Page 13 of Horns & Heart
Vergis rolled his eyes.“Taught them words too.I know it sounds like a creepy obsession, but it’s an honest attempt at finding out which pattern you fit so they can behave in a culturally appropriate way.Your twink attitude is confusing.I mean, did you pick that shirt because you had to?”
I absentmindedly ran a hand over the front of my shirt.It was the cutest thing, and when I’d taken it from a store that maybe also was catering to women at the very start of the apocalypse, I’d felt so bad that I’d left some money on the abandoned counter, and a note too.It was a nice soft sweater with baggy arms in a light blue that looked good with my auburn hair, and yeah, it had an adorable black cat face on the front.I washed it whenever I found a machine I could use.I loved this shirt.
“There’s nothing wrong with my shirt.It’s nice.”
Another eye roll.“Sure.Whatever.”
I finished off the food.I’d never had anything like this sandwich, but that didn’t make it bad.I was once more half daydreaming about just letting Inkiri ravish me so I’d get food on the regular.I knew I was thinking about ravishing far too much.It was such a very, very specific thing to think about in a situation like the one I was currently in.I imagined a blue body on top of mine, those horns to hold on to.I had needs.And no amount of slash fic was going to fulfill all of them.
I cleared my throat.“How about letting me go?Isn’t that culturally appropriate?And for your information, I have no twink energy.”
Honestly, I wasn’tthatgay, cute cat socks notwithstanding.I was almost sure I’d only ever wear a dress if I got cast in the lead female role in a thing that required it.Come to think of it, I was somewhat butch.
Lissir whimpered.Or not exactly.But it sounded a little bit like that.
Vergis brushed imaginary lint off the sleeve of his hoodie.“Well.Wish it were that easy, but mate calls and magic have both gradually been leaving Aër.That’s the other world.Two years ago, the veil between Aër, here, and at least one other place became so thin you could cross it even without magic.
“I stupidly volunteered to lead these four here instead of minding my own damn business, and they wanted to go because Inkiri felt a mate call, a strong one.Not the faint, almost imagined one people on Aër are used to now, if they get them at all.”He grinned darkly.“And you have all the twink energy.”
I finished the chips and set my plate down.“Awesome.Just effing awesome.So thisisactually my fault.I really am sorry, okay?”I buried my head in my hands.“You know, part of me was hoping I’d lost my mind that day at the Stone.”
Vergis narrowed his eyes.“What are you blabbering about?I take no responsibility if Inkiri’s mate was broken to begin with,” he added, turning to Lissir and pointing at me.“Maybe he can return him at the Store?”
I snorted.“You tell me howyoucause the apocalypse and stop yourself from coming out broken at the other end.”
Vergis sat up straighter.“Hold up, hold up.Tell me how you think you caused the apocalypse?”
I looked at the ceiling and blinked away tears.I’d never actually told anyone this before.I’d been scared, much too scared, but it would feel good to just get it off my chest.
These monsters—or bagua—they wouldn’t blame me for killing people.Maybe they didn’t even care what I had done.Maybe…maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing after all?Inkiri seemed to want me.And while he hadn’t been on a quest to discover my inner beauty, I needed to face reality.A lot of people had just turned to ash between one moment and the next.And the people left behind…not all of them were nice people, and anecdotal evidence suggested I had a penchant for crossing paths with all the assholes.Maybe I was better off with the monsters I’d run into than the humans I preferred to run away from.
“We went to the Coronation Stone.That Stone of Destiny.It’s this thing?—”
Vergis made a dismissive gesture.“Yeah, yeah, where the old kings of Ireland were proclaimed on the Hill of Tara.Moving on.”
“Right.We—that’s Cat and Jacob and me.They were a couple, it was Valentine’s, and they were so, ugh, just sickly sweet and loving all over, you know?”
Vergis nodded.“Makes your teeth hurt to watch.And the fucking marketing on top of it all.”
“Exactly.And this older guy, he was weird.The type of weirdo you don’t engage with.But he claps me on the shoulder and says something about how the Stone used to be a wishing stone, how the worthy would just place their hand on it, say a wish out loud, and the wish would come true.And I sort of did that and wished for all the lovers to just no longer exist.”I looked to the carpeted floor.“And I’m sorry.I just didn’t know… Sorry.”
Vergis went quiet and still.When I looked back up, he blinked at me.“You are saying you did magic.”
“I made a wish.And then I saw Cat and Jacob dissolve into black ash.”
“Did you feel heat?From them dissolving.Did that produce heat?”
I moved around on the floor.The carpets were soft, but the left side of my butt was falling asleep.“Uhm, maybe?I mean, my friends just disappeared, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t carry a thermometer on me.”
Vergis went very still for a second before speaking again.“Did you wish for other beings to come here?Did you visualize it?The monsters?Us?Or did you read about any tales of fae and think, oh, I’d like to meet a hot fae?”
I cackled.“You’re not a hot fae.”
Lissir sniggered.“I like you, Rory.”
“It’s not relevant how hot I am when I can slit your throat as easily as you might squish a beetle underfoot.Did you wish for anything else like I described?”
I thought back to that day—touching the stone, the rough surface of it under my palm, the sun brightening the February afternoon.
