Larry looked back to Georgia, his eyes searching hers. “You don’t seem… in distress, like you did at the hospital. Have you been… magicked? Mind controlled?”
Georgia gave him a soft smile. He was brave, her baby brother, to ask in front of the male who’d just confirmed his demonic nature. And concerned enough about her safety to risk his own. “No. I haven’t.” She shot Kesh a fond look. “He can’t—even if he wanted to. I’m immune, as it turns out. And also… we’re married.”
“Married?” Larry placed his mug on the coffee table with a clonk, eyes wide in alarm. “You married one of them? That was the bargain? Oh, Georgie, no?—”
She held up a hand before he managed to say something that might offend her mate. “No, no. Nothing like that. I married Kesh because I love him. It’s been… a bit of a whirlwind. A lot has happened since I’ve been gone, but… it’s been good. This is good.” Then, because there was still a distinct look of alarm on her brother’s face, she added, “I’m happy, Lar. Really, truly, happy. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I promise.”
“You always said that.” His voice was soft. “That I shouldn’t worry about you. You know I always will, right? You’re my sister.”
“Your big sister. It’s my job to worry about you, not the other way around.”
“No. It isn’t. It wasn’t.” He frowned and looked down at the mug in his hands for a moment. When he raised his eyes to hers again, for the first time, she saw the young man he’d become, rather than the child she’d raised. “What happened when we were kids wasn’t okay, Georgia. You deserved so much better. Even if I’ll forever be grateful for everything you sacrificed for me.”
“I know.” Her voice was quiet, choked by the unexpected lump in her throat.
The silence stretched across the living room.
Finally, Larry looked at Kesh. “If you ever hurt her, I will find a way to kill you.”
“Larry!”
“If I ever hurt her, I’ll let you.” Kesh ghosted his hand down her thigh and closed his fingers gently around her knee. “My kind doesn’t find love easily. Be assured that I will protect her against anything and everything—in your world, and mine.”
Larry nodded once, clearly understanding the demon’s words as the solemn promise they were. “Good. I will hold you to that.”
“Well, this sure is a nice family visit. Anything else you’d like to threaten my new husband with, or…?”
“Considering you brought back a demon, I think it’s going pretty well,” Larry shot back. He took a sip of his coffee and shook his head.
She chuckled, the unexpected levity nestling in like a warm blanket. This moment? This was more than she’d ever thought she’d get.
“So… are you still in town? Can we… hang out more often?”
She grimaced and shook her head. “Not for a while. We’re moving to Europe. I don’t know how long for, but at least a few years. But… we can email? Maybe video call, if you’d like?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.” Larry smiled at her. “I could even try to save up and come visit over the summer?”
Kesh squeezed her knee in warning. She ignored him.
“You’re always welcome wherever I am.”
By her side, her mate swallowed an annoyed sigh.
Larry, however, lit up. “I can’t wait. Do you know where you’re going yet? Please say Paris.”
“Milan.”
“Oh.” He bit his lip, his easy smile fading. “Is it… related to the… Rome-thing?”
The Rome-thing. The human world was still beside itself from the disaster. Understandably. There were not logical answers to be found, no explanation for what had happened, and while governments were still searching through every possible explanation involving terrorism or freak accidents, the internet was split down the middle on an alien super weapon, and magic. No matter the combined efforts of the demon lords around the globe, there was no stopping this. It was only a matter of time before the truth came out and Breeders were no longer the only ones who knew about the demons who lived among humanity.
Until then, however…
“It’s not… not about that.”
“Ah.” The frown was back on her brother’s face. “But… you’ll be safe?”
“She’ll be safe,” Kesh rumbled. He exhaled and nudged gently at her shoulder. “It’s time for us to leave, little one. We have a long drive home.”
