“Xiamara?” he breathed.
Tears filled her eyes. “Rik-rik?”
His human body changed immediately back to his demon form as he shot out from under Xirena to pull Simi against his chest and hug her tight. “You’re alive! I can’t believe it. I thought for sure that you were long gone.”
Simi wrapped her arms around him and squealed. “Rik-rik! I’ve missed you so much.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks as her brother rocked her like he used to. “What are you doing here, Rik-rik?”
“We broke free from Kalosis and the portal closed before we could go home. We’re trapped here with the humans.”
Laughing, Simi looked at her akri and smiled. She could tell he made the other Charonte demons in the bar nervous, including her Rik-rik. Since they were servants of the Atlantean gods, and Apollymi in particular, it made them servants to akri as well.
“Akri won’t hurt you, big bro. He a good god.”
Xedrix was still suspicious. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “You know the Atlantean gods still own us, right?”
Technically, maybe. But akri wasn’t like that. “Poo! Akri would never do that, especially not to us.”
“She’s right, Xedrix. I didn’t believe her at first, either. But akri is a good akri. I’ve been very happy living with them.”
Still looking uncertain, Xedrix held her hand. “Come … both of you. You have to meet my wife.”
Simi gasped. “You gots married? No!”
Nodding, Xedrix took them to a tiny blond demon who was beautiful and very obviously pregnant.
“And a baby!” Simi was excited excepting for one thing that caused her to draw up short. “You know she not a Charonte, right?”
Xedrix laughed. “Yes. I know. She’s a Dimme demon. She came here for protection, and I’ve been in love with her ever since.”
That made Simi’s heart soar. Her brother had love in his heart and a little baby to come out soon. “Now we need to find a good mate for our sissy.”
The way Xirena was looking at the other male Charonte, Simi could tell her sissy didn’t need much encouragement. She looked like she might already have one or two in mind.
Xirena leaned in to whisper to Simi, “We’ll find you a suitable one too.”
As Simi looked over them, she realized that she wasn’t attracted to them. They was okies, but they didn’t make her heart speed up the way akri-Thorn did whenever he came to check on her.
Or yell at her.
What is wrong with me? How could she enjoy someone yelling at her? Maybe ‘cause he’d been so adorably frustrated when he did so.
No. There was something wrong with her.
She needed more food and barbecue or hot sauce.
Something definitely wasn’t right. No one liked to be yelled at.
And she had hated being the only Charonte. Now she wasn’t. She had plenty of them in this club, and while she was happy she’d get to speak to them about demon things and practice even more Charonte talking, she would rather visit with Thorn in his dark, dismal castle.
That would be stupid though. Especially after what akri had done to Nick …
Akri would kill Thorny. Beat himself senseless if he had any idea Simi liked her god-demon.
No, she could never chance it. Besides, Thorny treated her the same way akri did.
The Simi was hands-off.
