The Demon's Bargain (A Deal With a Demon #4)(34)
It turns out bargainer demons have quite a few tricks up their sleeves, including tattoos that act as translation spells for both oral and written communication. A nifty trick, and I won’t lie: I like having Ramanu’s marks on my body in a permanent way. It also opens some really interesting possibilities about ancient texts back in my realm. I don’t know if the spell will work with them or if it’s just confined to the languages in this realm, but I’m eager to test it out.
Not yet, though.
“I want another one.” I reach up and press the pad of my thumb to one of their sharp horns. The quick flare of pain makes me inhale sharply. Ramanu frowns—they don’t like it when I hurt myself, even if they do like the results more often than not—but they don’t move as I drag my thumb over the binding mark. “I release you, Ramanu.” The blood smear seems to sink into their skin, marring the mark permanently. I tap it gently. “I want this.”
Their frown deepens. “You want a demon-binding mark.”
“No, I want this mark. Binding and broken. A choice.” Maybe a strange choice, but one I’m making. Ramanu and I haven’t really talked about marriage. At this point, it seems like a step we’d take solely for the sake of taking it, not because it marks any kind of intent. We’ve chosen each other. A ring or ritual won’t make a difference when it’s a choice we make every single day.
Granted, my fathers might have some thoughts on that, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Ramanu considers me for a long moment and finally nods. “Now?”
I nod. “Now. You’re wearing my mark. I want to wear yours, too.”
“Matching tattoos.” They smirk. “We are a cliché.”
I laugh. “Well, we’re simply too unique in every other way. We’re entitled to be a little cliché now and again.” When they still don’t move, I sit up on my knees. “Ramanu, don’t tell me you’re afraid of that silly human superstition that getting matching tattoos heralds the end of a relationship.”
They open their mouth, seem to reconsider, and close it. “Not afraid. Perhaps a bit superstitious.”
“I choose you,” I say softly. “I’m going to keep choosing you. This won’t always be easy. There will be times I’m definitely tempted to hex you and you’ll definitely want to toss me into a portal to another realm, but…” We don’t always get mushy with our words, yet it feels right in this moment. “I’ve never had a relationship last as long as this one, and it’s not just because of the binding and the contract. I trust you. I have fun with you. I feel safe enough to talk my way through any shit that pops up. I love you, Ramanu. Getting a tattoo isn’t going to change any of that.”
They cup my face with a clawed hand. “You know I feel the same way, little witch. These past seven years haven’t always been easy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re it for me.”
“You’re it for me, too.”
They nod slowly. “Very well.”
It takes no time at all for them to ink the mark into my skin with their blood—the bargainer demons’ preferred method when it comes to marks because of their magic—and then carefully mar it with a streak the same way I did. It hurts but that feels right.
Nothing worth having comes without sacrifice, and the pain is a small price to pay for the meaning behind this, the trust we’re continuing to place in each other.
Ramanu kisses me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Maybe I’m a sap, but I never get tired of hearing or saying that. Every time the words cross their lips, Ramanu has an almost marveling tone. I keep waiting for it to ease, for us to settle into expecting love instead of being blissfully happy to have it, but it hasn’t happened yet.
“Explaining this to my fathers is going to be…something.”
They grin. “Do I have to worry about shotguns?”
“No, nothing like that.” I roll my eyes. “But Dad had some strong feelings about his grandmother and her, ah, infatuation with you. I’m sure he’s going to have equally strong feelings about the fact that we’re together.”
Ramanu gives a delicate shudder. “I wish you wouldn’t bring her up. She was a terrifying human—far too terrifying for my tastes. You’re the only one who’s enticed me enough to break the rules.”
“I’m special like that.” As tempting as it is to stay in bed and prolong this moment of peace, our seven years are up. Azazel has promised I’m free to come and go with Ramanu between realms, but there’s still my family to deal with. My fathers will have reservations about Ramanu, but we have time to win them over.
We have the rest of our lives.
We take our time getting ready and packing up the few things I refuse to travel without. Ramanu dresses in one of their best outfits, one nearly identical to what they wore when I initially summoned them all that time ago. I grin. “Looking to make a good impression?”
“Your fathers matter to you.” They point at me. “And don’t pretend like you weren’t about to vomit out of sheer nerves when you met my parents.”
I shudder. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. I wasn’t nervous at all.” Lies. I get along well enough with Ramanu’s parents now, but there was a lot of reserve on all sides initially. Ramanu did break the rules with me, after all. Their mother was pretty pissed about that, even if their parent found it amusing to see their child so twisted up over a cute little human. Their words, not mine.