Page 15 of A Soul’s Curse (Fallen Souls #1)

“Okay. See you later.” I scrambled out of the car and hurried up the steps to the front door, checking on my plants before going inside. Winter was beginning to set in, and I’d have to find a place to bring them all inside so they didn’t die.

I watched as Ren pulled away, and then stepped into the entryway and kicked off my shoes.

Immediately, I saw the living room was a mess.

Sly must have had friends over last night and lost patience waiting for his pizza delivery.

Evidence of their betrayal sat on the coffee table—an empty box from one of Mr. Carson’s biggest competitors.

Judging by the dozen or so empty beer bottles scattered across the end tables, they were no doubt drunk.

Paper plates were stuffed into couch cushions, pizza crust bits and sauce stains now smeared into the brown suede like some chaotic modern art.

I sighed, but ultimately decided cleaning would need to wait.

I needed a shower before dealing with this mess.

I trudged up the stairs toward my bedroom, a separate place I still kept for privacy.

I often still slept in it since Sly and I kept completely different scheduled.

The second I stepped into the room, I was greeted with a barrage of curses.

“Fuck you. Asshole. Dickhead.”

“Oh, shit!” I ran over to the cage in the corner of my room, grabbing the bag of sunflower seeds I left beside it. “Shit. I’m so sorry, Fluffernutter. I guess it would have been too much to hope Sly would have fed you.”

“Fuck you,” the bird spoke again, her beady black eyes glaring with a judgmental fury that made me feel small and guilty.

I hadn’t even realized parakeets could talk until one day she started cussing at Sly.

She was now fond of saying “fuck you” and “asshole,” which was a startling realization at how much we must have cursed if she picked up on those words so easily.

“Fine, I deserve that. I promise next time I get attacked by the Syndicate, I’ll make sure to ask my sister to stop by and feed you before I get knocked unconscious.

” She squawked at that, ultimately deciding to peck at the seeds in my hand while I used the other to stroke her delicate yellow and green feathers.

A comforting warmth washed over me. I had a soft spot for animals just as much as I felt compelled to help humans.

The parakeet appeared on my front porch last winter, pecking at my empty flower boxes for anything to eat.

I immediately brought her inside from the cold, letting the snow melt off her feathers.

She obviously wasn’t a wild bird, but when I couldn’t find her owner I didn’t have it in me to give her up.

I had to beg Sly to let me keep ‘the filthy, obnoxious animal’ as he called her, and he allowed it on one condition: that I kept the cage out of his sight and in my room.

Fluffernutter grew on him, though. I caught him in my room from time to time talking to her and taking her out of her cage, but he still refused to acknowledge his acceptance of the budgerigar, or do anything that remotely counted as taking care of her.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I placed the seeds in a pile at the bottom of the cage and checked the message.

The text came from my sister. Why aren’t you answering me? Are we still on for tomorrow? Work is asking if I can take up another shift.

I immediately started typing out my response. She had messaged me quite a few times last night and this morning, but I never got the chance to respond. Yeah. Sorry. Been a bit busy. I’ll be there tomorrow around 2PM.

My sister’s schedule didn’t often align with mine, but on the rare occasion we had the same day off, we both went to Emberheart Place to offer whatever assistance we could provide.

I also wanted to warn her about the Syndicate, given they could very well go after her to get to me, like they had done with Ellie.

I rummaged through my dresser, selecting a pair of bootcut jeans along with a clean t-shirt that was actually my size, and a blue flannel button-down to wear over it.

I saved Ren’s clothing, stuffing them in my backpack to give back to him later.

I was about to check in on Sly, the TV in his bedroom/office blaring through the closed door that was apparently locked.

I figured he was sleeping, so I let him be.

One hot shower later, I felt refreshed and ready for the day. As I trotted down the stairs and made my way toward the kitchen, the mouthwatering smell of something smokey and salty made my stomach growl.

“Is that bacon I smell?” I called out as a smile crept up my face and excitement fluttered in my chest. I couldn’t even remember the last time Sly made me breakfast. Granted, it was after noon at this point, but with his schedule, this was his night.

I was surprised he was even up and heard me in the shower.

I hopped off the stairs, continuing to ignore the mess in the living room.

The inside of the apartment was a beautiful space—when it wasn’t dirty—with a blend of sleek, modern luxury mixed with casual chaos.

Sly made more money in a day than I did in a month, and his wealth showed in the carefully selected furnishings: a plush, oversized sectional couch in a deep gray, a massive flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, and a state-of-the-art gaming setup tucked into the corner of the living space, even though he usually played on the computer in his room.

The open concept space meant I could see straight past the living and dining area, and right into the kitchen.

“Babe, are you making me breakfast? I’m starv—” I didn’t see anyone moving around, but I did see a frying pan on the stove, and that savory smell of bacon earlier was being replaced by something bitter and charred as a cloud of smoke carried through the kitchen with the reminder of a meal gone horribly wrong.

“Sly?” I dashed around the large kitchen island toward the stove to shut it off, tripping over a body on the floor.

A raw and piercing scream sliced through the air like a jagged knife.

Pressing herself up against the kitchen cabinets was the female demon I ran into last night, right before work.

Her short, black hair was pinned back out of her face, her thick bangs pushed off to the side and showing her desperate violet eyes.

She held a kitchen knife in her shaking hands, brandishing the weapon in front of her.

“Ivy?” I stepped over her to shut off the gas stove. “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you get into my house? How did you even know where I live ?”

“Theo,” she whimpered. “Help me!”

I crouched beside her. “Okay, it’s okay.

Tell me what’s wrong. How can I help?” I checked her over as best I could.

From what I could see, she had changed into leggings and a thick sweater.

The crack in her horn was still there, along with some bruising from earlier, but I didn’t see any serious injuries.

“Asshole.” I turned around at the screeching curse to see a small green and yellow bird perched on top of the kitchen cabinets. I must have gotten distracted when my phone vibrated and forgot to close the cage.

“Ivy, are you scared of the bird?” Carefully, I reached for the knife in her hands to take it from her before she panicked and stabbed me with it. “It’s okay. She has a mouth on her, but she’s otherwise harmless. I promise.”

“Fuck you.” Fluffernutter’s beady little black eyes were staring right back at Ivy. She then flew down from her perch to land on the counter. She bobbed her head in Ivy’s direction like she was trying to intimidate her.

The demon flinched and yelped. “W-was that a curse? Theo, it cursed me! Do something!”

“Not the same kind of curse, Ivy.” I wasn’t sure what I should have been more worried about—the fact that a random demon I helped yesterday had broken into my home to make me breakfast, or that she was afraid of a little bird.

“It’s just a parakeet.” I held out a hand and the bird took flight to land on my finger.

I stroked her soft feathers, the bright colors dotted with black.

“Her name is Fluffernutter … because she’s fluffy and sweet.

Well, was sweet until she started learning curse words.

” I glowered at the bird, and I swore she scowled back at me.

Ivy winced. “T-that’s not a bird, Theo.”

“Huh? Sure she is.” The bird, still perched on my finger, started preening herself.

Ivy slightly relaxed, but still didn’t dare move. “Under her right wing, Theo. Look.”

Thoroughly confused, I carefully lifted the bird’s right wing.

On the underside of wing was a barely visible rune, a diamond shape with what looked like a lightning bolt running through it that was made to blend into the pattern of her green and black feathers.

When I touched it, it gave me a zap like a static shock.

“What the …? How have I not noticed this before?”

“Because it was designed to remain hidden. I only noticed it because I … well, I’ve felt that magic before. When someone tried to seal me away.” She nervously brushed her hair behind her ear.

“Seal you away?” I didn’t have time to unravel that mystery. My gaze fell back to the bird. “Wait … I recognize this rune. It’s the same one that sealed Thomas in that urn! Ivy, there's someone trapped in the body of this bird!”

“Who is Thomas?” Ivy questioned. “Theo, that rune is a curse . You don’t know who was sealed and I’m sensing malicious intent and—”

My finger ran over the symbol, and it gave off a faint warmth against my skin.

It was nowhere nearly as strong as the one that had sealed Thomas, the magic fizzling under my fingertip.

There was a sharp popping noise and almost immediately, the bird’s body swirled within a mist of magic that transformed into a human being.

Startled, I fell backward as my back smacked against the wood floor, the impact intensified by the female body that crushed my chest.

“Theo!” Ivy cried, rushing over to my side, shoving the female off me.

The first thing that drew my attention was her intense green eyes, the colors mingling with flecks of blue and gray.

Her irises glowed with an inner light that seemed to dance and shift like the play of sunlight on water.

But I quickly realized that was where the elegance ended.

And, just like Thomas had been, she was completely naked.

“Oh … oh, shit. I’m so sorry! I’m not looking. I swear!” I averted my gaze, staring down at the floor as I ran over to the pantry to snag my work apron that would at least cover her front.

“About fucking time,” the female barked as she snatched the apron from me while giving Ivy a suspicious look that might have been a cryptic thankyou . “Oh, please. I’ve been living with you for an entire year. You don’t think I haven’t seen you naked? Besides, I know you’re not into women.”

Heat flooded to my cheeks at the reminder that her cage was in my room. She had definitely seen me changing but what else had she seen between me and Sly? I suddenly felt dizzy with the urge to throw up.

“Uh, okay. Well, you know I’m Theo. This is Ivy. And you are …?” I stood in between her and Ivy. The poor demon, even though she was taller and more muscular, cowered behind me.

“Stella Weatherby.” She thrust her chin out like she was some royalty I should have kneeled to.

The way she held herself with her head high, smug smile, smoldering look that demanded respect, and the slightly pointed ears gave off all the signs of being fae.

Except while most fae followed the stereotypical pale skin, light hair, and ungodly beautiful facial features, Stella had sun-kissed bronze skin with a dusting of freckles, dark black hair that faded into a deep red at the ends, the style cut into a sharp line that hit right above her shoulders, and a tattooed arm with a colorful vine of roses.

I dragged my hands down my face and sighed.

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. Ivy, you’re going to tell me how the hell you got into my house and why in the name of grease-fueled sorcery you were making me breakfast. And you,” I stared daggers at Stella.

“ You are going to tell me why the hell someone trapped you inside a parakeet’s body and left you out to die in the middle of winter. ”

Stella raised her hand.

“What is it?” I snapped.

“Does this conversation include breakfast? Because I’m sick of sunflower seeds and you owe me a real meal for all that disgusting crap you tried to feed me in the past year.”

“I also brought fresh orange juice!” Ivy said with a smile.

I grumbled a curse under my breath, then turned around and grabbed three plates from the cabinet.