Eva POV #8
“Apparently Hell has a humiliation department.”
The stranger stepped fully through the portal into my apartment before holding one hand dramatically against his chest. “I’m his younger brother.”
Nina sized him up once. “Oh. So the annoying thing is genetics.”
For one brief second, the younger brother wore the expression of someone who had been personally attacked.
Then he froze completely. His eyes shifted toward Nina again. This time differently. Nina noticed his change. “…Why are you looking at me like that?”
He was petrified. Then quietly, like somebody realizing their life had just become significantly more complicated, the younger brother whispered:
“Oh no.”
My demon closed his eyes briefly like he already knew exactly what was happening. “Absolutely not.”
Nina flickered between both demons nervously. “What is happening?”
The younger brother was still staring at her in complete disbelief. “This is unfortunate.”
“That is an alarming sentence.”
My demon sounded exhausted already. “You are not involving her in this.”
“I’m not TRYING to.”
“You absolutely are.”
Before the argument could continue, the portal crackled violently behind them. The entire apartment shook hard enough to rattle the windows.
Everybody stopped moving. My demon turned toward the portal sharply. “That’s too fast.” The younger brother’s expression lost all amusement instantly. “They found the crossing.”
Cold fear crawled down my spine. “Who found the crossing?”
An answer didn’t come fast enough. A second later, shadows burst violently across the portal opening while dark energy cracked through the apartment ceiling hard enough to shatter the lights above us.
Nina screamed in horror. And I ducked instinctively while my demon moved in front of me so fast I barely saw it happen.
Then another familiar voice cut sharply through the chaos.
“For the love of Hell,” Anderson snapped while stepping through the unstable portal, “why are there MORE humans now?”
The entire apartment shook again hard enough to knock one of the candles sideways across the floor. Anderson looked seconds away from a stress-induced murder.
The younger brother pointed toward Nina like he was filing a formal complaint. “That one happened accidentally.”
“I am standing RIGHT HERE,” Nina yelled.
Anderson glanced at her once. Then towards the younger brother. Then closed his eyes briefly like his entire existence had become exhausting. “Absolutely not.”
“I didn’t DO anything.”
“You looked at her.”
“That is not technically illegal.”
“In your case it usually becomes illegal afterward.”
Nina placed a hand over her chest. “Okay wow. I feel insulted on a spiritual level.”
Meanwhile the portal behind them crackled violently again, the red light inside it flickering hard enough to cast shadows across the apartment walls.
Whatever was happening on the other side sounded bad.
Distant shouting echoed faintly through the smoke while black cracks spread outward from the center of the portal.
My demon turned to Anderson. “It’s collapsing.”
“Yes,” Anderson snapped. “Because someone opened an unauthorized demonic crossing in the middle of a human apartment complex.”
I raised my hand slightly. “In fairness, I was thoroughly prepared.”
“That does not help.”
The younger brother's gaze shifted to the unstable portal before he grimaced. “We are officially out of time.”
Another violent crack split through the apartment ceiling overhead. Plaster rained down everywhere.
Nina screamed again. “I KNEW THIS WAS A BAD IDEA.”
My demon turned toward me. “Eva, listen carefully.”
“No.”
“You do not even know what I’m going to say.”
“You are about to tell me to stay here.”
“Yes.”
“Then no.”
His jaw tightened instantly. “Hell is not safe for humans.”
I pointed toward the exploding portal behind him. “Earth currently feels pretty unsafe too.”
That shut the entire room up faster than expected because nobody could even argue with it.
The apartment lights flickered again before completely dying this time. Red light from the portal became the only thing illuminating the room while smoke curled across the ceiling overhead.
Anderson turned sharply toward the hallway outside the apartment like he heard something distant. Then his expression changed sharply.
“Oh that is bad.”
Nobody liked that tone.
“What,” Nina whispered.
Anderson stared directly at my demon. “They sent hunters.”
The entire apartment went still before my demon crossed the distance between us so fast my brain barely processed the movement. One moment he stood near the portal, and the next both of his hands were wrapped firmly around my arms while my heartbeat completely lost the ability to function normally.
“You are staying here,” he said quietly.
“No.”
“Eva.”
“No.”
For a brief moment, frustration crossed his face before the expression softened into something far more dangerous, something that was painfully close to desperation. Then he leaned forward and rested his forehead gently against mine for the span of a single breath.
“You make every bad decision feel reasonable.”
“That sounds like a compliment.”
“It was not intended as one.”
Behind us, Anderson was moments away from dragging everyone physically through dimensions himself. “We are OUT of time.”
The portal split wider with a deafening crack. The apartment floor shook violently beneath us. Nina grabbed my arm. “Okay nope. I officially choose survival.”
The younger brother grabbed Nina at the exact same moment she grabbed me.
Then Anderson grabbed all of us.
And the apartment disappeared behind us.
Chapter 16
Eva POV
The feeling of moving through the portal was nothing like falling.
It felt worse.
Like the universe grabbed every atom in my body individually and rearranged them out of spite. Cold air slammed into me first. Then heat after it. My stomach lurched violently while red light flashed across my vision in broken pieces.
Somewhere beside me, Nina screamed continuously without breathing. Which, considering the situation, was completely reasonable.
Strong hands caught me before I fell, fingers tightening briefly against my waist like letting me fall had never even been an option.
My demon steadied me carefully against his chest while the world stopped spinning around me. For one deeply humiliating second, I just stayed there gripping the front of his coat like my survival instincts had made ridiculous decisions without permission.
“You alive?” Nina asked weakly from somewhere nearby.
“Emotionally no,” I answered automatically.
“That’s fair.”
When I finally dared to look up, I completely forgot how to breathe because Hell was nothing like I'd imagined.
The sky stretched endlessly overhead in deep shades of black and dark crimson, glowing faintly like embers trapped beneath smoke.
Massive buildings towered above us with sharp gold-lit windows carved into black stone, while bridges curled impossibly between enormous structures hanging over glowing rivers far below the city.
Everything was ancient, beautiful, and dangerous in a way that made my entire body instinctively understand why humans were never supposed to come here.
Fire burned from iron lanterns lining the streets, but even the flames seemed wrong. Silver instead of orange. Moving too slowly. Crowds filled the streets around us.
Demons. Hundreds of them.
Conversations across the street stopped almost after we appeared. Then more heads turned. And more. An uncomfortable silence spread outward through the crowd while every demon nearby stared directly at us.
More specifically, at my demon.
The atmosphere changed instantly around him. People moved aside automatically. Some lowered their heads. Others avoided eye contact entirely. And I understood something horrifying.
On Earth, he’d been the demon making coffee in my kitchen and reorganizing my spice cabinet. But here?
People were afraid of him. The realization hit hard enough that I unconsciously moved closer beside him. My demon noticed my reaction and without even looking at me, his hand brushed lightly against the small of my back like reassurance. That helped for now.
One glance from the younger brother was enough for his expression to collapse into disgust. “Oh this is unbearable.”
Nina finally straightened beside him while staring around Hell in complete disbelief. “Okay wow. This place looks expensive.”
“That is your first reaction?” Anderson asked tiredly.
“What else am I supposed to say? Congratulations on the horrifying architecture?”
The younger brother was delighted instantly. “I like her.”
“You are not helping your situation,” my demon informed him calmly.
The younger brother opened his mouth to argue again before freezing completely mid-sentence. His expression changed instantly. One hand pressed sharply against his chest like something actually hurt.
Nina froze. “…Why do you look sick?”
Before I could answer, every silver flame lining the street shifted color at once.
Blue.
The entire crowd around us went dead silent. One demon nearby whispered quietly, “…Oh no.”
The younger brother stared directly at Nina now with the expression of somebody realizing their life had just become catastrophic.
“No,” he said horrified.
Nina took one nervous step backward. “Why are you saying no like that?”
A slow smile tugged at my demon's mouth for the first time all day. “Oh, this is unfortunate.”
“What is happening,” the younger brother demanded.
“You’re doomed.”
“I beg your pardon?”
A glowing symbol appeared around the younger brother’s wrist. At the exact same moment, the same mark flared faintly across Nina’s hand.
Nina dropped her gaze, then jerked her head back up, panic written all over her face. “Absolutely not.”
The glowing symbol wrapped around her wrist like liquid silver fire before settling beneath her skin in sharp curling lines. The younger brother was genuinely horrified.
One random demon somewhere in the crowd whispered loudly, “Oh he found his mate.”