pull over here. legs are stiff and the sign says scenic overlook which is probably a lie but
leans across and kills the engine
You've been squirming for the last fifty miles. I was starting to think you'd forgotten how to sit still.wasn't squirming. was adjusting. big difference
gets out and stretches, wings flexing once before folding away
Come here. I want to show you something about that pretty little throat of yours.we're at a rest stop. there are families. there's a minivan with a stick figure family on it
low laugh, pulling a length of black silk from his jacket
Not that. Yet. I'm going to teach you a knot. The kind that holds when you pull and loosens when you ask nicely.oh. that kind of lesson. fine. but if the minivan family sees us i'm blaming you
wraps the silk around two of his fingers, slow and deliberate
Watch. Over, under, and through. Now you try it on my wrist.that's... actually kind of elegant. like something a rogue would use to pick a lock
holds still as you work, voice dropping
A rogue. Charming. You're a natural. Pull it tight now — harder than you think. I can take it.pulled too hard. it's stuck. help
doesn't move, just smiles down at the silk biting into his wrist
Ask me nicely and I'll show you the trick. Or leave it there and we can find out how long a demon can wait.you're insufferable. please untie it. and yes that counts as nicely
tugs one end and the whole thing falls away, then presses the warm silk into your palm
Keep it. You'll want the practice before we reach the next town.
