Another scratch dragged against the wood.
Nina made a weak terrified noise behind the couch while the taller man scratched his head like his soul was trying to evacuate his body. “That,” he said carefully, “is not a lower demon.”
I stared at him. “There are higher demons?”
“That was unfortunately implied already,” Nina whispered from the floor.
The apartment lights flickered so hard that half the room disappeared into darkness for a second. Several candles went out at once, and cold air pushed through the crack in the door sharp enough to raise goosebumps along my arms. Not normal cold either but something worse.
My demon noticed. Without looking away from the door, he reached behind himself until his hand found mine again and pulled me slightly closer behind him.
That should not have affected me as much as it did. Unfortunately, my survival instincts had apparently stoppedfunctioning hours ago. The voice outside went quiet briefly before speaking again, softer this time.
“So that is why.”
An answer never came before the voice laughed again, softer this time, almost amused.
“You formed an attachment.”
The words settled heavily across the apartment while horror spread across the three members' faces, and Nina was ready to give up on reality entirely.
My demon stayed completely still in front of me, his hand still wrapped tightly around mine.
Then very calmly, he said, “Careful.”
The single word landed softly, but the threat inside it filled the entire apartment anyway.
Chapter 8
Eva POV
The apartment stayed unnaturally still, the kind of tension that made the entire room feel wrong while cold air kept slipping through the crack in the broken door. Then the voice outside laughed softly.
“So,” it said darkly, “you are choosing a human over Hell.”
My demon didn’t move. He didn’t let go of my wrist either, and I hated how much safer that made me feel with his colleagues standing outside the apartment door.
“Careful,” he replied calmly. “You’re making it sound dramatic.”
I stared at the back of his head in disbelief. “It already IS dramatic,” I whispered toward Nina.
Nina peeked over the couch cushions. “Your demon boyfriend is threatening people.”
“HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND.”
There was a brief pause before my demon finally spoke without looking back at me.
“That title would solve several problems.”
I nearly stopped breathing.
“You cannot say things like that during a home invasion,” I hissed at him while my face burned alive.
The three members had the strained expressions of people emotionally constipated by the conversation happening in front of them. Then the hallway outside went quiet.
Nina lowered herself farther behind the couch. “…Oh no.”
I pointed at her. “You need to stop saying that.”
