Page 17 of Charming Her Monsters

Arran leans in to pick me up again, but I put out my hands. “I can walk.”

Yet, when I try to stand up, I have a hard time getting to my feet.

“Compromise?” He quirks his full, kissable lips and snakes his arm around my waist to help me walk.

I hook my arm over his shoulder so I can stay upright and slowly we make it to the hallway.

“Ready?” Maxum asks.

I look around and don’t see Flint, Calder, or my fur babies.

“They went ahead with your familiars,” Maxum says when he figures out what I’m looking for. “We’ll meet up with them after we get your stuff.”

My demon boyfriend chants and waves his hand to open a portal.

I curse with my surprise. “This time, I can feel magic buzzing. I don’t think that will ever get old.”

“You’ve never sensed magic like this before now, have you?” Arran asks.

When I shake my head, Maxum growls, “That pendant was holding you back your whole life. Whatever her reasons, your grandmother wanted to keep your power contained.”

“Do you think she was the one who put the draining spell on it?”

“Likely.” Maxum waves me forward to go through the portal. “We’ll never know about the tracker part unless Rob confesses.”

“I doubt we’ll get him to do anything,” I mutter.

Arran and I step closer to the portal, his arm wrapping around my waist. I hold my breath as we move through to the other side. It feels like stepping in and out quickly of a steamy room with a dramatic pressure change, but other than that, I might not think much of the shift from one place to another.

I exhale when I am securely on the other side, standing in the middle of my living room.

Arran chuckles. “Did you just hold your breath?”

“Don’t judge. No one gave me any indication of what it might feel like. I’m flippin’ brave for just walking through without a thorough explanation of the effects.”

He kisses my cheek. “Very brave.”

“Don’t patronize me,” I laugh.

Maxum follows us over and closes the portal. “Actually, your body handled going through a demon portal quite well for someone new to them. It usually takes a while to get used to this sort of travel.” Maxum eyes me like I’ve done something bizarre.

That ability seems odd to me. I get carsick, but I can jump through demon portals with no problem?

I glance around my house, wondering what I’ll need.

“Are we going somewhere that has internet access? Or electricity?” I ask, because for all I know, they are taking me to the woods in faerie land.

“Electricity, yes. You should be able to use your cell phone. Just keep it away from me, or I will probably drain it or make it implode.”

“Should I take my phone?” I ask. “Rob could have loaded it with a tracker, too.”

“Didn’t think of that.” Maxum frowns.

“But I will need to access the internet. Oh! I have a traveling router. I doubt Rob knew about it.”

In my bedroom, Maxum helps me pick out my clothes and neatly places them in my luggage.

When I chuckle about it, he looks at me quizzically.

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