“What happened?”
The demand ought to have set my teeth on edge, but I was too relieved by the lifeline. “You tell me.”
“There was a...” A growl pumped through him. “I can’t describe the sensation.”
“What are the odds your hand-chopper-offer demon is now following me too?”
“None.” He didn’t pause to think about it. “However, you might have been assigned your own.”
“This is insane.” I shuddered. “A vampire just hosed me with blood.”
“He touched you.” The rumble in his voice deepened. “Where?”
“He grabbed my hair in a fight.” I shook out my tangles.
“Father is excited about the prospect of a daughter-in-law, but this is overstepping. I’ll talk to him.”
“Daughter-in-law?” I had trouble unsticking my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “I…”
“We’re not there yet.” His rough tone soothed me. “We might never be.”
“She’s turning blue,” Colby tattled. “I think she stopped breathing.”
“You told me to be honest,” he reminded me. “I’m telling you what Father has gotten into his head.”
That level of interest made me paranoid his father might expect me to pop out kids for him to pit against one another. Or against their father. I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids, but I refused to raise pawns.
“Rue?” Colby lit on my thigh. “You should pull the car over.”
Based on the knots twisting my guts into a roller-coaster track, I had to agree.
“Good idea.” I flipped on the emergency blinkers and parked on the shoulder of the road. “Phew.”
“Feel better?” Colby climbed up my elbow. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.” I picked her up and squished her to my chest. “It’s just a lot to process.”
“Asa?” she squeaked as I held her in a bear hug. “Why didn’t the daemon help sooner?”
“My hair,” I realized. “Asa, why does that lesser daemon care about my hair?”
Y’nai.
That was what he had called them.
“Hair is sacred in my culture.” Amusement emanated from him. “Yours is now protected.”
“Why now? Why tonight?” I raked fingers through it. “Nothing has changed.”
“Except you bound a daemon to you with a blood oath.”
And Asa had kissed me. Thoroughly. Several times. But I refused to let this taint that memory.
“Yeah.” I yanked until my scalp twinged. “Except that.”
“Father must have viewed it as an acceptance of your heritage.”
That, or, you know, sticking my tongue down his son’s throat.