Page 106 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

Inhaling smoke, I sagged backward with relief and grinned through the pain.

Drugs made everything better.

All was well.

Yes, I was delusional. Next question.

A hand pushed gently against my shoulder, and John said, “No. You don’t get to smile after taking years off my life like that.”

I smiled bigger.

John huffed. “You crazy bitch. I promised myself I’d yell at you after you fell headfirst like an idiot. But I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

I grunted out smoke and nodded as I peeled open my blood-crusted eyes.

John’s face was inches from mine.

A huge grin split his face and showcased his cute dimples. “There are those pretty blue eyes. Did you know one of your eyes has a little gray in it? Kind of freaky.”

He winked.

The bedroom warped behind him, and everything became a mess of squiggly lines as my eyes unfocused.

“Alert the realms, the queen has fully risen,” John announced dramatically and flung his head down across my legs. “All must bow to Her Excellency!”

He kept bowing.

A chuckle burst from my lungs, but the noise that came out of my mouth was somewhere between a dying moan and a banshee’s howl.

“How long out for?” I croaked.

John’s smile slipped. “Three days.” He stared down at me intensely. “Corvus woke up two days ago, and Orion woke up yesterday. We were all starting to panic about you.”

I grimaced as I tried to haul myself into a seated position.

The scent hit me first.

Copper and bile.

The sight hit me next.

My eyes burned as I blinked away the crust and took it all in. The clean bedroom with the ornate cream carpets, crackling fireplace, and fluffy emerald sheets was gone. It was filthy.

The white carpets were stained pink in some sections and bright red in others.

Blood arcs had splattered across the wall.

Bedsheets were torn to pieces.

Of the eight beds spread along the walls for all of us, only three seemed to have survived the shredding.

Orion, Corvus, and Scorpius were piled in their usual bed, sleeping together. Similarly, the demons were cuddled together in their bed, snoring.

Everyone was asleep except for John.

The white mattress pads had been pulled off my bed and the one next to it. RIP Horace. You will truly be missed. Gone but never forgotten. Always in our hearts and memories. Fly high, sweet angel.

I choked on a laugh at my sarcastic thoughts.

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