Unchained Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 5)

“Oh, wow,” Kya says as she spins around, putting her back to us, which brings my attention to the skirt on one half of her body and the ridiculous shoes.

My eyebrow quirks as I study her more, seeing the stuff spreading, slowly turning her into a Polly dopple ganger.

Ella snorts, then snorts again and again before she starts laughing.

“Sorry,” Kya says insincerely, “for bursting in during whatever it is you two are doing, but I have—” She sneezes, and it forces her to hop back a step as the magic seems to spread like a contagion, before finishing. “—a crisis, and there’s no way I can let Ella’s family see me like this. They have a sense of humor.”

“You’ve seen me naked before,” I point out absently, my brow furrowing as the contagious spell continues to spread, making her look more ridiculous by the minute.

“But not with a girl.”

“Actually, you have,” I point out, trying not to smirk when Ella growls then blushes like she’s embarrassed by the slip.

“Yeah, but that was different, and I didn’t look then either,” she adds.

“What the hell is going on with you? How did you piss Polly off?” Ella asks, getting back on topic like it’s crucial to do at the moment.

It’s nice to know the irrational jealousy isn’t one-sided.

I find solace in the fact she’s as tortured as I am by trivial things.

“I haven’t pissed—” Another sneeze and more spreading of the magic interrupts what she’s saying. “Polly off. I don’t even know who Polly is. But Polly better fucking fix this. How do I get in contact with her without going into those damn woods?”

Ella answers, “I have her number. She gave it to me when she dropped off Dice, and I had to memorize it since my phone went missing that night.”

“What is it?” Kya asks, not turning around as she taps her foot in matching ridiculous shoes now.

Ella gives her the number, and Kya immediately starts dialing.

It seems like the contagion is complete, and the sneezing in the background has stopped. I’m unnervingly fascinated by how amusing this entire situation is.

“Hello, how can I service your big cock today?” comes the unusual and slightly disturbing greeting from the other side of the phone.

Kya pulls the phone back, stares at it, then brings it closer again.

“I’m actually calling because you cursed my sister’s boyfriend to look like you, and apparently you like red pigtails and rosy cheeks, along with skirts that will never work well in a battle. Somehow I got infected, and I need you to fix it asap.”

There’s silence for a beat, and I find myself smiling for no particular reason, mostly because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Kya actually embarrassed like this. So embarrassed she’d rather face me in this ludicrous situation than face Ella’s circle.

“Hmm, that would be an injustice to your sister,” Polly says dismissively.

“Excuse me?” Kya says, her voice deepening.

I glance down at Ella, finding her eyes on my lips instead of the scene at hand, even though she’s usually one to enjoy amusement such as this. Her eyes flick to mine, and she reaches up, touching my lips in a way that momentarily distracts me.

When my smile falls, she drops her hand and clears her throat, returning her attention to Kya, but not moving away from me.

I should move away from her, but—

“Well, that spell can’t spread unless you’re betraying your sister by getting dipped into by the cursed diddle stick. In other words, if you don’t want to be spelled, stop being a home-wrecking sister whore. Have a nice day, and goodbye.”

Kya gasps as she glares at her phone, then angrily starts redialing.

“Hello, how can I service your big cock today?”

“Everyone has caller ID, so

I know you know it’s me again,” Kya bites out. “I have not being getting diddled in by that damn annoying incubus, and you’d better fix this, or I will rain hell down on you. I’m half demon so that threat is literal.”