When Patience next cracked her eyes open, confusion warbled through her head. The first thought to land was: Where am I?  The wall she was staring at and the bed she laid in were both  unfamiliar. Slowly, she sat up in bed, keeping her breathing even.

She  found herself in a pleasantly sunbathed room, painted in a light muted  shade of blue. Sheer white curtains hung over the windows, similar to  the curtain that hung on the doorway. The sounds of a busy life outside -  horses trotting by, people calling to one another, the shift of many  bodies - wafted in.

Surprise shot through her,  realizing Solanio sat beside her bed. Instantly, she remembered the  morning. Leaving the inn, being on the road, his incessant questions,  and the aching. The memory of pain made her chest twinge.

Solanio  watched her, hunched in his chair, elbows on his knees and chin atop  entwined fingers. The look in his eyes was troubled and stern. Like he  had just learned of a distasteful fact and was highly disappointed.

Maybe he did know,  Patience thought. Maybe he knew the source of her episode and he was  upset by it. He wasn’t the first to play with her. Weren’t there rumors  that demons enjoyed being the first to tempt, to ruin, people?  Especially women?

Or maybe he could now sense who left their mark on her already.

At the end of the alley, Solanio shoved Patience up against the wall. Cold from the bricks sunk through the fabric of her tunic, making a chill run down her spine.

"What the fuck are you do-?" She didn't even get a chance to finish the sentence as Solanio's forearms slammed around her. Wide eyed, her face tilted up to him, something sinking in her stomach at his expression. He was not pleased.

His normally warm brown eyes had flickered to the demonic red with black sclera and his ears had begun to shift into points. It was Solanio's words, soft and deep and dark, that made Patience's skin crawl with nerves. "I want answers."

Despite the unsettling fear dwelling in her stomach, Patience crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him.  "Because that went so well last time."

Uzgamal's frown tugged further at his lips, his eyebrows dipping lower and the furrow deepening. He stared down at Patience in that dark alleyway, only being met with her stubborn glare. A billion thoughts flitted through his head, as they had done since learning a little more of her condition. Could she really trust him enough to give Solanio all the details?

No.

Slightly, his shoulders sagged, knowing he couldn't force the issue. "Some answers. Not everything. Nothing you're uncomfortable with saying."

Patience's eyes narrowed, her arms tightening against her chest. The way Solanio had softened put her on high alert. "What if I'm not comfortable with you knowing any of it?"

"I need to know something to help." Exasperation filled his voice as he ran a hand through his hair.

Patience huffed and turned her face away from him. With steely resolve in her voice, she hissed, "That's not we agreed to."

"We didn't formally agree to anything," he growled, before he looped a thumb under the binding at his neck and tugged on it. "You just slapped this collar on me and told me to follow along."

She shot him a sideyed look, frowning at him without pity. "You could've asked before agreeing."