“Playtime is over,” Oros said, leaning into Eve’s hair and inhaling deeply. “You were such agood girlfor us.”
Redness creeped up her chin and face, just like Oros said it would. Even in the darkness, I could make out just how embarrassed she was.Stunning.
Eve’s blush would be forever engraved in my mind after this.
And all I could think about was how to make her blush again.
13
EVE
Is this what being a real-life princess feels like?
I stopped to stare at my reflection in the window.
The world outside was dark, and the ballroom was so bright I could see myself almost perfectly.
My black hair was curled, with half of it pinned on the top of my head. I wasn’t wearing makeup, but the demon assistants put something on my face that made it look like it was glowing.
The dress was dark blue like the other, which I quickly learned was the twins’ favorite color on me, but it had thousands of tiny blue crystals sewn into the bodice and skirt.
I was absolutely sparkling and not at all looking like I was there as the main course. For the first time, it was like I actually belonged in the world around me.
The ballroom was decked out with shining chandeliers, glass tables, and shimmering dance floors. Everything beautiful and eye-catching, like a fairy tale, until you looked at the dark little details hiding in plain sight.
“You’ve succeeded,” Oros said as she pulled up to my right. Her eyes were digging into mine in the glass. Her sudden appearance made my heart skip a beat in my chest.
“In what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Making the entire party jealous that we get the company of such a beautiful human,” Eros said, moving to my left.
Their comments made heat rush up my neck.
“I shouldn’t even be here,” I murmured and turned to look back at the party.
There were more demons there today, all of them reminding me of the ones I saw when I looked out into the crowd at the auction.
Some of them might be the very same that had been there that day.
They are staring.
It was hard to ignore the weight of their eyes, especially when they didn’t even bother hiding it when I stared back.
I wasn’t like the other humans in the room. There were only a few of them, but they definitely were not treated the same way I was. Most of the ones I saw were at their owners’ side, looking worse for wear, and wore ragged old clothes.
It made me hurt for them.
Especially when I saw the bruises some of them had.
But not all were treated that way. My eyes caught one on the far end of the room. She was dressed just slightly better than the others, her hair done up in a nice updo, and she was conversing with the demons as if she wasn’t owned by one.
“Angelica,” Oros whispered in my ear. “She was bought at an auction as well. Though her first purchaser died, and his son decided to take her for himself.”
“Except he fell in love,” Eros whispered, her hot breath brushing across my neck.
“I didn’t know demons could love,” I replied.
Oros let out a light laugh.
