“How long as it been?”
Simi scowled at his question. He was serious. He had no idea. “Centuries, Thorny. Shadow, akri … all of us have been hunting everywhere for you. Where have you been?”
“I just remember darkness and anger.”
Simi pulled him against her for a hug. “You’re safe now.”
He nodded against her shoulder. “What have I done?”
“You made everyone mad.”
Thorn winced. Of course he had. “Can you forgive me?” He didn’t care if the others did. All that mattered was his little demon.
Simi stared at him aghast. “Always.”
That wasn’t the problem. The problem was akri might not. He wasn’t the most forgiving of beings.
He picked her up then and held her so tight that she could barely breathe. “I want to keep you here.”
She gasped at those words. “You know you can’t.”
“I know. I said I wanted to. But I could never hurt you, Sim. I think it’s why I came back to me when I saw you. You’re my touchstone.”
Simi didn’t understand. “Your what?”
“Anchor is what Nick would call it. You keep my beast tamed.”
For reasons she couldn’t name, that made her heart flutter. “The Simi keeps you tame?”
He looked away from her, then back. “I love you, Simi. I always have.”
She smiled. “I know.”
Thorn was aghast at her nonchalant tone. “What do you mean you know?”
“The Simi knewed it when you builted us the theater room. It was obvious.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Then why did I wait so long to tell you?”
“Because you knew akri would be furious.” Wrinkling her nose, she leaned against him. “And you were skeered.”
He laughed at the thought of him being scared.
Then again … he wasn’t exactly scared of Acheron. Just cautious. Only an idiot would piss off someone that powerful on purpose.
But he’d lived centuries without her. Centuries.
And he’d hated every single moment they’d been apart. “Do you think Acheron will kill me?”
“Well …”
39
Acheron watched as all the demons fled Vegas. While grateful for that fact they were going, there was one demon in particular he searched for. “Where’s Simi?”
