Page 18 of Nope, No Regrets
Sota disappeared, leaving me alone with everyone. We just stood there and stared at each other. I knew we all thought our chances of freedom were over when our breakout plans ended up a bust. When I woke up in solitary, it was only a matter of time before I found out my seven-year sentence had gotten a lot longer.
We were still in a world of shit, but if Kudan snuck out of Hell before, he could probably sneak back in with friends this time. I got Hell had their whole torture system in place… and I knew jail was a possibility, and I still stole from people. Everyone in Silverhold, except for probably Venus, understood there was always the possibility of jail.
So, yeah. The demons I met looked terrified, but I had a feeling those warnings were going to get watered down every time they were passed to another shift. Threats of torture aside, some of the people I played poker with at Hauser’s were downright abysmal storytellers. I was sure threats of unleashing Solron in a dungeon in Hell could be passed on in totally wrong ways.
Wren was already raiding my closet. The futon was big, but not this many people big. Was I ready to sleep in a giant cuddle puddle with all these people? Faust and Dakarys seemed to think so. Dakarys also seemed to have gotten over his issues with Faust, as they were both sprawled out on my futon in all their naked glory.
Rajack decided this entire room wasn’t already enough of a sausage fest. His prison jumpsuit was in shreds, but it still mostly covered him until he started stripping the rest of it off. I should have been offended, but damn, he looked good naked!
I expected Wren to say something then… she had made it pretty clear she was into me, but she wouldn’t be enjoying this show like I was. Wren stuck her head out of my closet.
“Rei, stop looking at gargoyle peen and come check out these clothes. Your demon fiancé hasexcellenttaste in clothes. I can’t even get mad at him that he filled this entire closet without even consulting you. It looks like he covered all his bases.”
“Shut up, Wren,” Rajack said. “Ilikeit when she looks at me naked.”
“Okay, I’ve barely processed getting out of jail and being in Hell. Yeah, we bonded in jail, but are we really at the point in our relationship where I see you all naked?”
Faust stuck his hands behind his head and smirked at me. I saw a little of him in his office, but he was just so different now we were out of that environment… and since I kissed him.
“I, for one, am grateful we are out of there, and you got to see my wolf. I’ve got a feeling this isn’t the last time you’ll get to enjoy looking at my naked body, little fox.”
“You’re disgusting, Faust. I’m going to vomit,” Wren said.
I needed to just get over it. If we had broken out, we would probably eventually have gotten to this point. My life had never really been what anyone could call normal… it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen a naked man before. I needed to think about the other things I’d seen.
“It was a clusterfuck outside the jail, but that was the first time I’d seen any of you in your shifted forms. Faust, your wolf is gorgeous, and I’ve never seen a sphinx and a gargoyle before. That was something else. What do you think Sota is? Is it rude to ask? They seem to be torture happy here.”
“Oh, I’m sure he probably has his own personal dungeon, and has some pretty thorough plans for your brother in it,” Dakarys said. “I doubt he would get offended if you asked. He seems pretty cool with us. He got cool with this way faster than we did, and he had less time to process it.”
“I’d still prefer it if I didn’t have to share my mate with you assholes! The demon gets bonus points for getting Rei out of that prison, and for making sure I could come with her, but Rei didn’t have time to plan that failed breakout. If Sota hadn’t shown up, she would have been stuck there much longer because you roped her into that plan.”
Sota appeared out of nowhere then, with garment bags. How did he move without making a sound like that?
“I wasn’t there for the conversation, but I doubt they roped Rei into it. Every single Kitsune in Hell would have found the idea of attempting to break out of a maximum-security magical prison a hell of a party. Weneverget mad at a Kitsune if they get invited over, and then something goes missing. We just ask that they give it back, and they always do.”
Was that some passive-aggressive dig at me to give that grimoire back, even after everything the Aether Circle did to me? Hadn’t they been killing demons to get into Hell? Sota was getting all my bonus points for being likable until making that comment. I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“I couldn’t give the grimoire back, even if I wanted to. It was a private sale. That was my entire business model. Everything was anonymous. They paid me, and I chose what I wanted to steal.”
Sota held up his hand like he was trying to shush me.
“Rei! Not a single person here wants you to give that grimoire back. They threw parties when it made the news that someone had managed to successfully steal it from them. They’ll throw more now that you’re back and have no intention of returning it.”
Hell was such a confusing place. I guess it was different when a Kitsune robbed a demon than an evil coven. I wasn’t about to steal from someone who invited me over. First of all, that was just rude, that was how you lost friends and business associates. I always made it a point to let no one see my face if I was going to steal from them.
Still, Sota seemed to know a lot about Kitsunes, even if he wasn’t one. I’d probably read every single article I found on Google about them, and also some really bizarre fan-fiction about them that I was kind of into. Sota could answer those questions.
Everyone was now dressed, though Faust didn’t look super happy to have clothes on again.
“Cards on the table, Sota. What are you? I also want to know everything about what I am. I keep sprouting tails and attacking Faust because he smells so damn good. I need to knoweverything.”
“I liked that part,” Faust said.
So did I.
“I wasn’t just getting clothes. I sent for food. I’d hate to learn what they were feeding you in that horrible place. Stories are best told with food and friends, so sit. I will tell you everything.”
