“I knew you guys would save me,” she said.
Eros moved in from behind her, wrapping her arms around her as well.
“Always, darling,” she vowed. “You’ve been the best person—human or demon—we’ve ever had the pleasure of allowing into our lives.”
“Perfect for us,” I added, running my clawed hand down her cheek. “Strong. Brave.”
I’ll miss her.Miss her smell. The warmth of her skin. Her playfulness. The way she would tease us at every turn and how different she’d been from everyone else.
Meant for us.
Her smile faded.
“Why does that sound like a goodbye?” she asked.
Sweet Eve. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.
But it did. We needed to protect her, and this was the only way.
“Because it is,” I replied as I stepped away from her. Her eyes widened, and she tried to step out of Eros’s hold but failed.
She looked back at Eros, betrayal flashing across her face.
“I will take you back home, Eve,” she said. “After that, you can live a fulfilling human life. You won’t have to worry about us. You won’t be in danger anymore.”
“I don’t want that.” She struggled to break free from my sister. “Let me go!”
“We have some things to take care of,” I said, letting my hand run across her face one last time. “Until it is over, and even after that, we cannot guarantee your safety.”
“I don’t need you to guarantee shit! I can protect myself.”
“If you could, you wouldn’t have been brought here in the first place,” Eros said from behind her. “Please understand, Eve. We want nothing more than to keep you with us. But we cannot risk your life.”
“Just let me stay!” she pleaded, tears filling her eyes. “We can work out the details later. Please!”
Her tears hurt more than I could take.
Eros looked at me one last time. I gave her a nod, and, in a flash, they were gone.
It hadn’t been hard to get the information from Madam. Even if she was still mad at us for thefavorthe shadow demon cashed in, she still gave us the coordinates for Eve’s old home and promised never to go after her again.
I believed her. She knew better than to upset her relationship with the future rulers of the demon realms.
Eros was back in mere minutes, sadness etched into her face. I was positive I was wearing the same expression.
“Are you ready?” I asked after allowing us to stew in oursadness together. Something we hadn’t done since Mother had been killed.
She let out a sigh and nodded.
“Let’s get it done.”
“So the lustfulhaze has finally worn off,” Father said as I handed him the drink. His eyes held some suspicion, but he accepted it with little resistance.
We sat across from him in the dining room, not another demon in the vicinity.
“Can you blame us?” Eros asked with a smile and raised her own glass.
He let out a small huff of a laugh and brought his glass to his lips. I did the same, taking a small sip.
