Chapter 6 #4
“You like it,” he said quietly.
“No.”
“You gazed at it softly.”
“That is not a real sentence.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly again.
The attendants moved quickly around the room arranging outfits across couches and tables while silver lantern light reflected against dark embroidered fabric.
Palace servants kept sneaking glances toward me and my demon like they were witnessing the season finale of a reality show. At this point they basically were.
Nina had already disappeared behind one of the changing screens with three dresses and what sounded like aggressive determination. Meanwhile the younger brother lounged across the couch nearby watching her disappear behind the screen like he’d forgotten how blinking worked.
I stared at him not wanting to miss my best friend's demonic relationship
“So,” I said casually, “you’re staring again.”
He sounded almost proud. “She threatened a ruler and insulted our architecture within the same hour.”
“That is not romance. That is a concern.”
“It was the hottest experience of my life.”
From behind the screen, Nina yelled, “I HEARD THAT.”
“That was intentional.”
A shoe launched over the top of the divider toward his face.
He caught it one-handed without even looking.
Nina peeked around the edge of the screen afterward and froze for half a second after realizing he was still holding her heel in one hand while staring at her like a deeply inappropriate thought had just become sentient.
“…Okay wow,” she muttered. “That face again.”
The younger brother stood up from the couch afterward and walked toward the divider before casually hanging the shoe back over the edge.
Only, his hand lingered. Barely. Just enough that his fingers brushed against hers for a tiny contact. Still, Nina stopped talking instantly. And so did everyone in the room.
One palace attendant quietly whispered toward another, “The second prince is progressing rapidly.”
“I can still hear all of you,” the younger brother informed them.
“Respectfully, Your Highness, you are not being subtle.”
Meanwhile I had picked up the black dress from earlier despite myself.
The fabric felt impossibly soft beneath my fingers while silver embroidery curled along the sleeves like moving starlight.
Beautiful. Dangerously beautiful. My demon appeared beside me quietly a second later.
Too close enough to make my heart flutter.
And still careful enough not to make me uncomfortable.
“It matches your eyes,” he said softly.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “That was smooth.”
“I regret it already.”
“You should.”
But despite myself, warmth still crept embarrassingly into my cheeks.
His gaze dropped briefly towards my cheeks, and dragged it painfully to my lips. My lips parted automatically, and his gaze snapped back to the dress still in my hands before he added quieter this time, “You do not have to wear anything you dislike.”
The words settled strangely between us. Because once again, choice. He kept giving it back to me every chance he got. I hated how much that mattered now. Before I could answer, Nina stepped out from behind the divider wearing one of the dark silver-threaded dresses.
The entire room went silent. Why would it not ? The dress clung sharply against black velvet while silver chains glittered softly along her shoulders beneath the palace firelight. The younger brother physically forgot how breathing worked.
Nina eyed him warily. Then crossed her arms. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
The younger brother stared at her for one dangerous second too long before answering: “…I need everyone else to leave the room.
Chapter 25
Eva POV
Silence crashed through the palace chambers instantly after the younger brother said it. Nina stared at him startled by his words. Then blinked again “Wow.”
The younger brother's expression had gone completely still. Actually, no. Worse. Something dangerous flickered beneath the calm, like his self-restraint was slipping one crack at a time.
Fuck it .My best friend is definitely demonically screwed.
One palace attendant grabbed another attendant’s arm and physically dragged them backward toward the doors whispering, “We should absolutely leave.”
“That is the smartest thing anyone here has said tonight,” Anderson muttered tiredly.
Meanwhile Nina still hadn’t moved. Neither had the younger brother. The tension near the changing screen felt so thick even the silver firelight looked warmer around them.
Nina crossed her arms tighter across herself. “You’re doing the face again.”
“What face?”
“The one where you look one bad decision away from scandalizing your entire bloodline.”
The younger brother stepped closer. His steps were threatening, predatory and scary.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“You grabbed my waist in front of servants.”
“You were standing near a balcony.”
“That is not an explanation.”
“It was distracting.”
The honesty in his voice landed hard enough that Nina actually stopped talking for a second.
Meanwhile I was still standing beside my demon holding the black dress while watching this entire disaster unfold like reality itself had become fanfiction.
“Should we stop them,” I whispered quietly.
My demon remained completely unfazed. “No.”
“That answer was suspiciously fast.”
“They have been circling each other aggressively for hours.”
It's true actually, my Nina had been eyeing his younger brother like a hyena on a hunt.
Nina finally recovered enough to point directly at the younger brother. “You need to calm down.”
“I physically cannot.”
“That feels manipulative.”
“It is unfortunately biological.”
The younger brother took another step closer. Nina stayed exactly where she was. Which felt like its own kind of answer.
The room had gone almost completely quiet around them now. Even the palace attendants were pretending to organize clothes near the doorway while obviously watching the romance disaster unfold.
One servant quietly whispered, “This is progressing faster than the first prince.”
The second servant nodded solemnly. “Much faster.”
My demon frowned at the comparison.
Nina's eyes found the younger brother again while silver lantern light traced the folds of the dark fabric draped around her shoulders.
“You’re staring.”
“You wore royal black.”
“That means nothing.”
“It means several things.”
The younger brother’s hand settled lightly against the edge of the changing screen beside her head while he leaned down slightly closer.
Nina noticed it because her breathing hitched for the tiniest second before she glared at him harder like she was trying to recover control of the situation.
Unfortunately for her, the younger brother seemed like he enjoyed resistance almost as much as breathing.
“You know,” he murmured quietly, “humans become significantly less intimidating when distracted.”
Nina stared directly into his eyes. “You’re not nearly attractive enough to distract me.”
The younger brother smiled slowly. Looking sharp, cocky and completely wicked.
“That sounded weak.”
“Oh shut up.”
Then she kissed him. Aggressively might I add.
Aggressive enough that the younger brother was actually shocked for half a second before grabbing her waist again and pulling her sharply against him.
Okay wow. That escalated instantly.
Nina made a startled sound against his mouth before kissing him harder like she’d decided violence was romantic. The younger brother backed her against the changing divider while silver firelight flickered across both of them.
One palace attendant dropped an entire stack of folded clothes. Nobody acknowledged it.
I couldn’t either. Because the chemistry happening three feet away from me felt illegal.
The younger brother’s hands tightened instinctively against Nina’s waist while she grabbed the front of his dark coat hard enough to wrinkle the fabric completely. Messy. Fast. Absolutely doomed behavior.
My demon quietly muttered beside me, “…that was faster than expected.”
I turned toward him sharply. “FASTER?”
“That may have been a new family record.”
“That sentence made me deeply uncomfortable.”
Meanwhile Nina and the younger brother had apparently forgotten civilization existed entirely. The younger brother kissed like he’d been trying not to for hours and finally snapped under the pressure of his own bad decisions.
Nina matched his energy perfectly. He pulled back barely half an inch only long enough to murmur against her mouth, “You are catastrophically distracting.”
Nina let out a long, suffering sigh. “You started this.”
“You threw shoes at me flirtatiously.”
“That was not flirting.”
“It absolutely was.”
Then he kissed her again before she could argue further. Okay. Yep. There was definitely no slowing in this relationship down anymore. One older council member appeared near the still-open doorway behind the attendants.
He froze there. Then silently backed out again. Meanwhile I became painfully aware of my demon standing beside me watching the chaos unfold while I still held the black dress against my chest.
The atmosphere near us shifted slightly afterward.
Quieter now . Because unlike his younger brother, my demon still hadn’t touched me once since the throne room.
Not without hesitation. That realization settled heavily between us while Nina kissed the younger brother like Hell itself had thoroughly inconvenienced her personally.
Then softly beside me, my demon said:
“I can leave if this is uncomfortable for you.”
The words hit unexpectedly hard. Because once again, choice, space, patience. He kept giving me all the things he should have given earlier. And that made wanting him worse instead of easier.
Across the room, Nina was still kissing the younger brother like she was trying to start an international incident while palace attendants quietly evacuated themselves from existence.