Ash & Ichor [Friends with the King of the Underworld rewrite]

f i v e

"Okay, we stopped."

I couldn't move from where Damien held me despite his arms releasing me.

I let out a long breath to relieve the nausea that threatened to come up. I felt my stomach was inside out, wrung out like a towel and beaten against a wall.

"You have to warn me," I whispered against Damien's shoulder. My eyes were still tightly shut. I couldn't open them. "You always have to warn me."

He had spectered as soon as his hand closed around my wrist without hesitation.

He was used to it, could do it on a whim without any consequence.

I was human, never able to get used to the way magic would pull me apart and move me from place to place at Damien's will. Magic wasn't a part of me like it was part of Damien.

I felt more than heard his chuckle deep in his chest. "Didn't I do that?" He whispered.

I weakly slapped his shoulder. I could barely move without inducing another wave of nausea. "No, you didn't."

I felt him awkwardly pat my back in an attempt to sooth me, I imagined. "Come on, we don't have much time."

I nodded against his shoulder, breathing in the scent of the fine black shirt he wore.

Incense and smoke. Was that what his home smelled of? I always wondered how much technology his home had and if it included at least light bulbs. I always imagined a castle with candles and chandeliers everywhere to illuminate the halls and rooms at night.

I opened my eyes and peeled myself away from him. To his credit, he still had a strong grip on my hand while my other hand reached out to steady myself against to something sturdy nearby.

My hand gripped something metal. When my eyes focused again, I saw what it was that I held onto so tightly.

The backroom of the college bookstore where I worked part time was always deserted. The bookstore attendants would occasionally have to stock in the back but that happened less and less by the end of the week. Boxes of books and merchandise were on the metal shelves.

It was where Damien would specter to when he wanted to see me while I was working at the bookstore. I learned early on that in order for Damien to specter anywhere successfully, he had to have been there before. He needed to be able to picture it in his mind before using his magic to appear at that place seconds later.

He couldn't just specter to the registrar's office or anywhere else he didn't know.

I turned to him. "Ready?"

When he nodded, I knew it was safe to leave the backroom. The security camera would have an issue for a couple of seconds and then continue recording again once we were out of frame. It was how he could safely use magic on campus and not get caught.

Above anything else, Damien could not be caught or be suspected as a fae by humans. He was sometimes careless but it was always a calculated risk. Some people would give him a sideways glance once they noticed the ears but they never said much else.

Body mods were very popular on campus and we knew some people would dismiss it as that.

I kept my head low as I led us out of the bookstore, careful to avoid my coworkers. They'd be suspicious if they saw me in the bookstore outside of my shift.

I let out a long breath when we made it out to the open breezeway outside of the bookstore.

The day was sticky and warm. I knew it would be more than miserable if we stayed outside longer than needed.