Page 52 of Raising Hell: MMF Edition

“And we have,” Cas adds, pulling back and giving me more freedom to move. “We’ve figured it out.”

For a second, time stands still, and I suck in a breath that I hold in my lungs. I push it out, not daring to be optimistic. “Don’t get my hopes up, Cas.”

He shakes his head, placing his hands on my arms and holding me in front of him. “This is real. I found it a few days ago and I’ve spent every free moment researching. It’s legit, Ruby. It will work… it has to.” There’s so much desperation in those last few words that it pinches my heart.

“What if it doesn’t?” I ask gently, but Amon calms me with a touch.

“He’s right, Ruby. The research we’ve done shows this spell will override your original spellwork, binding the three of us. It requires the consent of all parties involved—it cannot be forced, which makes it some of the most powerful magic that exists.” He pulls his lip between his teeth thoughtfully as he guides us both to the couch. “It also—”

“No!” Cas yells, slapping his hand over Amon’s mouth while Amon shoots him a murderous glare. Amon stands and tosses Cas over his shoulder like he weighs nothing, chucking him outside the door and locking it. Immediately, he bursts right back through. “I’ve got magic, you ancient asshole! You can’t lock me out.”

Amon scowls as Cas stomps over to us. “We discussed this, and she will not go into this spell without knowing everything.”

“Amon, please,” Cas whines, and the devastation on his face gives me pause.

“What don’t I know about it?” I ask, turning to Amon, who is clearly the more reliable source of information.

“Please?” Cas whispers, begging, but Amon shakes his head and turns his attention to me.

“It’s a binding enchantment, which means it takes a piece of all the souls involved and merges them as one.”

“I’ll lose my soul?” I interrupt, eyes wide.

“No, no, nothing like that. Only a small piece, enough to allow the magic to work. But you need to understand, Ruby, that this is more significant than a summoning spell. It’s far more serious.”

“Serious how?”

“It’s permanent.”

That causes me a moment’s hesitation. I love Amon and Cas and can say with certainty I always will, but what if they change their minds? What if they get sick of me, especially when…

I give a tiny shake of my head as Cas wails. “You’ll be bound to me forever?”

“We’ll be bound to each other,” Amon corrects. “Yes, forever.”

I sigh as I pull my lips back in a grimace. “That would be so selfish of me,” I whisper. “Binding you to me as I age. You’d be stuck with an old, wrinkly human with no way to move on if you got sick of me.”

“We’d never get sick of you!” Cas declares, swooping in for a bruising kiss. “We love you.”

“Right now you do. “What about in forty years?” Cas opens his mouth to argue, but I hold my hand up and shake my head. “Deny it all you want, Cas, but I have to think about this realistically, and that is a very real concern.”

Amon is cautious as he takes my hand. “What Cas is desperate to avoid mentioning is that the spell also combines our life expectancy.” The crease between my brows deepens as he squeezes my fingers. “Our remaining years would be combined and divided evenly among the three of us.”

My eyes flare at the implication, a shockwave of information blasting through my brain in an explosive rush. “But… how long do demons live?”

Amon shrugs, still observing me with careful eyes. “Most demons survive well into their second millennia.”

Two thousand years?!

The shock on my face must be obvious, because he offers me a gentle smile that’s so out of character that it snaps me out of my stupor. “And… how old are you?”

“A few years past my seven hundredth birthday,” Amon answers, before nodding towards Cas, who paces anxiously. “Cas is not yet three hundred.”

Quick math leaves me lightheaded. “If you have thirteen hundred years left, and Cas has seventeen hundred… Guys, no.No.” Frustration crosses Amon’s face as I rip my hands from his. “Absolutely not.”

“Ruby—” He reaches for me again, but I stand and turn away, arms crossed as my gut clenches.

My voice shakes as I say, “As a human, I have fifty years of life remaining if I’m lucky. I willnotgive so little and take so much from you.”

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