Then his expression softened slightly as his eyes found my demon again. “You won't really stay.”
My demon answered without hesitation this time.
“Yes.”
The certainty in his voice made something tighten painfully in my chest again, and I hated that it scared me more than the idea of Hell ever had.
Chapter 11
Eva POV
The apartment stayed weirdly quiet after that. Cold air still drifted through the broken doorway while the candles around the living room flickered weakly against the walls. At some point during the argument, Nina had dragged a blanket around herself and stolen the cereal box from the kitchen counter like stress eating carbs were the only thing keeping her alive.
Then she eyed between me and my demon.
“So,” she whispered carefully, “your crush is demon royalty.”
“He is not my crush.”
From the kitchen, my demon answered, “You said that with very low confidence.”
I pointed toward him without even turning around. “WHY ARE YOU STILL HEARING THINGS.”
“Prince of Hell.”
Nina sighed deeply. “Right. Forgot the nightmare title.”
Near the broken doorway, irritation steadily crept across the taller demon's face. From an outside perspective, this probably resembled less a demonic political crisis and more a group of partially unstable roommates.
“You are wasting time,” he said finally.
And my demon actually sounded annoyed instead of calm. “Then leave.”
“You belong in Hell.”
My demon went quiet for a second before answering softly, “I know.”
The apartment turned tense again after that because something about the way he said it unsettled me, like he didn’t just suspect it. He believed it.
Nina noticed too because she lowered the cereal box into her lap while looking between both of us carefully. “…Oh.”
I stared at my demon while he avoided looking directly at me for the first time since I’d summoned him.
“You really have to go back?”
His jaw tightened slightly beneath the hood of my sweatshirt. “It’s complicated.”
I groaned softly. “That is the worst answer people give before ruining lives.”
For a second the room stayed tense and still before I heard myself ask quietly, “Are you leaving?”
My demon finally met my gaze then.
And the horrible part was the quiet sadness in his eyes.
“If I stay,” he said carefully, “they will use you against me.”
The way he answered made the idea feel real, and I found myself hating it more than I should have.
