Page 64 of How to Hide Your Angel Kid

Handsome spun the wheel, swerving into the next lane and narrowly avoiding an ominous green beam of light.

The other creatures raised their arms, too. Pinks couldn’t breathe; they were all going to be pulverized.

The creatures began firing spells. Galent smashed his fist through the car window, breathing a plume of the hottest blue flames.

“Galent!” Pinks yelped. Without the window glass, Galent was completely vulnerable to their attacks.

“It’s a matter of attack range,” Handsome said as they swerved between lanes, speeding ever closer to the creatures. Pinks couldn’t breathe; they were so close. Bolts of light whizzed past them.

The creatures fanned out to cover the entire width of the road. They threw up a shield to defend against Galent’s flames. At the last moment, Handsome swerved the car onto the surrounding grass, narrowly avoiding the creatures.

Then the creatures were behind them, the car fishtailing on the grass. Pinks clutched at Galent, yanking Galent’s head down in case someone tried to curse them through the back window.

Handsome pulled them back onto the road. With a roar, the car surged forward, putting more and more distance between them until the creatures were mere specks in the distance.

The creature screeched in fury.

Somehow, Limesicart was still trailing next to the car, safe and sound.

“Maybe it would’ve been better to run them over.” Pinks couldn’t take his eyes off the road they’d left behind.

“I’d rather not be cursed from underneath the car,” Galent growled.

Zarrie was still shining through her rocky exterior. Pinks cradled her against himself, his heart thumping. “Do you think they saw Zarrie?”

Galent narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know. She’s shining pretty bright. Let’s get her home first.”

Galent carefully wrapped Zarrie’s travel blanket around her, so no one else would see the bright light from outside the car. They wound through the streets of Cartfalls, merging into traffic and taking a few wrong turns to be sure no one was following them. Then they pulled into a quiet neighborhood with large houses and even larger lawns, slowing to a stop outside a thick, tall hedge with a sturdy wooden gate.

“Wouldn’t that burn?” Pinks asked.

“Spelled to be fireproof, and reinforced with iron on the other side. I don’t want anyone looking in.” Galent frowned at the blanket in Pinks’ arms.

The gate rolled open. They drove through with Limesicart, and Pinks watched to make sure the gate shut tightly behind them. They meandered down the winding driveway, past a vast front yard with several kinds of wildflowers, up to the two-story house in the middle of the property.

It was overwhelming, actually. The house was all quaint brickwork with several large windows looking in, and the double front doors were made of wood and intricate glass. Two flying-dragon lamps guarded the porch, and the air around the house shimmered ever so slightly.

“Is it... spelled?” Pinks asked, momentarily distracted from Zarrie’s plight.

“Yes. It twinkles like fireflies at night.” Galent cracked a small smile. “I wanted my home to be beautiful. To keep my mate.”

“You don’t need a beautiful home to make your mate stay. That’s not what mates are about.” Pinks paused. “But also, you willingly stayed at the safehouse, withone bathroom,when you could’ve been here instead?”

Galent rolled his eyes. “It’s the company that counts, not the house, remember?”

He scooted closer, though, cupping Zarrie’s head through the blanket. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know.” Pinks pulled back the blanket, tracing the cracks in his Zarrie-statue with his gaze.

Slowly, the light faded. Pinks stopped breathing. Was this a good sign, or a bad one? Galent wrapped his arm around Pinks’ shoulder and held him tight.

In front of their very eyes, the cracks began to seal shut. Then the statue gained color, Zarrie’s hair growing soft again, her skin turning from stone to flesh. Pinks hugged her as tightly as he dared, burrowing into Galent’s chest.

“Fuck, don’t scare us like that,” Pinks mumbled. He tried to breathe through his overwhelming relief.

“Yeah. You shouldn’t make your dad worry.” Galent finally relaxed, patting Zarrie through her blankets. “You don’t have to help me like this, Baby Zee.”

Zarrie wriggled and kicked, babbling.

---