“We all have choices; you just chose wrong.”
The sound of the bat hitting his body was the last thing I heard as I left the alleyway and walked down the dead street.
No one in their right mind would be out at three in the morning unless they were doing something shady. But that was when most of my jobs took place. In the darkness and with a threat of violence looming over the victim-to-be.
I grabbed the money from my back pocket, counting it carefully as I walked the same route home I did every other night.
I once felt bad about what my part in some of those jobs did to people, but the more I got paid—especially those who tipped well—the more muted those feelings became.
And these clients had decided to give me a five-hundred-dollar tip for my services.
With a smile, I put the money away.
It was only then that I realized…
I’m not alone anymore.
Someone—something—was waiting for me in the darkness.
She had pure white hair, red horns that stuck out from her head and curled back, gleaming red eyes, and a skintight red bodysuit that showed more skin than it hid.
It has to be cosplay, right?
But even without speaking a word, my mind told me she was not human. It was something in her aura, the way it caused everything around us to darken.
My heart sped up in my chest, but I forced myself to hold my ground.
“I don’t know what you want, but I’m not it,” I said, turning right back on my heels.
And suddenly, she was right there in front of me with a wide smile that showcased all her pointy teeth.
“Your power is extraordinary,” she purred. “I know many a demon who would like to take it for themselves.”
My power?
Most people thought I was crazy at first when I told them about the lies. But she already knew. Not only knew, but said it wasextraordinary.Nothing I’d ever heard before.
“Demons?” I asked with a scoff. “Is that what you call yourself?” She opened her mouth to speak, but I lifted my hand to stop her. “Never mind, I don’t care. Have a nice night and don’t bother me again.”
I turned again, but this time she didn’t follow. She let out a loud laugh.
“Oh, we’ll have fun with you.”
Without warning, her clawed hand grabbed my shoulder. Pain spread through my head, and before I knew it, I was falling into darkness.
2
EROS
“That’s a strange way to say you’ve been stealing royal coin to pay for your human addiction,” I said, looking down at the once-respected treasurer.Zag.He had been Father’s right hand for as long as I had existed. He didn’t care about what wasrightfor the people; instead, he just did whatever my father told him to.
A coward.
“Eros, play nice,” Oros scolded, though there was a smile in her tone telling me that she was enjoying herself just as much.
It wasn’t every day that one of the bastards we had vowed to take down managed to do it all on his own.He had been one of the last for a reason. He covered his tracks well,andFather trusted him. There weren’t many people he would personally step in for, since he didn’t care about others.
If anything, he was just protecting himself by making sure Zag never got caught.
