Burn

CHAPTER 21

Sunlight filtered in lazy strips across Ryu's bare stomach, golden against the rich hues of his skin. A series of barely-healed cuts and burns, most in the shape of a handprint, rose and fell steadily with each inhale.

As his eyes fluttered open, Ryu glanced at these, then swept the room with lazy curiosity.

"I thought demons didn't sleep," Carter commented. He was cradling another cup of tea as he perched on the end of his bed.

"I don't need to," Ryu replied, sitting up against the headboard. "But I can."

An enormous yawn overtook him, and his mouth gaped to reveal a set of deathly sharp teeth.

Carter swallowed loudly, and Ryu's gaze darkened.

"Look," he began, "do you-"

"Margo's coming over," Carter interjected. He took a sip of tea, it's warmth a fortifying comfort in the pit of his stomach.

"I see." Ryu looked away, jaw clenched. Outside, a bird chirped merrily, its song filling the room through the still-open window.

"I don't regret it," Carter blurted, then flushed fiercely.

Ryu's eyes brightened. "I see."

And he didn't, Carter knew that much. But his thoughts and feelings were an entangled jumble of fury and hurt and lust. Last night had been a culmination of pure emotion, burning and burning between them, and now that they were left with the ashes of morning, Carter didn't know how he felt.

I hate you.

He'd said it. He'd meant it at the time. But now?

He wasn't sure.

And before either of them could elaborate, however, there came a soft knock on the door, and Margo swept in wearing a knee-length cotton dress and a pair of flip-flops bearing skulls.

Her dark gaze swept the room, seeming to assess every corner of it in the time it took to Carter to set down his mug.

"Just tell me," she sighed, propping her hands against her hips. "What happened?"

An hour later they were seated at Carter's dining room table, picking over a pile of half-burnt pancakes.

Carter was staring studiously at a spot on the far end of the table, Margo was staring between them with barely-restrained incredulity, and Ryu hadn't uttered a single word since they'd sat down.

He also hadn't met Carter's eyes since Margo's arrival.

"So," the girl in question said suddenly, startling Carter from his reverie, "your life is...officially complicated."

Carter barked a startled laugh, choking on a crispy pancake in the process.

"Okay." Margo made a noise of frustration and shook her head. "Okay. So you two just have to...wait out the remainder of Ryu's months?"

"Essentially," Ryu said, finally breaking his silence. "Since there won't be anything binding me here once our bargain is up, I'll have no choice but to return."

To the demon realm was left unsaid, but it hung heavily in the air between them. Carter's heart gave an unexpected twinge.

Margo didn't sound quite so bereaved. "Sure," she drawled, "provided you don't figure out a way to rope Carter into another bargain before then."

"That's not gonna happen," Ryu snapped. He scowled when Margo fixed him with a skeptical frown. "It's not."

"So you say," Margo continued, tracing the edge of her plate with her fork tines, "but I don't know if I'm as willing to trust you as Carter is."

"I don't," Carter protested, then winced when Ryu flashed him a hurt glance. "At least, not entirely."

He could he, after everything? God, Ryu was a demon.

It was so easy to forget sometimes.

"Look," Margo sighed, "I'm worried. I don't trust him." She seemed oblivious to the way Ryu was glaring holes into the side of her skull, and Carter couldn't help but admire her courage.

"I know," Carter said quietly, and he did. Ryu was dangerous; he'd understood that from the moment he'd summoned him, had known it when they'd sat together on the beach, had felt it when they'd been kissing, burning in each other's arms.

And yet...

"But he hasn't been trying to take my soul for months." Carter made direct eye contact with Ryu for the first time since they'd began this discussion, daring him to deny it.

But Ryu remained grimly silent. If he didn't know any better, Carter would've guessed the demon was blushing.

"Maybe he's just trying to lull you into a false sense of security," Margo argued, scowling at the table. "If I were a demon-"

"I'll prove it," Ryu cut in quietly.

Silence abruptly fell.

He ducked his head as Margo and Carter turned slowly to stare at him, a lock of Raven hair falling into his eyes.

"I'll prove you can trust me," he continued, voice strengthening with each word. When he looked up, he met Carter's eyes so fiercely it took all of Carter's self-restraint not to flinch away. "I don't know how yet, but...I will."

Margo snorted, though she sounded significantly less certain of herself. "A likely story."

"I will," Ryu said simply.

A second silence descended, this one tense and coiled tight as a snake. It crackled with energy, so taut the hairs on Carter's forearms stood tall.

Finally, Margo conceded with a sigh.

"Fine," she huffed, kicking out of her chair. She began to gather plates with a rather put-upon air. "You better keep your word, Hell-Boy."

Ryu visibly relaxed as Margo swept into the kitchen, the clatter of porcelain echoing through the house.

But as she returned for the glasses, Margo set a hand heavily against Ryu's shoulder and leaned in, hissing lowly into his pointed ear.

Carter watched, bemused, as Ryu paled and paled, his eyes growing so wide they seemed about to pop out of their sockets.

When Margo withdrew, he began to stare dazedly into space, unseeing.

"She's scary," Ryu whispered after she'd left a second time.

"Yeah," Carter agreed, "she is."

But he couldn't help but smile at the thought; she was worried about him, was ready to defend him against potential threats-just as he would do for her. It was wonderful, this kinship between them-something he'd never had before.

"Did you want to go grocery shopping, Carter?" Margo asked, sticking her head back into the dining room. Ryu visibly flinched. "I noticed you seemed to be low on quite a few things."

"Actually," Carter began, scratching the back of his neck, "I was...kind of hoping to see my Mum. That okay?"

He met Margo's dark gaze with his own, hoping she'd understood the hidden question. Will you come with me?

Margo smiled, gaze softening, and gave a minute nod.

"Of course."