Page 6

POE

S parkle stares at me when I teleport back to Beau’s apartment. “I had no idea it was that bad.” He slumps back into the chair at the small table. “I thought it might have been something silly, but it’s a full-blown problem.”

“It is. Did he tell you what happened before?”

Sparkle nods. “Said he shifted at a store and a lady told him about Hex.”

“Did you know he’s not registered?”

Sparkle goes pale. “I had no idea. Mama isn’t gonna get into trouble, right? We didn’t know.”

I hold up a hand. “No, nothing to worry about. I just wish I knew Beau was here. Hex needs another layer of protection because of him. Like we had to do for Gabe when he joined Hex. Nephilims are serious business, and so are bat shifters.”

Sparkle huffs as he fiddles with Beau’s phone. “BB never leaves without his phone because he’s always got his eye on the weather.” He pushes back to his feet and hands me the device. “I didn’t even know his name was Beau. I thought we were close.”

Sparkle’s green eyes plead with me.

“Kitty Cat, he told me you were his best friend. I think he’s a ball of anxiety and doesn’t want to tell all his secrets, even if he trusts someone. He doesn’t want to burden them with his pain. It took a bit to get him to tell me about why he’s so afraid of storms.”

“His family, right?”

I nod and join him at the table. “I’m keeping him in the demon realm until the storms pass here. Then he’s going to show me where the hole in the veil is. I’m going to get him registered and I think I’m going to see if I can find him a colony to join. He might be happier if he were with his own kind after all these years.” Though the idea makes my heart ache.

In the few hours I’ve been around him, I know he’s a good match for Hex. “What I don’t understand is why he wasn’t a part of a colony to begin with.” I don’t want to pry further, but I might need to. What if he has family out there, but he didn’t know how to find them because he was so young or maybe his parents never told him.

“You like him,” Sparkle pokes my arm.

“Perhaps. He’s very sweet, but very young.”

“Everyone is young compared to you. You’re like a bazillion and two, right?” Sparkle gives me a grin and bats his lashes.

“Four hundred and twenty-three in April.”

His mouth drops open. “You’re actually younger than I thought.”

“Most people think I’m five hundred plus, but I still have several decades before I get there.” Most only know the rumors and smoke and mirrors in place to keep the truth from everyone. Of my four hundred and twenty-three years, I’ve only been the king of crossroads demons for three hundred and eight years. My true nature as a cupid chaos demon changed the entire direction of my life and thousands of others. All because of love. Tainted love because of me.

“What is that face about?” Sparkle wiggles a manicured finger in my face. “You’re thinking way too hard about something.”

“Not at all. I came back because I was hoping you’d still be here and could help me pack a bag for Beau.”

“No problem. While we’re at it, I’ll give you a few warnings.”

“Warnings?”

He taps a manicured finger to his lips. “Warnings might not be the best word. I’ll just talk, okay?” He leads me to Beau’s bedroom, which is clean and everything seems to have a place.

There’s what appears to be a futon mattress on the floor, but no frame. It has at least half a dozen pillows, which makes me think of a nest. There are a few stuffed bats in the bed and I grab one to take with me.

“He really likes teacups and saucers.” I finger a pink one on a shelf with dozens of others.

“Loves them. We should pack him a set. But back to some helpful information on sweet Beau.” Sparkle tests the name and nods. He rummages in the closet and finds a bag. “Beau will stay naked if given the chance. We’ve had several naked sleepovers.”

The growl slips out without permission. My eyes go wide and I slap a hand over my mouth. “Sorry about that.”

Sparkle chuckles. “No need to be jealous. It was all innocent. I like being naked, he likes being naked. It wasn’t weird. It’s not like I can walk around naked upstairs with my family, okay? And most of the time we were under blankets cuddling, anyway.”

Another growl and Sparkle snorts.

“He has zero shame around nudity and honestly, that’s how it should be.” Sparkle gives a sharp nod. “He’s also a virgin.”

I swallow.

“He also never had any kind of sex education, so I taught him what I know from consent right down to taking him to Maude’s for toys.” Sparkle waves to the corner, where a bag from the sex shop sits alone.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I don’t want you to hurt my friend. He’s ridiculously na?ve. And he’s also so fucking smart. He may not have gone to school, but he’s probably genius level on some things. Who knows? Did you notice the new layout of Hex Grocer? That was BB. He analyzed everything. Customers, flow, everything , then proposed a new layout. Randy let him run with it. He hired a few people to get it done one night. The store is more profitable and people are happier. I don’t know how he does it. Then there are other projects. Some days I wanna tap into that brain of his.”

“That was Beau?” I remember how cluttered the grocery store used to be and how nice it is now.

“Sure was.” Sparkle beams up at me.

“I won’t hurt him. At least not intentionally.”

“I know. I know.” He waves his hand around. “I just worry about him.” Sparkle goes back to packing the bag.

I hand over the stuffed bat, and he adds it to the clothes.

“That should do it.” He grabs what appears to be a thin baby blanket from the closet door. “He likes to hang from it, so find someplace secure.”

“Will do. Is there anything else I should know to make his stay easier?”

“He loves fruit, but especially bananas and watermelons.”

“I’ll be sure to stock up.” I grin. Maybe I should research what kind of foods to buy for his bat.

“I think he’ll be okay, but call me?”

“I’ll give you updates. And thanks for this. I lift the bag over my shoulder.”

“Anything for BB.” He pats my arm and waves as I teleport to the grocery to grab a medley of fruit for my sweet houseguest.