Dagon growled low and pulled away from Adam, striding straight to me. Immediately, his arms wrapped around my waist, and just like that, my jealousy dissolved.
“Adam, this is Diablos,” Dagon introduced me.
Adam turned to me with those unnerving eyes, and I had to force myself not to fidget. I met his gaze and gave him a polite, strained smile.
“Nice to meet you.” My voice didn’t tremble. I counted that as a win.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he said, then looked at Dagon, “I thought you were dead. You never came back.”
“I meant to," Dagon replied, "but after Darius died… it didn’t feel right to come alone.”
Adam's face didn't change. Not in any way the others would have caught. But I saw it, the half-second where his eyes did not blink. Where the muscle along his jaw locked. Where the air around him went still in a way that wasn't stillness.
Then it passed.
Demons in their world didn't grieve in public. I understood that now. The flicker was all he was going to give. I wondered, watching him, if he had been waiting for fifteen years to know what happened to the two boys he'd sent toward safety.
He'd just gotten his answer.
“Let’s go inside," Adam said. "I imagine you’re here for a reason.”
“We are.”
Was I the only one who found this whole vibe strange? First, they hugged, then they acted like stone creatures with no emotions. We followed Adam inside. Dagon stayed glued to my side and threw threatening glances at the two demons still hovering at the door.
Inside the living room, we were greeted by eight more demons with intense glares and intimidating builds. Were we in some sort of glaring contest?
My body inched closer to Dagon on instinct.
“Everyone," Adam began, "this is Dagon. He is an old friend of mine.” Adam emphasized the word friend.
I was grateful since most of the demons relaxed, but there was one that caught my attention. He had a creepy smile and narrowed, almost black eyes. There was something too wild about the guy.
Yeah, I'm calling him Wild Cat. With those feral eyes and that creepy grin, he earned it.
“Do friends usually stroll in waving their power like it's a welcoming gift? I must have missed the memo when I was taught about demon friends,” the Wild Cat said.
“I haven’t even shown you a hint of my poweryet,” Dagon said. “All would be good as long as you stay away from us.”
Adam crossed his arms and glared at the Wild Cat. “Everyone in this room can sense how powerful Dagon is.” Then he pointed to me. “And his power screams, don’t touch Diablos or you’ll die. We can all agree that a little power in the air is the smallest warning we can receive regarding Diablos. Can’t we?”
Everyone nodded, but I was confused. I looked at Dagon for an explanation, but he focused entirely on the other demons.
The eyes of every demon in the room were on me. Not on Dagon. On me. It was like they were reading something written on my skin in a language I couldn't see. Something they all recognized at a glance. Something that made one of them – the polite one with the dark beard – actually take half a step back, like proximity to me was information he didn't want.
What did they see?
I would ask Dagon later. But right now, right now I needed tonotbe the one who broke the tension in a room full of upper-tier Starborns staring at me like I was made of something dangerous.
My eyes swept over the group again, and a laugh escaped before I could stop it. They all turned to me again.Ops.
“Sorry, it’s just not every day you meet a bunch of demons looking like Daa-” I shut my mouth. Holy fuck. I didnotalmost saydaddiesout loud to their faces. “Looking like humans.”
Don’t ask me anything. Don’t ask. Don’t ask.
Luckily, no one did.
“Let’s head to my office,” Adam suggested.
