Eva POV #9
The entire street erupted instantly. Demons started talking over each other everywhere around us while several nearby pedestrians openly stopped walking just to stare at Nina and the younger brother like they were witnessing celebrity drama in public.
“Oh this is catastrophic,” the younger brother muttered.
Nina pointed aggressively at her glowing wrist. “I don’t even GO here.”
“That does not usually matter.”
“What does THAT mean?”
My demon seemed thoroughly entertained now in a way I absolutely did not appreciate. “It means Hell assigned him personal problems.”
The younger brother turned toward him. “You think this is funny because it is not happening to YOU.”
My demon raised one eyebrow at him. “You mocked me first.”
“That was before destiny personally attacked me.”
Nina's gaze bounced between both brothers in complete disbelief. “Hold on. HOLD ON. Is this like a soulmate thing?”
The younger brother recoiled at the wording. “We do not use human terminology.”
“Amazing. Then what horrifying phrase do you use.”
An answer didn’t come right away before a much quieter voice finally said : “…Demonic life bond.”
Nina stared at him for one long second. “That sounds tax related.”
Anderson sounded exhausted beyond human understanding already. “Can we continue this nervous breakdown somewhere less public.”
Unfortunately, the crowd around us had become aggressively interested now. More demons filled the street every second while whispers spread rapidly through the city around us. Some stared openly at Nina. Others were completely horrified for the younger brother.
“That feels offensive,” Nina muttered.
The younger brother couldn't stop staring at the glowing mark on his wrist, wearing the expression of someone who'd just discovered betrayal could become physical.
“This cannot be happening.”
One nearby demon answered, “Unfortunately the flames have already turned blue.”
Another demon nodded sympathetically. “That usually confirms it.”
Nina backed closer toward me. “Eva.”
“Yes.”
“I think Hell accidentally downloaded me into somebody’s marriage prophecy.”
“That sounds correct unfortunately.”
My demon quietly leaned closer toward me afterward. “This is the happiest I’ve felt all week.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You are enjoying your brother’s suffering?”
“He called me emotionally compromised for two centuries.”
“That feels like a long grudge.”
“It was deserved.”
For the first time since arriving in Hell, he actually seemed relaxed again. The realization hit me unexpectedly.
Because surrounded by demonic crowds and glowing streets and terrifying buildings stretching endlessly overhead, this was the first moment he truly belonged here.
And that hurt a little too.
Chapter 17
Eva POV
Nina was still glaring hard at the glowing mark on her wrist like she was considering removing her own hand for the sake of her sanity. The silver lines curled faintly beneath her skin while the younger brother stood beside her looking equally horrified by his existence.
“Get it off,” she demanded angrily.
He was genuinely distressed. “I really do not think that’s possible.”
“This is why I don’t trust magical people.”
One nearby demon corrected her from the growing crowd around us.
“Demons are not magical people.”
Nina stared at him for one long second. “That explanation doesn't answer my situation ”
Another demon farther back spoke up helpfully. “Mates are chosen by Hell itself.”
Nina huffed dramatically. “Well, Hell has terrible judgment.”
Quietly, the younger brother admitted, “That’s actually fair.”
I barely heard any of them anymore. Because my brain caught up to one specific word.
Mate.
Slowly, I turned toward my demon.
“Wait.”
The noise from the street around us faded strangely into the background while silver fire continued burning through the lanterns overhead.
“…Mates?”
The reaction around me was immediate. Several demons turned away. One nearly choked on his drink. And beside me, my demon found the lanterns across the street absolutely fascinating.
Which was suspicious as hell.
The younger brother's gaze shifted between the two of us once before his expression dissolved into complete disbelief. “Oh my God.”
I frowned. “What.”
He pointed dramatically at my demon. “YOU DIDN’T TELL HER?”
“She was drunk when she summoned me.”
“That cannot keep being your defense.”
The younger brother looked seconds away from collapsing. “She accidentally courted you, bonded with you, followed you INTO HELL, and you still didn’t explain the mate bond?”
Everything inside me went cold as I turned back toward my demon again.
“The what bond?”
Nobody answered. Which told me enough already. Then very quietly, my demon said, “…You’re wearing my mark.” For one horrible second, my brain completely stopped functioning.
“I’m sorry WHAT.”
My eyes dropped straight to my wrist where faint silver markings glowed beneath my skin, curling in the exact same pattern as his, the exact same mark.
No.
No no no.
My head snapped up toward him. “You knew?”
The silence stretched long enough to make my chest ache before he finally answered in a low voice, “From the candles, yes.”
Something inside my chest cracked painfully at the admission. Around us, Hell continued moving in distant blurred noise, but it all felt far away compared to the horrible realization settling heavily in my stomach.
He knew from the beginning. About the candles. The hoodie. The strawberries. The reason he stayed. The reason he kept looking at me like that. One by one, every moment replayed itself in my head with a completely different meaning attached to it now.
“You knew,” I repeated softly.
My demon stepped toward me carefully. “Eva.”
“No.”
For the first time since arriving in Hell, I took a step back from him. It was barely any distance at all. Still his expression changed. Like that single movement hit harder than any weapon ever could. And the worst part? A small, angry part of me wanted him to feel it too.
“You let me spend weeks thinking you were just flirting with me.”
“I was flirting with you.”
“That is not helping.”
Behind us, the younger brother whispered quietly toward Nina, “Oh this is catastrophic.”
Nina whispered back, “I think he accidentally thoroughly destroyed her.”
“That made it WORSE.” Nina pointed at him.
I barely heard them. I couldn’t stop staring at my demon while my heartbeat spiraled somewhere between heartbreak and humiliation.
“You knew all those things meant something different to you,” I said quietly. “And you just… didn’t tell me.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “I did not want to pressure you.”
“You took away my choice.”
That hit hard enough to make him flinch. Around us, the crowd had gone completely still, and even the nearby demons were uncomfortable watching this unfold. My demon held my gaze for a long moment before speaking again in a much quieter voice.
“I was trying to give you a way out.”
I laughed once, low and sharp, because if I didn’t laugh right then I was fairly certain I was going to lose my mind in front of several hundred demons.
“That is genuinely insane,” I whispered. “You kissed me while secretly knowing Hell considered me your soulmate.”
The words hung heavily between us while silver fire continued flickering across the streets around us. Somewhere nearby, demons were still openly pretending not to listen while absolutely listening.
For the first time since I'd met him, the misery on my demon's face was impossible to miss. Good. Unfortunately, that did not make me feel better.
“It is more complicated than that.”
“That sentence has literally never improved a situation in human history.”
“Eva.”
“No,” I interrupted, my voice sharper this time. “You do not get to say my name in that calm voice right now like you didn’t hide an entire supernatural relationship contract from me.”
“It is not a contract.”
“That sounds WORSE.”
Behind us, Nina raised her glowing hand again while staring at the younger brother with open betrayal. “I would also like it officially documented that Hell apparently has forced personal attachment magic.”
The younger brother wore the expression of someone having a deeply existential crisis. “I am having an equally difficult evening.”
“You looked at me for four seconds.”
“That was unfortunately enough.”
Nina stared at him in horror. “That is psychotic.”
“I agree.”
My demon barely reacted to them anymore. His eyes stayed fixed entirely on me while the crowd around us continued growing across the street.
“You think I manipulated you.”
I laughed again softly, mostly because the alternative was to collapse in public and try my eyes out. “I don’t even know what to think right now.”
And that was the worst part. Because underneath the anger and humiliation and panic, some horrible part of me still remembered: him making coffee in my apartment, him fixing my sink, him wrapping blankets around my shoulders without thinking, him kissing me like leaving hurt him too.
That only made everything hurt worse. My demon stepped closer carefully before saying in a low voice, “I never intended to trap you in this.”
“But you still let me fall into it blind.”
An answer never came, but the expression on his face told me more than words would have anyway.
Around us, the atmosphere on the street had shifted completely now. Demons nearby had started whispering openly while others stared at us with the kind of fascination usually reserved for disasters happening in public.
One demon quietly muttered, “Oh this is devastating.”
Another whispered back, “He’s absolutely in love with her.”
“I CAN HEAR YOU,” my demon snapped at him.
The entire street became very interested in minding its own business, which under different circumstances probably would’ve been funny. I glanced back down at the glowing mark on my wrist while a heavy ache settled uncomfortably in my chest.
“You knew from the beginning,” I said quietly. “And you still let me think I was losing my mind every time you acted like we belonged to each other.”