Page 73 of Devils Don’t Deal

I didn’t hesitate, flying as fast as I could, zooming through the space between me and the devil’s clockwork heart until I reached it then I slipped down the largest artery, and into the darkness.

Chapter

Twenty-One

It smelled like ashes and caramel. I blinked, and the world spun around until I was in the butterfly garden, butterflies muted like they’d been before, but this time the bench was occupied by the devil.

His tail twitched back and forth until he looked up at me through the fall of his dark hair. Besides his small horns, he had dark wings framing his head. And he looked so young.

“What brings you to my garden?” he asked in a voice as silky as whipped ganache. Also young.

I exhaled a sigh of relief and floated toward him, but the wild and unkempt vines caught me. “I brought you your soul.” I held up the rabbit, hoping that he’d recognize it. I hadn’t expected the devil’s heart to look so much like him. It made me want to burst into tears seeing him awake and beautiful.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What would I want with a soul? Who are you? Shall I crush you?”

The vines snaked around me, squeezing my limbs while I gasped and held very still, stretched from my ankles and one arm. The rabbit stayed close to me, rubbing its silky face against my neck.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t. You really don’t want a soul? What do you want?” I stared at him, longing until my throat was clogged with it.

His smile was cruel as he walked over and caught my face in his clawed hand. “I want you to tell me who you are. Let me guess. You’re the one I love?” His eyes were hard, like chips of ice, but his hand was warm. His heart? Such a weird thing for a heart to be a mini version of him.

I blinked at him then shook my head. “No, I’m not the one you love. I’m the one who loves you.”

He stared at me, just stared at me for a very long time. “I’m not saying I believe you, but why would you love a devil?”

“You taste really good,” I said before thinking it through. Oh bother. He tasted good? Seriously? What kind of love was that? “I mean, I’m a pastry chef, so I’m really attuned to how things taste. It’s not as superficial as it sounds. Also, everything else about him. You. I mean, he made dinner for me, and I really liked that. Also kissing my forehead and tucking me in bed.”

He studied me then shrugged. “And what do you want from me?”

I blinked at him. “Well, I’m supposed to bring the heart back to life, so the devil can wake up from his coma and take back his life. I don’t like being owned by the enchantress and the fairy king.”

He brushed his fingers over the invisible collar and curled his lip. “They collared you? And you say that you love me, but I don’t love you? Who do I love?”

I licked my lips. “I guess you loved the enchantress, but maybe you stopped after you realized she was just using you. She’s terrible.”

“No,” he said with a frown as he studied me.

“Oh, no, she’s really terrible.”

“No I don’t love the enchantress.”

I hesitated then offered, “Maybe you don’t love anyone.”

He cocked his head as he studied me slowly. “Maybe I don’t love anyone? Then why would you think I was going to help you?”

“Well, you could love yourself. It’s really healthy to care about yourself, and the devil needs his heart back in his chest where it belongs.”

“And you, do you love yourself?”

I stared at him while my own heart ached. “I mean, I like that I’m a baker, but I have some issues with the goblin pieces of myself because I had to hide it my whole life. Also my weight. I’m self-conscious about it. And my ankles. But I don’t hate myself enough to let the fairy king kill me slowly for a few decades. Or touch me again.” I shuddered.

His head tilted while his eyes turned bright red then grew darker and darker and darker. “The fairy king touches you? Why?”

“Because I don’t like it. I have dinner with him while your body floats in the pool next to us, and he tells me how much he’s going to enjoy killing me once I’ve finished our deal.”

“And once the deal with the devil is completed, what will you do?”

“If the fairy king has his way, die very slowly.”