“I reject that aggressively.”
“You look like a morally questionable vampire.”
“That sounds complimentary.”
“It absolutely does not.”
Meanwhile my demon had moved quietly beside me holding another jacket.
“…This one.”
My gaze drifted upward before I sighed softly.
“You still look intimidating.”
“That feels subjective.”
“It feels police-report is adjacent.”
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. God. It should’ve been illegal how much easier things felt between us now. Not forced. Not dramatic. Just… natural.
Like somewhere between Hell chaos and personal disasters, we’d stopped fighting the fact that we fit together. His mother noticed me staring and smirked into her tea. “She likes this one.”
“I heard that.”
“That was intentional.”
Across the room, Nina gasped dramatically while pointing at the father.
“…Why are you holding the book upside down?”
The father lowered the book. Then calmly replied: “I was testing the author.”
The entire room went quiet. Then the younger brother burst out laughing.
“That is the best father sentence ever spoken.”
An hour later, after significantly more arguing about clothing, jewelry, and “acceptable levels of supernatural intimidation,” the western portal chamber finally opened beneath the palace.
Silver fire curled across enormous black stone arches while servants rushed around preparing dimensional anchors andtravel supplies. The atmosphere shifted slightly afterward. Quieter now. Real. Because we were actually leaving. I stood near the edge of the portal platform while Earth shimmered faintly through the silver light ahead.
My city.
My world.
And weirdly, it already looked distant.My demon stepped beside me quietly without speaking anything at first. Just standing there while the portal reflected silver light across his face. Then softly:
“You can still change your mind.”
I gazed up at him. And there it was again. That careful respect beneath everything else. Not because he wanted distance anymore. Because he loved me enough to leave the choice in my hands.
I reached for his hand first this time, and the warmth of it felt instantly familiar beneath my fingers. Then I answered quietly:
“No.”
Something in his expression softened after that in a way that was small, real, and meant only for me. Unfortunately, Nina ruined the moment.
“If either of you start making eye contact dramatically near dimensional magic, I’m leaving you behind.”
