Right.I looked around at the small common room we were in. Girls and men huddled together, many of them in tattered clothing. There wasn’t one who looked happy to be here.
I could use the medallion.It was still wedged in my bra. But something told me to have faith.
They will come. If not, Angelica will.
They had to… right?
I mentally slapped myself for such a thought. Of course they would. That expression of theirs told me they wouldn’t leave me.
I had to believe it. Believe in them. No matter how dark it might seem.
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “And thank you. For what you did back there.”
He gave me a smile.
“Well, being kidnapped by demons and sold to a whorehouse isn’t easy for anyone,” he said with a hint of a teasing tone. “First time?”
“Second,” I answered, trying to match his tone even though it felt like my chest was going to explode. “Being kidnapped by demons, I mean. The first time I was sold at an auction.”
He let out a mock gasp and linked his arm in mine.
“Sounds like we have our afternoon planned out. Tell me everything. I have a client in a few hours, but until then, I’m all yours.”
23
OROS
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
After I showed Eve the humans, she came back to the palace with a smile I hadn’t seen before. She was happy.Wewere happy.
And then Eros and I were called to handle the shadow demon’s royal favor, but we thought it was for the best. To let the events of the day sink in. To let her decide what she wanted to do.
If I had known Father would use our absence to kidnap her, I would have never left.
It had gone as well as it could, and Eros and I had been eager to get back. Especially Eros, as she hadn’t come with us, so she was excited—and nervous—to see if my plan had worked.
All we wanted was to reassure Eve that we weren’t like the other demons. That we could care for her and punish those who hurt the humans.
Just as we got back, we heard the commotion in Eve’s room, and when we went to look, she was being taken by one ofFather’s guards. We, of course, wanted to attack, but we were held back by more guards.
As soon as she was gone, they’d let us go, and we marched to Father’s office. Only he wasn’t here.
“She’s dead,” Eros said, her voice sounding hollow.
“Impossible,” I said as I paced the room. He was nowhere to be found. Hours had passed since she’d been taken, and Father was stillmissing in action. “Too easy. Too simple. He knows we have been using her, but not how. Once he figures it out, he may kill her, but not until then. She’s too much of a?—”
“He threatened me.”
Eros’s voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
I didn’t want to look at her.
She didn’t tell me. Why didn’t she tell me?
When did it happen? Before the party? After? I had so many questions that I needed answered. Immediately.Her three-second pause felt like three hours.
“When you guys were gone,” she continued. “He said he knew it was you who sent out the flyers. That he had evidence. That if we just stopped, he wouldn’t make an example out of either of you. He would let us live in peace.”
