Fuck. There is no denying it now. I’m obsessed.
How was I going to give her up in the end when all I wanted to do was keep her?
15
EVE
I’m going to die here.
I knew what awaited me wasn’t good as soon as I was taken from my room by a couple of still-faced guards in absolute silence. I supposed they didn’t want to alert the twins, but I wished they could listen to my speeding heartbeat and realize something was wrong.
And when they took me to the highest room in the palace where a pink-haired demon was waiting for me, I realized I was in more trouble than I first thought.
The king.
I’d seen him almost every day during the court’s proceedings, but never this close or one-on-one with him.
Was he going to punish me? What for?About what the twins and I had done in the garden?
No.A king, someone of his stature, would not call on a random human for anything as inconsequential as that.
He was waiting for me in what looked like an office, though he was leaning on his desk instead of sitting behind it. The rest of the room was dark, save for his bright red eyes. He wasn’t thetype to fill his office with books, but he did have shelves from what I could make out in the darkness.
There were various knickknacks on them, shimmering in the dim light. Things that showed off his power, his accomplishments, or, even better, the weakness of his enemies. For the man in front of me, being a king was just like being a glorified version of a serial killer, and what surrounded us were trophies.
“Good work, boys; leave us now.”
And with that, I was pushed into the room and the door was closed behind me.
He stared me down for a long time. I could feel the judgment behind his gaze. Just a reminder of how puny and human I was compared to his kingly demon status.
He didn’t look all that scary up close, but it was never really about the look. It was all about the actions and what he could do with the power bestowed upon him.
If you took away the horns, the red eyes, and the blackened claws, he might just be human. But there was an aura about him that told me the rest of the court was right to fear him.
The twins didn’t want to admit it, but I saw how they maneuvered around him. How they tried to flee whenever they were just a bit too close to him.
“It seems like you’ve turned the whole court into chaos,” he said, his head tilting to the side.
Maybe one of the other demons complained about my presence in the daily court proceedings.
“I don’t think they like seeing their food out in the open like that,” I said with a smile. “Is that what finally got me my audience with the all-powerful king?”
His lips twitched.
“Humans and your sarcasm,” he grumbled and clicked his tongue. “I never much liked it.”
“I’m surprised you even interacted with my kind,” I repliedas I rocked back on my heels. “Besides to eat us, of course. Though I doubt there was really any time for pleasantries.”
This got a small huff of a laugh from him.
“I guess you’re right. I see why my children are so drawn to you. Keeping them on their toes, are you?”
I didn’t like his tone when he talked about the twins. Something told me that he was trying to catch me in something, but I didn’t know what.
I settled on saying, “They have their fun with me.”
“A plaything,” he summarized.
