Page 18 of The Other Side

“It’s fine. It’s just food.” My body turned around and leaned against the sink, crossing my arms. I took a breath and tried to calm my temper. “About what happened yesterday—none of it was your fault. You’re just like me, a pawn in this sick celestial game. We’re both stuck.” Tuft lifted his head and smiled.

“Indeed we are.” His golden eyes looked me up and down as his face twitched. “Were you just getting in?” He pointed towards the shop door. I nodded.

“I—” I stopped, remembering everything from the night before. I had to cross my legs and squeeze them as my core became alive at the recollection. “I couldn't sleep.” My mouth forced a fake smile. “I decided to clear my head and take a stroll through the bayou. It’s very peaceful at night, you know?. The fireflies fill the sky like stars and dance in the heavens. You should see it one day.”

“That does sound lovely.” He squinted his eyes, observing me closely. It almost made me uncomfortable, as if he was looking past my skull into my mind. “Any particular reason you couldn’t sleep?” I shook my head a little too quickly. “Really?” He crossed his arms, his pale, scarred skin nearly reflecting the morningsunlight as he made a goofy grin. “So the sounds that came from your room last night—those moans…they weren’t you?” My cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I swallowed. “And even still, what the hell were you doing creeping into my room?”

“Oh no, don’t try to turn this back on me. I was sound asleep until those sounds coming from your room woke me. And they sounded an awful lot like you.” Tuft stepped closer. “I’ve been trapped in that Underworld with Cypress for many years, Iris-Marie, many long, lonely years. I’ve seen her toy with other humans, playing with their emotions before eventually torturing them to death. I know how she operates, how she—” he raised a brow, “influences her pets.”

“I’m not her fucking pet,” I snapped.

“Didn’t sound that way last night.” His grin grew as he watched me squirm. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Iris, but you wouldn’t be the first human to have fallen under her spell. Almost every soul foolish enough to make a deal with her has ended up in her bed.”

“I’m not ashamed! I—” Tuft chuckled lightly, enjoying himself too much. “It’s really none of your business what I do and with whom.” I turned and began to wash my hands.

“So it was you and Cypress?” He chuckled. “Regardless, itismy business if the goddess of death—the very same one who has my soul in her grasp—is fucking around with you. She plays games, Iris. Not just emotional or mental games, but physical ones too.” I tried to ignore him, but I couldn’t. “If our freedom wasn’t at stake, I wouldn’t care what you two did, but it is. You can’t get sucked into her allure. Not now. Not with so much hanging on by a single thread.”

“I’m not getting sucked into anything!” My body whirled around as I glared at him. “It was just a dream!” I wheezed a smile. “That’s all!”

“A dream? Really?” Tuft quickly left the room and returned, the pitch black candle now in his grasp, the single blue flame still burning. “Then tell me, what isthis?”

The candle.

“Where did you get that?”

“I found it this morning when I went to check on you. Iris,this—” he moved his fingers over the flame, the fire doing nothing to his flesh, “this is hellfire. Her fire. You can’t put it out or blow it away, same as her spells. This is her calling card, her mark that she was here. You may think that was just a dream, but to her, it wasreal. And this candle.” He shook it. “It is her reminder. You can’t just brush last night off or forget.” Tuft sighed heavily. “She’s toying with you, Iris-Marie. She’s doing everything she can to ensure you deliver her favor. I’ve seen this before, many times. Please, don’t fall for her tricks. Don’t get lost in her toxic allure. It’ll drag you so far down, you’ll never breathe air again. If you go down, we all fail. I can’t go back there. I can’t.” He placed the candle next to me, ripping the apron as he tossed it aside and turned to leave. I noticed two gashes on his back—deep, ancient scars that made my stomach sick.

“Where are you going?” I called after him, my eyes glued to the painful slits.

“To get some fresh air.” He quickly left the kitchen, and soon, the store bell jingled as I listened to him leave. I glanced over at Bastien, who shook his head with a deep gurgle.

“Don’t give me that look,” I huffed, glancing back at Cypress’ candle. “I didn’t think it was real.”

Knowing my night with Cypress wasn’t a dream frightened me. We had been intimate with one another, a goddess and human. And while it scared me, knowing she could easily enter my dreams and haunt me, it also excited me.

It was real. All of it.

The sun began to set as Bastien and I followed the trail of my magic. I had used it to track Tuft, following the glittering burgundy dust as it led us to the town cemetery. My magic dissolved into the night sky as we entered the local cemetery, built when the small bayou town was first founded. Above-ground tombs and statues covered the land as far as the eye could see, the city of the dead almost equal to the number of living. Together, Bastien and I walked a few feet in, admiring the architecture, when I stopped, spotting him.

Tuft.

His ivory skin nearly reflected the moonlight, his blue hair magnified by the night sky as he sat on the roof of an empty tomb, staring up at the heavens with a sad longing.

“How did you find me?” he asked as we quietly approached. His legs were crossed while his eyes peered into the heavens. My fingers flourished, three maroon fireflies forming from them. They fluttered from my palm and circled the sad man, causing him to exhale a quiet laugh.

“Figures.” He gently blew the magical bugs away.

“What are you searching for up there in the clouds?” I asked. He took a large breath and glanced over his shoulder back at me.

“Home.”

Home?

“I don’t understand. What home could you possibly have up—” I silently answered my own question, Tuft smiling as if I repeated it back to him. “But if your home is up there,” I stated, pointing to the sky. “Then that means…” My voice trailed as I looked at him, really, truly looked at him. Tuft nodded his head ever so lightly.

“I am a celestial.”

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