Then again, how could he dismiss the existence of the supernatural when he’d witnessed Adam’s possession, its consequences, and saw things he couldn’t explain? Jinx had run out of the barn unscathed when poor Leia had burned alive. A bison had brought Adam Emil’s wreath, and as romantic as that had been, it was also fucking weird. His grandmother used to dabble in some kind of village sorcery, and now all this was happening to him?
Maybe if Grandma’s things hadn’t burned, he could find answers to any questions he might have had about the dagger, but it was too late for that.
Jinx whinnied by a nearby tree, and Emil glanced toward him, only to spot a familiar figure approaching from the direction of the church. Still dressed in the cassock, Adam was taking long, energetic strides, as if he was about to be late to an appointment if he didn’t hurry.
And despite the smell of char and lost dreams hanging around the ruins like a fog, smiling at Adam was as easy as breathing. Despite all Emil had been through, Adam was the one ray of sunshine still present even as the sun set behind the mountains.
“You managed to get away after all?” he asked from afar and scrambled out of the rubble.
Adam’s blond hair was tousled by the wind, his cheeks flushed after the brisk walk, but when Emil was about to close him in his arms for a short, socially-acceptable hug, he evaded the embrace with a quick step back.
“What are you doing? Just tell me now,” Adam growled, watching Emil while his shoulders remained hunched, as if he were preparing to charge.
Emil groaned. “Is there a problem? You said you couldn’t come with me, so I walked here myself. There’s no point in avoiding the inevitable.”
Adam’s lips thinned, and he pressed them together so hard they lost their color, while his face became darker at a rapid pace. “Why was this under my bed? You told me you burned it,” he started out saying, but his voice rose in volume by the time he pulled something out of his pocket and presented it to Emil.
The red painted eyes of the devil figurine mocked him.
“Because I did,” Emil said with a frown, only now realizing he was still holding the dagger. “Look what I found in the rubble.”
Adam’s features became tense, his skin paling as if it might tear from the strain. His nostrils flared when he let out a choked noise. “What the fuck? Why are you doing this?”
Emil swallowed and took a step back. “Doing what?”
Adam’s eyes were wild, as if he was desperate to look in every single direction at once. They shone even more brightly when his chest rose and fell in a rapid rhythm. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Be honest for once! You’re gaslighting me even now. The weird noises I heard since I came here, the possession, the fact that you brought me to the Devil’s Rock in the first place—were as fucking accidental as me jogging past your house!”
“W-what are you trying to say?” Emil dropped the dagger. He tried to touch Adam’s shoulder. He flinched away, making dread settle in Emil’s stomach.
Adam took another step back and tossed the figurine into the muddy ashes at Emil’s feet.
“I trusted you. And you… you just chewed through me. And for what? Was it only for the sex? Why would you do this to me? Were there no other men to pick?” Adam asked in a broken voice before grabbing the lower half of his face with one hand and massaging it, as if the tension in his jaw muscles caused an ache he couldn’t deal with otherwise.
Emil didn’t understand what he was dealing with here, but he needed to put a stop to it before it was too late. “I didn’t. I love you. We’ve been over this. The figurine wasn’t mine. And this one isn’t either.”
“They have a weird habit appearing in places you have easy access to, don’t you think?” Adam asked in a tight voice.
This couldn’t be happening. Was Emil to have a lick of what happiness meant, only to have it torn from him? That would have been the story of his life. Yet Adam’s mistrust hurt more than the sight of his home in ruins ever could.
“Just last night, you sleepwalked to the Devil’s Rock. Should I interpret that as you summoning the devil? No. Because I trust you.”
Adam shook his head, and his next words bordered on a sob. “Stop lying! Koterski told me everything!”
Emil gritted his teeth. That bastard, always meddling, always sticking his fingers where they didn’t belong. Selfish asshole. “What did he tell you?” Emil asked with the last shreds of patience.
Adam swallowed, shifting his weight, as if he were still thinking through what he was about to say. “He told me you put a spell on him. That he couldn’t stop himself. And that’s… that’s exactly how I felt.”
Emil’s blood went cold and he looked straight into Adam’s eyes. “Mother. Fucker. Adam, I don’t know what this is about or what game he’s playing, but you got it wrong. I didn’t force anyone to do anyth—”
“I don’t know that!” Adam snapped, stabbing Emil with his icy gaze. “Why would he lie? He has no reason to confess sins he didn’t commit. Both he and I were possessed and led to you. How could this be a coincidence? You tell me!”
Emil spread his arms with growing frustration. “Nothing like that happened! Filip Koterski had been more than happy to hook up even when he was already engaged, and I’m the evil one here?”
Adam laughed and rubbed his forehead. “Then you’re no better than him. Did you two have quickies when I was performing mass? When was it?”
The cogs in Emil’s mind moved with a rusty squeak, but eventually Emil scowled at Adam as understanding sank in. “I dumped his ass when I found out he was getting married. I never cheated on you. What the fuck? Maybe he saw us somewhere and got jealous!” He had to take a deep breath and count to ten to not punch something. “But that’s not the point, is it? You want to believe him. You want to believe I’m a cheater, a Satanist, and fuck knows what else. Maybe the devil himself! My fucking house burned down, you finally saw what a burden I’ll be, and you realized your charity case boyfriend might cause real problems in the peaceful fucking life that’s waiting for you in Warsaw. I’m inconvenient.”
“Are you calling me crazy? Because you’re the one who thinks all those clues—the dolls, that damn knife, Koterski—pointing to you are accidental. I compromised everything I believe in for you, and you just lie to my face,” Adam said, raising his voice halfway. His breath came out in ragged gasps, as if he were too agitated to keep his tone even.
Emil pointed to the rubble behind him. “Did I also burn down my own house? Do you believe I sent my crows to murder Zofia?”
Adam’s jaw muscles worked, and his handsome face no longer brought Emil joy. “What about Piotr?”
Emil frowned, thrown off guard. “Piotr who?”
Adam stepped back. “Piotr the skinhead! Piotr the family man who threatened to find where you live! That Piotr.”
“I don’t follow.”
Adam’s face was red as if all the blood in his body rushed there at the same moment. “He’s dead. Pecked to pieces by crows like Zofia! And you have crows tattooed on you. And those damn birds follow you, as if they’d imprinted on you!”