“The rain is really coming down?—”
“I’m in love with your brother,” Dav blurted, then grimaced as Severath’s eye went wide.
Davarox’s cheeks burned. His knee bouncedunder the table. All of the energy he’d been shoving down was suddenly at the surface, begging to escape.
Or maybe that was his fight-or-flight instinct, leaning toward the latter when it came to the warrior. At least there was a table barrier between them, though it cut Dav off from any exit. Not that he’d get far in this rainstorm.
Sev’s surprise softened a fraction as he sank back in his chair, scratching his jaw as he seemed to contemplate the words. But it didn’t feel like anger, nor did the demon’s tail begin flicking in preparation for a fight.
And when Davarox was terrified that disappointment would take over, or fury, or even disgust, the oddest thing happened.
Severath smiled.
“Explains why the kitchen is covered in custards.”
Dav blinked, unable to form words.
“That was what he made, right?” Severath prompted. “When I ate the last one and you nearly snapped my horn over it?”
When Davarox didn’t answer, the red demon chuckled. “That actually makes a lot of sense now.”
“You’re… not mad?”
“That you’re in love with my brother? No. But considering you’ve been here for four days and not at your own place, or the bakery you own with him, should I be?”
Dav’s head fell back into his arms. “Probably.”
“I take it Laz knows?”
Dav grunted his affirmation.
“And he doesn’t feel the same?”
“No, he does. So does Rosalind. We were sort of… but not anymore. At least not with me.”
Sev cleared his throat. “Okay, was not expecting that. You’re going to have to give me a little bit more here.”
With a groan, Davarox peeled himself off the table and began, starting with the blightspawn cake and meeting Rose, all the way to him fleeing the noble’s party in shame. By the end of his explanation, his throat was raw and he felt like he might collapse.
But Severath listened quietly, mulled over the details, and then fell into another silence as he watched Dav dig his claws into his hair in frustration.
“I was so embarrassed,” Dav said, voice wobbling. “Usually I don’t have an audience—at least one I care about—listening to that.”
“And you think Lazerath and Rosalind believe what those nobles said?”
“What? No. But those sorts of comments… they won’t stop. I don’t want them suffering for my?—”
“Your what? Color? Lack of magic?” Sev prompted, stare hard. “Things like magic, horns, tails, eyes… It matters a lot to demons, even humans, who are frightened of the ugly things they see within themselves. It bothers them that their identities are so engrained in something they could lose, the idea of someone beinghappywithout it makes them jealous. Seems to me you’re twice, even more, the demon those cowards are. Laz and Rosalindsaw that in you. They tried to stand with you, but you pushed them away.”
“They deserve to be happy.”
“Sounds to me like they were… until you walked out.”
His mind flashed to the scolding he’d gotten from Rose the morning after Temptation—not for the first time since he’d holed up here—when she’d found out his intentions of leaving and strung so many expletives together along with tears, he’d promised he would never do such a thing.
Breaking promises and trust seemed to be his thing now.
When Davarox didn’t answer, Sev folded his hands on the table. “I assume the baking, the hiding, the forgetfulness as you burn your hand half a dozen times on a hot pan… you regret it?”
