“I’m going to take her back to my place. I’m not expecting you to let her stay here—”
“But it’s so creepy here!” she exclaims, as if that’s a good reason to stay. And well… it kind of is.
“—so, I’ll be dropping her off soon. I just wanted you to properly meet her since I’m…” he trails off, glancing at her. “Stuck with her,” he decides, turning to look back at me. “I’m most definitely stuck with her.”
Sibel frowns, opening her mouth to say something, but Daya cuts in.
“Uh, wait a second, took matters into her own hands how?” she questions, sending Sibel a suspicious look.
“I killed my therapist,” she answers, her smile dropping. “I didn’t want to kill her. She smelled like pine trees, so she wasn’t a demon. The first and last person I’ve ever hurt who wasn’t deserving, I promise.”
My mouth drops. “Zade,” I whisper, my discomfort growing. Sibel looks to me, noting my deepening fear.
“Please don’t be scared of me. You smell like the most wonderful flowers. I would never hurt you.”
“She’s not going to hurt you, baby,” Zade reassures quietly. I look up to meet his gaze, mismatched eyes full of sincerity.
“I would’ve discussed this with you first, if I had any idea this was going to happen,” he swears. “I was meeting up with Jay when the news broke that Sibby escaped. She happened to be hiding out in the area. Helicopters and shit everywhere. I went looking for her and found her trying to get into a sewer drain. It was a split-second decision.”
“Okay,” I say, offering a tight smile to let him know I’m not angry. Despite Sibel’s presence being a little disconcerting, I understand why Zade made that decision.
She took all the blame for what they both did, and she never ratted him out. That’s something very few people would do, especially when they owe you nothing. And that, I can respect the hell out of.
Sibel holds up a wicked, pink knife. “And he got my knife back! The police had it as a murder weapon, and Zade got it out for me.”
“She was literally losing her mind over it, and didn’t give me much choice,” he clarifies dryly.
She shrugs, content with having her knife back regardless of how it happened.
I stare at her and toss around an idea in my head, a little hesitant but deciding it’d be easier for Zade to only be in one place. He’s pretty much moved in with me, and it’s been oddly comforting. The selfish part of me doesn’t want to give that up.
“There’s plenty of room here. Sibel can stay.”
She yips loudly, bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands like a little girl. Her reaction makes me feel slightly better, only because it’s a little cute.
“My friends call me Sibby,” she says, and based on the eager look on her face, it seems like she's hoping I’ll consider her as one.
“Or demon slayer,” Zade cuts in. She pins him with a sassy look in response.
“Okay, Sibby. Welcome… home.”
Her dark eyes snap back to me, pure delight radiating from them. A wide smile takes over her face, resuming her bouncing once again, and it eases my concern a little more.
“Addie, you don’t have to do that.”
I wave a hand. “It’s fine. She said she’s not going to hurt us, and if you trust her, that’s enough for m
e.”
He looks like he wants to kiss me, which makes me a little nervous, but he quickly smooths out his expression and offers me a simple, appreciative smile.
“The second you want her gone, she’s out. No questions asked.” While Sibby doesn’t look too thrilled to hear that based on how she stops bouncing and glares at him, Zade clearly gives no shits.
I nod, the last of my tension bleeding out.
“Sibby is already really good at fighting. Partly because she’s—”
“—Not crazy,” she cuts in, narrowing her eyes.