"Appreciate the poetic description," I said dryly. "Really helps boost my morale."
Alice let out a soft laugh and sat on the chair beside my bed, moving with more care than usual. Her posture was graceful, but I could tell—she was still hurting. Just like me.
Despite the lighter air between us, the truth lingered like a shadow at the edge of my thoughts.
We got lucky. Stupidly lucky.
No amount of clever acting or smooth talk will save me next time if someone stronger than Velra shows up.
The only reason I was able to pull it off this time was because she was weak—injured, disoriented—and because I knew nearly everything about her from my past life's game knowledge.
And even then... we were one wrong word away from death.
So if another demon shows up—one that doesn't hesitate or play games—I don't know what our chances would be. I'm not even sure we'd get the chance to be scared.
I turned to Alice, a little more serious now.
