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He slammed the door shut. Only then did he catch sight of me.

He nodded to the front seat. “Get in.”

I swallowed, the sweet drink souring in my mouth. Traveling in a car for days with the most infamous Infernari hunter in this world. Asher didn’t need to cage me to make me suffer. My situation was tormenting enough.

Just as Asher’s eyes got hard, I crept toward the door and reluctantly opened it, my throat tightening as I slid in. No other Infernarus could have possibly gotten themselves into this situation. It required a level of stupidity that I solely seemed to possess.

A moment later, Asher hoisted himself into the car, the vehicle rocking under his weight. He glanced over at me, then closed his eyes and shook his head, pressing his lips tightly together. I imagined that he was thinking similar thoughts.

I tapped my fingers anxiously on the surface in front of me. I searched for the name the natives called it.

Da-something-board.Dartboard?

Hmmm, no.

The engine roared to life, startling me out of my musings.

My Slurpee slipped from my hands as I clutched a handle near the door, splattering against the floor.

Asher cursed. “Tell me you did not just spill a goddamn Slurpee all over my upholstery.”

His words were lost on me. My chest rose and fell quickly as I braced myself. “Just get it over with,” I said.

He opened a compartment in front of me. Removing a gun, he grabbed the stack of napkins underneath and dropped them onto my lap. “Clean it,” he said.

I ignored him, my eyes peeled to the dark horizon as the car began to move.

Breathe in and out.

Asher took one look at me and cursed again. His hand fished around behind him, delving into one of the plastic bags. He looked over his shoulder at what he was doing. All the while the car rolled forward and I continued to practice inhaling and exhaling slowly.

Finally, Asher faced forward, dropping a small plastic container into my lap that held round pellets. “Eat one of those,” he said.

Watermelon Splash Gum, the label read.

My first instinct was to toss the item out the window. It was Asher after all who gave it to me. But I picked out the item myself, and if the hunter wanted to hurt me, he had far more gruesome ways than forcing me to eat Watermelon Splash Gum.

I pried my hands away from the car’s frame long enough to pick away the plastic wrapper and open the container. Tentatively I took one of the small pellets and put it in my mouth. More sugar, and a flavor that tasted entirely foreign.

I chewed and chewed as Asher turned his attention back to driving. He turned back onto the long, lonely stretch of open road, and the car began to accelerate faster and faster. I closed the container and resumed gripping whatever I could.

“Your medicine’s not working,” I said, still chewing, and starting to panic. The Watermelon Splash Gum refused to break apart between my teeth. I finally gave up on it and swallowed it whole, getting a very uncomfortable sensation as the lump traveled down my throat.

“It’s gum, not medicine,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road. “The chewing helps with the nausea. And make sure you don’t swallow it.”

I gulped. “What... what happens if you swallow it?”

“And... she swallowed it,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“You didn’t tell me!” I cried, bolting upright. “Am I going to die?”

“Mmm...” his lips twitched, and I swear I heard him chuckle a little, “that’s doubtful.”

I wrapped a hand around my throat and stared at the gum container in horror, not getting the joke. “What’s the point of a food you don’t actuallyeat?Of all human inventions, this has to be the most useless.”

Asher pressed one of his fist to his mouth. “Can we just... can you just shut up? No more talking, demon. I prefer silence.”

Not talking was fine with me. I spent the next several minutes keeping my eyes trained on the horizon and evening my breathing. I also tried out another piece of gum, which wasn’t so bad once you got used to it.