by the female body that crushed my chest.
“Theo!” Ivy cried, rushing over to my side, shoving the female off me.
The first thing that drew my attention was her intense green eyes, the colors mingling with flecks of blue and gray. Her irises glowed with an inner light that seemed to dance and shift like the play of sunlight on water. But I quickly realized that waswhere the elegance ended. And, just like Thomas had been, she was completely naked.
“Oh … oh, shit. I’m so sorry! I’m not looking. I swear!” I averted my gaze, staring down at the floor as I ran over to the pantry to snag my work apron that would at least cover her front.
“About fucking time,” the female barked as she snatched the apron from me while giving Ivy a suspicious look that might have been a crypticthankyou. “Oh, please. I’ve been living with you for an entire year. You don’t think I haven’t seenyounaked? Besides, I know you’re not into women.”
Heat flooded to my cheeks at the reminder that her cage was in my room. She had definitely seen me changing but what else had she seen between me and Sly? I suddenly felt dizzy with the urge to throw up.
“Uh, okay. Well, you know I’m Theo. This is Ivy. And you are …?” I stood in between her and Ivy. The poor demon, even though she was taller and more muscular, cowered behind me.
“Stella Weatherby.” She thrust her chin out like she was some royalty I should have kneeled to. The way she held herself with her head high, smug smile, smoldering look that demanded respect, and the slightly pointed ears gave off all the signs of being fae. Except while most fae followed the stereotypical pale skin, light hair, and ungodly beautiful facial features, Stella had sun-kissed bronze skin with a dusting of freckles, dark black hair that faded into a deep red at the ends, the style cut into a sharp line that hit right above her shoulders, and a tattooed arm with a colorful vine of roses.
I dragged my hands down my face and sighed. “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. Ivy, you’re going to tell me how the hell you got into my house and why in the name of grease-fueled sorcery you were making me breakfast. And you,” I stared daggers at Stella. “Youare going to tell me why the hell someonetrapped you inside a parakeet’s body and left you out to die in the middle of winter.”
Stella raised her hand.
“What is it?” I snapped.
“Does this conversation include breakfast? Because I’m sick of sunflower seeds and you owe me a real meal for all that disgusting crap you tried to feed me in the past year.”
“I also brought fresh orange juice!” Ivy said with a smile.
I grumbled a curse under my breath, then turned around and grabbed three plates from the cabinet.
