Page 44 of How to Hide Your Angel Kid

“Aww, she’s so adorable,” Galent murmured, his face lighting up.

Pinks breathed a sigh. The last thing they needed wasanotherattack. “Hey, Zee.”

Zarrie reached out with both arms like she wanted to be carried. Pinks opened his mouth to tell Galent to bring him closer.

Except Galent stopped moving.

With a growing sense of dread, Pinks turned back, only to find the last tuft of Galent’s hair turning into stone.

“Oh, gods!” Pinks tried not to grow anxious. It was one thing to be stuck on the giant for fifteen minutes.

But he couldn’t go four hours trapped on Galent’s knot, with no way to feed Zarrie or change her diapers.

“What am I going to do?” Pinks wrung his hands.

Zarrie babbled louder, kicking her little feet and leaning forward into a crawl. She pressed her face against the crib’s wooden bars and stuck her hands out, trying to reach him.

“Hey, hon.” Pinks winced, leaning forward as much as he could without losing his balance. The last thing he needed was to rip himself open on Galent’s rock-hard knot. “I hope you don’t need a diaper change yet. Or food.”

She scrunched up her face and made soft, hungry sounds, straining against her wooden prison.

“I’ll be there in a second,” Pinks said. “Just a minute, all right?” He began to pat Galent all over. Had he touched a special spot the last time to make Galent change back? He couldn’t remember—all he knew was that the cure wasn’t a kiss.

He squished his hands over Galent’s face, his touches growing more desperate when Zarrie’s whimpering grew louder. Pinks grabbed Galent’s chest and squeezed; he patted down Galent’s arms and clenched around his knot, only for the giant to remain a statue. Pinks hooked his arms over Galent’s shoulders to thump his back, cursing when the giant’s broadness meant that he couldn’t reach all of it.

Zarrie began to wail. Pinks groaned, whistling loudly to get her attention.

She stopped, watching him tearfully as he twisted around.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m stuck here right now. I’ll feed you as soon as I can, okay?” Pinks waited for his words to hopefully sink in, before he began patting Galent’s thighs with his feet. “Dammit! Why can’t we fix this curse already?”

Zarrie shoved her face between the wooden bars like she was trying to push her entire body through.

“Please don’t hurt yourself,” Pinks begged. Maybe Galent could break the bars if Zarrie got herself stuck?

He’d just decided that he would howl for help if there was no change after half an hour, when color returned to Galent.

“Thank fuck,” Pinks breathed, sagging against the man.

A moment later, Galent said, “You said no swearing in front of Zarrie.”

Pinks scowled. “Well,youtry being stuck and having to listen to your baby cry!”

“Sorry.” Galent looked sheepish. The moment he could move, he brought Pinks over to the crib, carefully leaning him over the edge so he could reach Zarrie.

But Zarrie wasn’t looking at Pinks anymore. She was watching Galent, her hands outstretched toward him as Pinks lifted her into the air.

“Don’t touch him,” Pinks chided gently.

Except Zarrie kicked, and her foot smacked into Galent’s arm.

Galent jerked like he’d received an electric shock. Zarrie shuddered and turned gray.

“Zee!” Pinks cried.

“Kiddo!” Galent growled.

Zarrie was a miniature statue in Pinks’ arms, gray all over.

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