“There is nothing between us!” Star and I said together.
“You certainly are united in your protests,” she noted.
“Hold on,” Raza said. “Demons can alter their appearances. Is that really what this Freeloader looks like or did you have her change her appearance for you?”
“Freladra,” I said to Raza. “Her name is Freladra. What is with you and names today?”
Raza gave me a look that said he didn't give a shit what the fuck her name was and maybe, just maybe, he had messed it up on purpose.
“If I was interested in a lookalike and did as you have suggested, don't you think I would have had Freladra change her face as well? She looks nothing like Seren,” Star said. He frowned at Raza to add, “And the fact that her husbands can't see the dramatic differences between them is shocking to me.”
“Oh, he called you out on that shit,” Medea said, her body language that of an enthralled movie-goer or maybe someone ringside at a boxing event. Even her snakes were alert, theirheads swiveling from man to man in unison like a family of fascinated meerkats.
“I can see the differences, Demon,” Raza growled. “The differences don't bother me. It's thesimilaritiesthat have confirmed my suspicions. You didn't choose that woman for her sparkling personality.”
“We've already been over this,” Star huffed. “You saw me kiss her. There's nothing between us. It is our bond you sense, nothing more.”
Raza blinked. I could almost see the thoughts swirling through his mind, processing the facts. Star did kiss me in front of them once, just to stop them from verbally assaulting him yet again over his attraction for me. And it was a bad kiss. A terrible one. But he had made it bad on purpose. The one we shared later, after our mission was done, was not witnessed and was about as different from our first kiss as fire was from water.
It was all I could do not to blush.
And then Killian caught my eye.
Kill was the only one who had guessed the truth; that Star had put on a show in the hopes of putting the issue to bed. Okay, bad word choice there, but you know what I mean. Killian decided to keep our secret because he wasn't as threatened by Star as the other men were, and he wanted to focus on our mission. Now, he looked as if he weren't too sure he'd made the right decision.
I subtly shook my head at him.
Killian grimaced, giving me a glimpse of the serious man beneath the carefree mask he wore. Then shifted the mask backin place and said, “Enough already. Astaroth said he has intel on the Kumihos, remember? People are dying, Brothers. Let's focus.”
“Gods damn it, I hate it when Killian is the sensible one,” Tiernan said.
“I love you too.” Kill blew Tiernan a kiss.
Then everyone looked at Astaroth.
“It's not Demon or Angel related,” Star said. “I just want to make that clear before I share this with you.”
“It's clear,” I said. “What do you know?”
“I've had people watching humans all over the world. After all those Angel sightings,”—he paused to grimace at my husbands—“andFairysightings, the world has been unsettled.”
“Hey, we were trying to keep the humans from killing each other,” Killian said.
“And humans, being what they are, were still filming on their phones amid all that chaos and violence. Maybe even more so because of it,” Tiernan added with an eye-roll. “We couldn't have known that would happen.”
“Whatever.” Star rolled his eyes. “At least my people were a little more circumspect.”
“It was one ofyourpeople who took the fucking Spear!” Raza growled.
“Be that as it may,” Star drawled and waved an elegant hand as if erasing any wrongdoing on the part of the Demons, “the fallout has been substantial. With no one addressing theappearance of Angels andothers, humans have made their own conclusions.”
“Yes, we've gone over this,” Sever said. “And you agreed that it was best that I not address the humans. In fact, it wasyouridea, as I recall.”
“I'm not saying it was a mistake.” Sever held up his hands. “Just that the humans are doing as expected and making their myths. Building legends.” He grimaced, then said, “Fabricating fairy tales. So, I've had Demons watching instead of doing their usual jobs.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “The last thing they need right now are vulnerable humans inspired to more evil.”
“Yes, I agree,” Star said. “But this is all a foundation for what I'm about to say. My people have been watching. And they saw something in South Korea.”
