"You were out for another day," Jared called. "I'm tired of this fucking place!"
"If you were more patient, I might've brought you a snack," she retorted.
"Really?" he asked. "What was it? A head? Goblet of blood?"
Past-Death rolled her eyes and sat carefully. "Shit. I gotta go back under to get us out of here."
"This is taking forever. Why didn't you just free us last time?"
"Shut up, demon." She gripped her temples. "You're not the only one who's hungry and sick of this cell." She slid the ring she'd grabbed onto her finger and placed his keys beside her, unwilling to reveal she had them until they had a way out. It was suicide to be stuck in a cell with a starving demon.
"Don't wake me up this time," she ordered and lay back down again. "Got it?"
Jared grumbled in response.
It was easier to fall into the dream state this time, possibly because she was too exhausted to resist it. Standing outside her cell, she drew a deep breath and paused before unlocking the door.
Was she really going to trust a demon to get her out of here? True, demons were sworn to uphold their deals. But since becoming human, since taking on the frail body of a mortal, she'd found herself hesitating when she never would have as a goddess.
I'm afraid of almost everything. She hated that about herself. As a deity, the universe had feared her. And now the reverse was true. She was sick of it yet too aware of how vulnerable and weak a human truly was.
"If my twin was brave enough to make a deal with the Dark One, I can work with a demon," she murmured.
Past-Death unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Almost immediately, she was sucked back into her body.
"Excellent, cupcake!" Jared all but shouted.
Past-Death took a minute to assess her headache and decided she'd just have to deal with it. Jared was rattling his chains, and she feared what happened if Harmony's men were drawn by the demon's noise.
"I need funnel cake," she mumbled and sat up.
Her head pulsed, and her stomach growled.
"Free me!"
Past-Death eyed the demon as she rose. "You better not make me regret this, demon."
"We have a deal," he said. "Stay out of my way until I find a snack."
It wasn't the reassurance she sought, but she tossed him the keys to his chains. "There are at least two death dealers on the floor above us. Is that enough to keep you from gnawing off one of my arms?"