Chapter 6 #11
Nina muttered softly from across the lounge, “Yeah well. Try explaining to human parents that you accidentally fell into Hell and absolutely adopted royalty.”
The younger brother actually snorted, laughing quietly. Then the father finally closed the palace report in his hands and spoke for the first time in several minutes.
“Then explain it properly.”
We all turned to him. The older demon leaned back calmly in his chair before adding:
“If our sons intend to keep you forever, they should earn permission correctly.”
A terrible silence settled across the lounge.The silver fire crackled softly nearby while Nina blinked in disbelief from across the couch.
“…You’re telling demon princes to ask human parents for permission.”
“Obviously,” the father answered calmly.
“That is the most unexpectedly respectful thing anyone in Hell has ever said to me.”
Meanwhile, beside me, my demon had gone completely silent.
I turned towards him and regretted it because the expression on his face had changed again.
The teasing was gone along with the smugness and the possessive amusement.
He looked completely serious now, and that unsettled me more than anything else tonight.
Like hearing us talk about Earth and family and guilt had finally made something real settle into him completely. The younger brother stiffened as well, though concern eclipsed everything else almost immediately.
Nina was terrified. “Oh no. They’re thinking.”
“That’s never good,” I agreed quietly.
His mother seemed deeply unimpressed with both princes. “You two became attached to humans before considering their families?”
Neither brother answered.
The father sighed softly into his drink. “Embarrassing behavior for demons.”
“We were slightly occupied,” my demon muttered.
“With what,” his mother asked sweetly. “The catastrophic yearning?”
Nina lost control laughing. Meanwhile I was still staring at my demon because he hadn’t looked away from me once since the conversation about Earth started.
And very suddenly, the reality of everything hit differently. Because until now it had all felt: chaotic, romantic, overwhelming.
But now? There were parents. Families. Lives outside Hell. A future. The realization settled heavily into the room before the younger brother sat upright beside Nina.
“…Wait.”
Everybody fell silent and turned toward him. He held his brother's gaze for a beat before saying the most dangerous possible sentence: “We should go to Earth.”
Then;
“No,” Anderson answered from somewhere near the doorway despite nobody noticing him enter.
The father ignored Anderson completely. “Correct answer.”
His mother smiled into her tea afterward.
“Oh this will be entertaining.”
Chapter 31
Eva POV
“It will be catastrophic,” Anderson corrected from the doorway.
Nobody listened to him. That seemed to happen a lot around here.
The younger brother already looked fully committed to the idea while Nina stared at him like she was trying to decide whether to panic or laugh.
“You want to go meet human parents.”
“Yes.”
“You are a demon prince.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened someone over soup three days ago.”
“That feels unrelated.”
Meanwhile, beside me, my demon still hadn’t said a word, which worried me more because whenever he went this quiet, it usually meant he was thinking far too seriously about something. And judging by the way his fingers tightened once around mine against the couch, he was absolutely thinking.
His mother studied him for a second longer. Then smiled over the rim of her tea. “There it is.”
“There what is,” I asked suspiciously.
“The moment he decided something permanently.”
Oh no.
I turned toward my demon, and after several long seconds of silence, he finally met my gaze. His expression was completely calm, which somehow made the situation feel even worse.
“You should see your family,” he said quietly.
The words hit me unexpectedly hard. Because there wasn’t even hesitation in them. There was no desperate demand for me to stay and no fear that I might leave before he returned. Just quiet certainty, like if he wanted forever from me, he intended to earn it properly this time.
Nina noticed too because she pointed dramatically across the lounge. “Okay wow. Character development.”
“I dislike all of you.”
“That’s fair,” the younger brother agreed.
Meanwhile the father had already started giving orders casually like international dimensional travel was normal family planning.
“The western gate portal will reach Earth fastest.”
Anderson physically looked ill. “You cannot just send both princes into the human world unsupervised.”
His mother blinked. “Why not.”
“They partially destabilized Hell in under two weeks.”
“That sounds efficient.”
I was starting to understand why the council survived on stress. The younger brother leaned toward Nina beside him. “What are human parent rituals like?”
Nina stared blankly. “…You mean meeting parents.”
“Yes.”
“You are absolutely not calling them mating negotiations.”
“That sounded culturally important.”
“It sounded terrifying.”
Meanwhile my demon’s thumb brushed once against the back of my hand before he faced me again.
“Will they be angry?”
The question surprised me slightly. Not because he asked. Because he sounded genuinely concerned. I thought about my parents for a second.
My mother’s constant work calls. My father forgetting birthdays accidentally. The apartment that never really felt like home anymore. Then I looked back at him sitting beside me in the warmth of the silver firelight. At the palace that felt more real than most places Earth ever had.
And honestly? I didn’t know how to explain any of this to normal humans.
“That depends,” I admitted quietly.
“On what.”
“How well you survive modern Earth.”
Nina gasped dramatically. “OH MY GOD.”
The younger brother stiffened. “Why was that threatening?”
“She means social embarrassment,” Nina explained gleefully. “You two are going to get destroyed.”
“We survived Hell politics.”
“That means NOTHING against human mothers.”
His father looked genuinely thoughtful. “…Interesting.”
His mother nodded calmly. “Human women are terrifying.”
“THANK YOU,” Nina yelled.
Meanwhile Anderson had already started pacing near the doorway like the concept of this trip alone was shortening his lifespan.
“The media implications alone…”
“The what implications?” the younger brother interrupted suspiciously. Nina glanced between both demon princes. Then froze.
“…Wait.”
“…Absolutely not.”
The younger brother blinked once. “What.”
“You cannot meet human parents dressed like dark royalty from a supernatural cult.”
“That feels insulting.”
“It’s accurate.”
My demon glanced briefly down at the black coat he was wearing like he genuinely didn’t understand the issue. “This is formal.”
“This,” Nina informed him dramatically, “looks like you personally curse bloodlines for entertainment.”
His father regarded him thoughtfully from across the lounge. “That is formal wear.”
“SEE?” Nina pointed aggressively. “THIS FAMILY IS THE PROBLEM.”
His mother was completely unbothered while sipping tea beside me. “Do humans dislike royal clothing?”
“They dislike looking like someone owns ceremonial daggers.”
“That seems utterly limiting.”
Meanwhile I was already imagining my mother opening the apartment door to: a demon prince, silver eyes, royal posture, and enough intimidating energy to make neighbors call the police.
Actual disaster. I covered my face. “Oh my God.” My demon turned to me. “What.”
“My parents are going to think I joined something illegal.”
The younger brother looked deeply entertained. “Technically speaking….”
“No,” Anderson interrupted instantly from near the doorway.
Nina pointed at both princes again. “No dark capes. No terrifying jewelry. No murder energy.”
“That last one feels difficult,” the younger brother admitted.
“It is NONNEGOTIABLE.”
Meanwhile my demon had gone quieter beside me again.Then after a brief pause, he asked softly:
“Will your family fear me?”
The room stilled slightly after that because the conversation stopped being funny. My gaze found him, and for maybe the first time since arriving in Hell, he seemed genuinely uncertain. Not about Earth, but about meeting my world.
His mother noticed too but stayed quiet this time. I lowered my hands before answering.
“My mother will probably interrogate you like a federal investigator.”
The younger brother snorted, laughing instantly.
“That sounds terrifying.”
“It is.”
“My father,” I continued carefully, “will pretend to be calm while silently judging every life decision I’ve made since birth.”
My demon considered this seriously. “I can survive judgment.”
“That confidence feels premature.”
Nina pointed dramatically from across the couch. “My aunt once made a grown man cry over undercooked chicken.”
The younger brother blinked once. “…Humans weaponize meals.”
“Yes.”
His father lowered his tea. “I respect that enormously.”
Meanwhile my demon still hadn’t looked away from me.
“You didn’t answer the question,” he said quietly.
The softness in his voice hit harder than expected. Because underneath everything else, what he was really asking was: Will your world reject me.
And that mattered to him now. I leaned slightly closer toward him on the couch before answering quietly enough that only nearby people heard:
“They’ll probably fear you a little at first.”
His expression tightened almost invisibly. Then I added: “But they’ll also see the way you look at me.”
And every single person in the room noticed exactly what I meant. Because my demon’s entire attention had locked onto me again instantly.
His attention lingered on me for a second longer, warm and completely focused, before he finally walked away. His mother watched the entire thing happen, sighed into her tea, and muttered, “Oh, he’s hopeless.”
The father nodded calmly. “Completely ruined.”
Meanwhile, Nina's eyes darted between us before she let out a groan loud enough to echo through the lounge.
“I need everyone in this family to stop having eye contact immediately.”