“What.”
“We’ve been missing for WEEKS.”
Silence. Then all four demons turned toward her.
“…Humans track time aggressively,” she explained.
And just like that, all chaos erupted.
“WEEKS?” the younger brother repeated.
“You did not tell us human families expected hourly updates,” his mother added calmly.
“That seems quite excessive,” the father muttered.
I covered my face. “My mother is going to kill me.”
“No,” my demon answered with a tiny pause. “Probably.”
“That was not comforting.”
Meanwhile Nina was already panic-texting at supernatural speed while pacing the hallway.
“My aunt thinks I got kidnapped.”
The younger brother seemed thoughtful. “Technically speaking…”
“Nobody says technically.”
Then sudden footsteps echoed rapidly from the nearby stairwell, quick and unmistakably human, rushing closer by the second. I froze instantly because I recognized them.
“Oh no.”
The stairwell door burst open. And my mother appeared holding grocery bags and looking one second away from absolute fury.
She stopped dead the moment she saw: me, the demons, the glowing portal residue still fading behind us, and my demon standing beside me looking like dangerously expensive royalty in my apartment hallway.
A complete painful silence surrounded us.
One grocery bag slipped from her hand onto the floor. Then very slowly, my mother pointed directly at my demon.
“…Who the hell is THAT.”
Chapter 33
Eva POV
Tension exploded through the apartment hallway.
My mother stood frozen near the stairwell holding the remaining grocery bags while staring directly at my demon like she’d just caught me dating organized crime. Behind her, my father appeared halfway up the stairs carrying another bag before stopping too. Then lowered the groceries at the sight of me.
“…Eva.”
Nina whispered beside me, “I’m leaving you to die first.”
“Coward.”
Meanwhile my demon stood completely still beside me like he was actively trying not to accidentally intimidate my parents into cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, he still looked like dangerous supernatural royalty standing in my apartment hallway.
