Page 76 of Wolf of Ashes
But even in these moments, I can’t stop asking myself a question that is chewing up my insides.
If my claws can spill the blood of a god, what kind of creature am I?
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
We take our time returning to the witch’s apartment, which the keeper starts referring to as ‘home,’ and I decide not to correct him.
As the night grows deeper, we encounter fewer humans, and I want to continue exploring the city. I also take the opportunity to point out to the keeper more of the locations where the empire operates—or used to. It’s gratifying that the buildings still exist, even if I can’t yet verify that they’re being used the same way.
By the time we return to the apartment, I’m full of food from late night takeout and exhausted from exploring, but it’s really the approaching dawn that drives us inside. Ormeinside.
Even the panthers no longer seem so cross about their current shapes, having elicited all sorts of cooing and head rubs from humans who were oblivious to the imminent danger to their fingers.
I guess even dark creatures like to be adored.
Once we’re back inside the apartment, Diavolo lifts the illusions from me and the panthers. The panthers bare their teeth at him but plonk themselves down on the floor without delivering any sort of retribution.
“Traitors,” I mutter as they stretch out on the soft floor—called carpet, I think—and rub their backs against the woven surface.
I pull the strip of Jonah’s shirt off my face and add it to the row of makeshift blindfolds I’m accumulating. Removing the earplugs, I sigh with relief as I rub my face and roll out my shoulders.
As much as I need an illusion to conceal my identity, I’m looking forward tonotneeding it.
After using the bathroom, I give in to my sleepiness and drop to the floor beside the panthers, snuggling in beside them. They edge in closer, purring loudly as I close my eyes.
“You need names,” I murmur, my voice muffled by a yawn. “Tomorrow. I promise.”
A shadow falls over me and I crack one eye open to find Diavolo looming over us.
“There’s a bed,” he says, pointing to the bedroom.
“Too soft,” I grumble, closing my eyes again. “I sat on it when I was choosing clothing and it nearly swallowed me. If you want to be devoured by a blanket, go right ahead.”
I yelp when, in the next second, I’m being jostled around as Diavolo squeezes his big body between the nearest panther and my left side. He scoops me up and deposits me in the crook of his arm, my head resting on his shoulder. Somehow, he’s made enough space between the panthers to lie on his back. When I crane my neck to see his face, his eyes are closed already.
I settle in and quickly fall asleep to the soft sounds of the panthers’ purring and Diavolo’s deep breathing.
* * *
I sleep all day and only wake once the sun has gone down. I find that the panthers have already woken and draped themselves over the lounge chairs. A thin blanket rests around me, thankfully not the one from the bed or I’d be smothered in it.
Rubbing my eyes and tugging at my unruly braid, I sit up and blink at Diavolo, who’s clattering around in the kitchen, pouring cereal into two bowls.
“Hungry?” he asks.
I’m still full from last night—or, technically, this morning. I’ve never eaten so much food in the space of so few hours and my tummy is rounded out for the first time ever.
“Not yet,” I say, conscious that the panthers have lifted their heads and are giving me their full attention. “I need to give the panthers names first.”
He gives me a nod. “Food can wait.”
I clear my throat as I turn back to the panthers, taking a beat to consider each one before I address them. “Names have power,” I say, knowing they can understand me. “If I could interpret your snarls and purrs, I’d ask you to name yourselves, but as it is, this responsibility sits heavily on my shoulders.”
Too heavily. What I call them is what they could become rather than what they are.
The female leaps off the nearby couch and approaches me with a snarl on her lips before she tilts her head at the males. I consider all four of them carefully. “I don’t know how you came into existence or why there are only four of you in the world, but Mom was certain there were once more of you. If I could guess at your past, then maybe…”
I consider how close-knit these four are and the way they’d defended each other against the snakes. Also, the way the female is more vocal about her thoughts while the males are a little more chilled, but no less rebellious against the rules. If I had to guess, I’d say they’d done something incredibly unruly to have ended up in a prison in the veil.
