I woke up with a gasp that formed Ashor’s name. Icy air coated my lungs, but it wasn’t enough to freeze the terror or queasiness that came next. Forcing a steady breath, I sat up, a shiver snaking through my body.
It didn’t help. The repulsion continued to roll in my stomach. A clock chimed from downstairs as I raced through the open window into my bedroom, making a beeline straight for the bathroom.
I dropped to my knees, hung my head over the toilet, and vomited.
3
Chinese food wasn’t as great coming back up. After I purged my stomach, I curled into the empty bathtub and my cheek pressed against the cool porcelain as my eyes fluttered. Time went by as I drifted back off to sleep, but it wasn’t for long.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Knuckles rapped on my bedroom door, but the sound was like nails scratching against glass in my head. I winced and mumbled something inaudible.
“Lexi,” a quiet voice called. Footsteps sank into the plush carpet of my bedroom. Whoever had invaded my room was making their way toward the bathroom. “Lexi,” they summoned again, but this time I recognized the voice.
“Angel,” I mumbled in a dry and raspy voice.
The bathroom door pushed open slowly, and a dark head poked in. The violet eyes of my best friend found mine. They were different from Ashor’s, rimmed in crimson instead of starlight. “Are you sleeping in the bathtub?” she asked, her freckle-dusted nose scrunched up.
I peeled my heavy eyes further open, forcing myself fully awake. “Maybe?”
She sauntered in, dropped the toilet cover down, and sat. “Why?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Do you want the short version or the long, detailed version?”
She chewed on her lower lip. “Depends. How detailed are we talking?”
I picked a loose thread on the blanket I’d dragged with me into the bathroom. “Like the texture and taste of regurgitated Chinese food.”
She put a hand to her mouth. “Absolutely not. I thought I was the only one with morning sickness.”
I shoved myself up in the tub, running a hand through my messy blonde hair and making a mental note to shower today. Hell, I was already in the tub. “Mine was like nightmare sickness.” I was still getting used to the idea of my best friend growing a baby inside her belly—a part-demon baby at that.
“You want to talk about it?” she asked, removing her hand, although her face still looked a shade green.
I hugged my arms around my knees. Did I want to talk about it? Talking and opening up hadn’t been easy for me after returning from the underworld. I couldn’t begin to explain what I’d endured when I myself didn’t really understand it. But it was Angel who I had finally poured my guts out to. She knew about Ashor, so it only took me a moment of consideration. “I had a dream, or I think it was a dream. I can’t be certain.”
“Of Ashor?” she guessed.
I nodded and told her what I’d seen and about the bargain I believed Ashor had struck with the queen.
“So you were seeing the whole thing from his eyes?” she asked, a bit intrigued.
“Yeah. Weird, right? Have you ever experienced anything like that?” I inquired.
She shook her head. “No, but from what Chase and I have learned about the three bonds, the connections are different for each pairing. And we can’t be sure what you saw was real.”
“It felt real. Too real.” I glanced down at my arm, half expecting to see the symbol the queen had marked on Ashor’s forearm there.
Leaning forward, she pressed her elbows into her knees. “You know what you need?”
“A week at the spa?” The ends of my hair were split, my skin was dull, my nails were unpainted, and my hair color needed brightening. I was sorely in need of some pampering.
Her lips twitched. “Close. I was thinking retail therapy.”
The old Lexi wouldn’t even blink over the chance to spend the day with her best friend, but I wasn’t sure I was up to dealing with people.
She noticed my hesitation and added, “There will be coffee.”
My eyes narrowed at the bribe. “And cheese Danishes from Sweet Sensations?” Sweet Sensations was a local bakery in town, famous for its filled and iced Danishes. Just thinking about the soft and warm donut fresh out of the oven had my empty stomach rumbling.
Angel rolled her eyes. “Obviously. I’m eating for two.”
“Fine,” I relented, thinking a day out might help distract me, and I seriously needed a distraction. “Just give me twenty minutes to shower, change, and brush the vomit from my teeth.”
She made a face. “I know I’m your best friend and all, but the oversharing is becoming too much. At least until this morning sickness has passed.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Angel had been having a rough first trimester of her pregnancy. Everything made her queasy, from the smell of perfume to the sight of uncooked meat.
She stood up, and before I could anticipate her move, she flicked on the shower, spraying me with ice-cold water. My shriek of surprise mixed in with the sound of her laugh as she darted out of the bathroom, the door slamming shut behind her. “You’re going to pay for that, Mrs. Winters!” I yelled after her, scrambling to turn the water to warm before shedding my clothes and tossing the soaked blanket over the side of the tub.
Angel only giggled harder. It was a nice sound. Something I missed. When was the last time I laughed?
The downtown shops of Spring Valley were mostly local businesses and specialty boutiques. If you wanted an Ikea or a Target, you had to travel to the bigger surrounding cities. We didn’t even have a Starbucks.
But we did have Sweet Sensations. And it was so worth the trip into town.
With our lattes and cheese Danishes in hand, Angel and I strolled down the sidewalk toward the only baby boutique in town. I was anticipating a day of oohs and aahs.
“How much longer until you find out the sex?” I asked like the impatient aunt I was.
“Two more weeks,” she replied, an excited grin spreading over her lips. “Travis and Chase are already taking bets. Emma’s putting together a small gender reveal party.”
A tinge of guilt speared my heart. I should be helping, baking cupcakes filled with either blue or pink frosting. That’s what friends did, but I’d been so self-consumed with my own problems and resentments, I hadn’t even known there was a gender reveal party to plan.
Where was my crappiest sister-in-law ever pin?
I might be fifty shades of screwed up, but Angel deserved every happiness in the world. She and Chase both did, which included me being the best goddamn aunt in the universe. This little baby might be my saving grace. It would be far healthier to focus my attention on her (Angel was obviously having a little girl) than to dwell on a past I couldn’t change or obsess over a dream that might not be anything more than my mind processing trauma. I couldn’t begin to understand what was happening in the underworld. Ashor had made sure of it, shoving and shutting me out. It wasn’t my world, and he had done something to protect me. The prince had made his choice, and it was time I accepted. Time I moved on.
That was what sane people would do.
I no longer felt sane.