He remembered her. This was Simi. His Simi. The only creature in the world who had made him deliriously happy while knowing exactly who and what he was.
She didn’t judge him. Or care that he was the son of Noir.
In his mind, he struggled to think of the last time he’d seen her. She’d been wearing red. A short skirt and boots. Her hair had been in pigtails.
Today, she was dressed in purple. No horns, but her wings were now feathery—a sign she wasn’t going to fight him. And that she felt comfortable with him even though he was a monster.
He’d missed her so much. For so many reasons. And now she was here.
With him.
“I won’t let you go, Sim.”
Simi gasped at his words. “We can’t stay like this, Thorny. How in the world will the Simi be able to eat her barbecue?”
He laughed at her primary concern. “We’ll find a way. I’ll even make it extra spicy.”
Instead of letting her go, he tightened his hold on her.
“What are you doing, Thorny?”
He had no idea. He’d told his father that he would lead his army. His rage against the world had been absolute.
Until he saw Simi.
Now that he was holding her …
He didn’t care about anything else. “Stay with me, Sim. Stay with me because you want to.”
“Have you lost your senses or thrown them away?” Simi asked. “Akri was planning how to kill you just a little while ago and that was before you kidnapped his Simi. Now, he’ll be even madder.”
And Thorn didn’t care. “Please, Simi?”
Simi placed her hand against his cheek. “Tell me where you’ve been?”
“In hell.”
“Thorny—”
“I’m serious. I was held prisoner until the demon inside took over me.”
“Why you want to fight for your daddy? The Simi thought you hated him.”
“I do.” And he had no good reason for what he’d done. Now that his rage was gone … “I don’t know what they did to me.”
Why was he attacking the world he’d spent centuries protecting?
None of it made sense.
Whatever had possessed him was gone now. He even turned back into his human form.
“I can’t remember anything, Simi.” Nothing more than attacking. But again, he didn’t know why. There was just a huge hole in his memory.
It seemed like just yesterday he’d been in the theater room with Simi. And at the same time, it seemed like an eternity ago.
Nothing made sense. The world had gone insane.
No, he’d gone insane.
