Page 40 of Seph

Simeon stared at her for a full five seconds. “The first realchariot, pet?”

She hung her head and sighed. “Kiss.”

“Project much?”

“Not more than you.”

Another silence. “Fuck this.” Simeon slammed his hand onto the H-Drive. “Put us down in an empty parking spot in front of a nice, clean hotel with a vacancy in Boise.”

Emily braced and found her nails digging into Simeon’s hand as the car soared through time and space.

It crashed in front of a Good-Nite Inn with a flashing neon sign that read “Vacancy.”

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Emily wheezed as her lungs returned to their normal position in her ribcage.

“Grab your bags. I’ll get the cooler.”

“Look, I’m sorry! We can get back in the car. Won’t take us ten seconds, Emily.”

“A vacancy, you said.A. As in one. Not a ‘nice, clean hotel with two bedrooms.’”

“Next time,youtell the bloody car where you want to land,” Simeon threw his bag on one side of the king-sized bed. “You stay here, I’ll go drive around and find a second place for the night.”

“No. You have the phone and the credit card. You have the car. We stick together.”

Simeon rummaged by the coffee pot and found one of the hotel’s mugs. “I’m going to heat up some blood. Want something?”

“Well, notthat. I figured you’d be full after four scones and two pieces of pie. Maybe you didn’t even notice what you ate. You were too busy staring at the farmer goddess.” Emily dug into her suitcase.

His jaw dropped as he squeezed the cold blood into the cup. “Are youjealous? Emmy, the last immortal I met tried to flambe me. This one was pretty and sad—”

“And so you ride in to save the damsel!”

“May I remind you thatyoucome in and save damsels all the damn time? Or you used to?” Emily scowled at him and he continued, “Or would you like me to remind you that I’m doing this because of a strikingly handsome, very married bloke? Or—” Simeon glared Emily to silence as she tried to speak over him, “that I did come riding toyourrescue once?”

Emily’s face tightened. “Thank you.”

Had she ever thanked him before?

Simeon sat on the edge of the bed and watched the mug make its lazy circle in the microwave. “Every night, I wish I could rescue you just a little bit more. A little bit better. I dunno what’s wrong, sometimes, if it’s me, or the town, or your parents bein’ gone... But every night, I wish I could do more. I got you out of that car, and they fixed your broken bones. Call me crazy, but I still feel like there’s something broken inside, maybe something they missed—or maybe something they can’t fix with plaster and stitches.”

“Simeon, stop.” Her voice was a whisper as she stood frozen in front of the mirror that would never show his reflection.

But he didn’t. It was all coming out now while she was his captive audience. “In my head, somehow I figure it out. I give you just what you need, what you want. I fix all the cracks and hidden fractures. I’m the right blend of man and monster, even without a soul. I—” He stopped short of telling her how he’d gotten Hades to promise him whatever he asked for if they found Seph.

Hades thought Emily was pining for a lover. Maybe the god would call Aphrodite and have her soulmate delivered.

Maybehewould be that soulmate. Hadeshadsaidanything. Simeon planned to ask for the return of his human soul, hopefully refurbished or in like new condition.

But you can’t tell Emily that. She’s already working as hard as she can. No sense adding more heartbreak if we fail.

Besides... Emily didn’t even know about those secret offers—and she’d just joined him on the edge of the bed. She was patting his knee as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

For a second, he was so startled that he couldn’t speak. The microwave beeped, and he ignored it. He would never move again if it meant Emily could stay beside him.

“Emily?”

“Hm?”

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