Then, just as suddenly as the moment had overtaken us…he stepped back.
His hands then lifted me easily from the desk and set me gently back on my feet.The distance between us felt strangely colder now, and I hated how much I didn’t like it.
“Let us speak no more of what brought us together a few nights ago,” he said quietly, extending his hand toward me.
“For now… let us simply enjoy the fact that we are.”
I hesitated only a moment before placing my hand in his. His fingers closed around mine before he guided me toward the door.
“Where are we going?” I asked in confusion.
But when the corner of his mouth curved faintly as he smirked, I almost wished I hadn’t asked.
Especially when he said…
“Our first date.”
7
DEMONIC DECLARATIONS
The moment the doors opened, and he led me back into the club, I realized something was very wrong.
Not because of the music that moved through the room in slow, hypnotic waves. Nor was it the low amber lighting that bathed everything in warm shadow. It wasn’t even because the place was still filled with demons, who, only a short while ago, had witnessed me shatter a magical circle I still didn’t fully understand.
No, it was none of those things.
Something was wrong because the moment we stepped into view…
The entire room noticed.
It happened slowly, at first. A head turning here. A conversation faltering there. But within seconds, the ripple of awareness spread outward through the crowd like a stone dropping into water. The sound of voices lowered. Movement slowed, and eyes began to follow us.
Not just him but…me.
The mortal that didn’t belong here.
Which was why my fingers tightened instinctively around his hand as the weight of that attention settled uncomfortably over my shoulders. But he didn’t even seem to notice, nor did he slow down. If anything, his stride remained exactly the same, calm and assured. As though the entire room watching us meant absolutely nothing to him. The confidence in it might have been reassuring under different circumstances. But right now, it only made the nervous flutter in my stomach worse. Because I suddenly realized where he was taking me, and it wasn’t out of here like I had hoped.
It was toward his throne.
The moment the raised platform came fully into view ahead of us, my steps faltered.
I tugged sharply on his hand, forcing him to pause just enough for me to lean closer and hiss under my breath,
“What are you doing?”
His head turned slightly toward me, pale eyes glinting with something far too calm for the situation.
“Making a statement,” he replied, which was why a nervous laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.
“Not with me, you’re not,” I said with more confidence than I felt, and he knew it too, if the smirk was anything to go by. But actions often spoke louder than words, and unfortunately, right now was no different.
Not when he informed me,
“That would be rather difficult to accomplish without you.”
Then, before I could argue further, he gently tugged me forward again, giving me no choice but to walk alongside him.
