Calyx looked like he was about to burst out laughing as he looked Mynor up and down. He didn’t say anything, but as always, Shelby couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “What is he wearing?” he asked, sounding breathless.
Justin grinned. “I wanted to ask Yancey if we could borrow some of his clothes, but I’m pretty sure his answer would have been no. Besides, it’s not like they would have fit Mynor, anyway.”
So instead, Mynor was wearing Justin’s clothes, which was a problem because he was way taller and broader than Justin. Justin had found him a pair of stretchy sweatpants that had been a little big on him before, and while they fit—barely—they stopped midcalf, exposing the bottom of Mynor’s legs and his bare feet. He was also wearing one of the t-shirts Justin wore to sleep because they were too big on him, but not on Mynor. On him, it looked like a crop-top, and while Justin enjoyed the view, he wasn’t sure his brothers did.
His clothes made Mynor look even bigger than he actually was, but also slightly ridiculous. Justin would have to take him to town tomorrow and find him something that actually fit.
Mynor snarled, possibly because of the way everyone was staring at him. Justin reached back and patted his chest. He didn’t want Mynor to scare his brothers. He wasn’t willing to give up any of them, which meant they’d have to learn to be nice to each other. “Stop that. Everyone, this is Mynor. Mynor, these are my brothers.” Justin pointed at them so Mynor would know who he was talking about. “Shelby, Yancey, Griffith, and Calyx. I have no idea who that one is,” he added, pointing at Travis, even though he knew he'd seen him earlier when he’d first arrived. Too much had been happening.
The guy rushed forward as if Justin were a celebrity. “My name is Travis. I helped your brother when he was in a car accident a few days ago and found out about the Christmas curse.”
Justin had no idea what he was talking about. “You’re human?”
“A hundred percent.”
“Interesting.”
“How is that more interesting than the fact that you were in the underworld and brought back a stray?” Yancey snapped.
Good to see that he hadn’t changed, even though it made Justin want to kick his ass. All of this had happened because of him, after all. “Mynor isn’t a stray. He’s a dear friend, and I’d like it if you didn’t dehumanize him like that.”
Yancey stared at Justin. Justin stared back. He wasn’t afraid or intimidated. He didn’t usually stand up to Yancey because he didn’t want to get dragged into whatever pissed him off, but he’d do it to defend his demon.
“Sorry,” Yancey muttered, surprising Justin. Was it really that easy to get him to back down? “But we were worried about you.”
“Why don’t we sit down?” Calyx suggested. “We can have a snack and talk.”
Justin could have kissed him, but instead, he dropped into the closest chair and sighed in pleasure—finally, furniture.
He tried to get Mynor to sit next to him, but the demon shook his head and stubbornly remained standing behind him. Justin knew it was because he didn’t yet trust the others, and that was okay. He would eventually.
Everyone got hot chocolate, and Justin kept an eye on Mynor as he tried it. It was nice to see his scowl disappear for a second and the flicker of surprise in his eyes. He even smiled, and Justin swore to himself he’d get Mynor dozens of hot chocolates.
Someone cleared his throat, and Justin knew it was time for him to explain, even though he didn’t particularly want to. “When I left last year, I decided to reach out to my mother. And I know what you’re thinking. I never cared about her before, so why would I do that? I don’t really have an answer beyond that I was curious. I wanted to know more about my father and theunderworld. I mean, how did a demon meet a human and was with him long enough to have a child?”
“It happens more than you think,” Mynor said. “There are many humans who summon demons and have children with them.”
“I don’t know if that’s what happened because she never told me.” She’d never explained why she’d been in the human realm or how she’d ended up here, and Justin wasn’t sure he wanted to know anymore. “I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t for her to convince me to stay and to lock me up once I was there.”
“Why did she do that?” Calyx asked as he reached over the table for Justin’s hand.
Mynor growled, and Calyx snatched his hand back. Justin wanted his brothers to be able to touch him, so he turned in his chair to glare at Mynor before grabbing Calyx’s hand and pulling it back on the table, squeezing hard. Mynor needed to relax.
“I don’t know why she did it,” he continued. “I just know that she did. Well, she said something about her needing an heir and not wanting to go through pregnancy again, but I can’t believe that she actually wanted me to take her place as the leader of her territory. I’m only half-demon. I wouldn’t have any kind of authority.”
“So you were in the underworld willingly?” Calyx asked.
“Oh, no. I was definitelynotwilling. I mean, I went there to see her, but I wasn’t planning on staying for more than half an hour.” When she’d seemed happy to see him, he’d decided to stay longer, but definitely not as long as he’d ended up being there. “She didn’t like that, so she stuck me in a cell. I don’t know if she was trying to scare me into saying yes to the heir thing or if it was a coincidence, but it was the same cell where Mynor was.”
He turned to smile at Mynor. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if Mynor hadn’t been there. He’d probably already be dead.
“Oh my God, you’re sleeping with him,” Shelby said.
Justin’s smile grew. “Maybe I am.”
Calyx snorted, but Shelby was focused.
“How does that work?” he asked as he bounced in his chair. “Is he big all over?”
