Page 55 of A Soul's Curse
“I’ve been making a variation of this spell for a while,” I told Ivy as I stared at the scribbled notes in my recipe book. “It’s just an altered version of my energy booster. I tried it myself just to be sure. It didn’t kill me or produce any nasty side effects so … I’m taking that as a win. I’ll improve on the taste later.”
Stella rolled her eyes. “Is that how you test this stuff? You poison yourself?”
“How else would I test it?” I blinked at her. “I won’t put something out there that could be dangerous to someone else. I have the magic to undo it on myself if anything backfires. It just makes sense.”
Having heard that tidbit of information, a rasping snarl sounded from the top of the stairs as Ren appeared holding a paper bag in his hand.
“Hey,” I said, offering him a friendly smile. The demon was giving me space, and I respected that, but I wasn’t sure if it was helping or hurting. He’d go out of his way to do these nice things for me, but it was guilt driving him to do it. I missed the old Ren, the bold demon who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.
“You’re all going somewhere?” He slowly descended the stairs. I could hear the real question in his words:Why didn’t you invite me?“I thought you were going to take the scooter and make some deliveries?”
“I am. But thanks to Stella and Ivy helping out, I have a lot more inventory than I have customers so I thought we’d stop by Emberheart Place and drop some supplies off. Ivy was just about to summon Jacob to take us—”
“I can take you.”
I stared at Ren. His expression was hesitant, like he wasn’t sure why he’d just volunteered, but there was a flicker of hope buried beneath the usual gruffness.
“Oh, uh …” I peeked behind me toward Ivy and Stella, but there was no backup coming. I would have invited Ren, but handing out my magical products wasn’t the only reason I wanted to go to Emberheart Place, and I feared Ren wasn’t ready to face the real motive behind my trip.
“It’s okay. I think Ivy’s got this one. We have a lot of delicate stuff so it’s just easier and faster for Jacob to get us there.” The words punched me just as hard as they slapped Ren. He knew what I was saying, that his magic was too unreliable to use for something like this.
“Fine.”
Ren’s shoulders hunched, and at the sight of the defeated demon the words just flew out of my mouth. “But, we could use an extra set of hands if you wanted to come with us?”
Damn my kindness. Was today the day it would get me killed?
“No, it’s okay—”
“Ren, get your damn shoes on. You’re coming with us. We need your help.”
He blinked a few times at my unexpected command. I should have just let him go, but it didn’t feel right. His whole life he was desperate to feel wanted, and a part of me was determined to be that person to show him just how important he was despite how little he thought of himself.
“I’ll get my shoes.” He turned to run back up the stairs before he stopped, turned back around, and thrust the paper bag into my chest. “That’s for you. I had a craving for a chocolate chip cookie so I went to the bakery in the center of town and got you a cannoli while I was there.”
I opened the white paper bag, and a wave of sugary sweetness spilled out, wrapping around me like a cozy blanket of pureindulgence. Ham sandwiches weren’t really my thing, but Ren had certainly hit the mark on dessert. I immediately removed it from the bag and took a big bite out the end, devouring a cluster of chocolate chips.
“Mmm. Damn this is good. Thanks, Ren.” He didn’t smile, but his eyes did, crinkling slightly at the corners with a quiet warmth flickering through them.
“I’ll be right back.” His feet pounded up the stairs, and when I turned around to finish packing, Stella was there rolling her eyes.
“I’m not which is worse … the grumpy, prickly demon who snapped all the time or the annoying, overly-devoted one desperate for attention. Either way, I wishIhad some sexy demon taking care of me and bringing me food all the time. Sounds nice.”
Ivy answered in an excited whisper, “I—I can bring home some cupcakes after my next shift! You like the vanilla ones, right?”
I laughed so hard powdered sugar puffed into the air. “You walked right into that one, Stella.”
It took Ivy a minute to realize exactly what we were insinuating. “Oh, oh, that’s not what I meant!”
“I like the ones with rainbow sprinkles on top,” Stella grumbled, her voice demanding, but there was a softness underneath, a playful edge that made it clear she wasn’t actually forcing Ivy to do anything. “Don’t get the day-old ones. They have to be freshly made that day.”
“Of course!” Ivy nodded, her hands occupying themselves with more bags filled with product. I watched the two of them closely. Not everyone despised demons, but regardless of what people believed, there was always that subtle bias toward them, even from those who didn’t fully buy into the rumors. Seeing a demon made people hesitate and point fingers. But Stella? She was different. She and Ivy had somehow become good friends, andI couldn’t help but notice the quiet connection forming between them. I wondered if maybe one day it would eventually grow into something more.
“Oh, good. You’re still here.” Ren scurried down the stairs.
“Did you really think we’d leave without you?” I scrunched my brows and frowned at him. He was trying so hard to prove himself to me, but I had some work to do as well.
He stepped forward, his hand trembling slightly as he reached for my face. His thumb grazed my lip, the touch so gentle it felt like a whisper against my skin. “You had some powdered sugar on your face.”
