The incubus’s smile faltered. “Clever girl. But there are a thousand ways to say ‘yes’ without speaking. A sigh. A lingering glance. The way you just clutched that book to your chest like a lover.”
“This is a dream,” Lyra said, clutching the Guide —which had somehow appeared in her dream-hand, its cover warm. incubus realms guide
The final entry in the Guide was an address. Not St. Dymphna’s Hollow this time, but a coffee shop across town. A booth in the back. A woman who would know how to remove the thread. The note read: The incubus’s smile faltered
“You have no power here,” she said, trying to remember the phrase. “Not unless I say the word ‘yes.’” A sigh
Lyra laughed. A prank. Her friends knew she’d just finished a disastrous online date—a guy who spent forty minutes explaining the geopolitical nuances of fantasy football. She’d joked she’d have better luck with a demon. This was their idea of a gag.
It was that a small, exhausted part of her was already planning what she’d wear to the coffee shop.
Inside, wrapped in black velvet, was a book bound in something that looked distressingly like cured leather. The title was embossed in silver that seemed to sweat: