Page 85 of The Devil and His Sparrow

Chapter 27

Iyla

WHEN FRIDAY ROLLED AROUND, ZAGAN was eager to let loose, and for once, I was excited about that prospect, too. Since the meeting with my advisor, I’d spent the past week attending my classes to finish out the semester while also planning for my music courses with my new advisor. I’d gathered all the material I’d need to start re-learning the piano, and each step that brought me closer to that dream made the next step easier.

Except for one.

I hadn’t actually begun playing again. I’d made it to the doorway of Zagan’s ballroom, but as soon as my gaze locked onto the piano, my heart began to pound and the cold claws of my mom’s demands wrapped around me, forcing me to turn around. I’d fight past her hold one day.

That day just wasn’t today.

Zagan had also been busy this past week. I’d had the mansion all to myself while he and Coldin met the other members of the band in New York. They had some filming to do for a couple programs, and they sat down to announce their hiatus to their fans. I’d watched the livestream where they’d talked about it, and the chat had flooded with an outpouring of love, support, and sadness. People were already counting down the days until they returned from their break.

It had been a bit lonely in the big house without Zagan there, so I’d had Nahla, Iseul, Addie, and Eden come over a few times. Now with Friday night here, we were taking the chance to let off some steam by meeting the rest of Sinners Do It Better at Hell’s Gate.

Was I excited to have some fun? Yes.

Was I eager to get back to the morbid and dark decor of the place? Not particularly.

I ran my hands down the length of my knee-high red dress. Two thin straps held the dress up on each shoulder, and the material hugged every curve and dipped low to show off an ample amount of cleavage. I’d thrown my hair up into a high ponytail and applied just a dusting of makeup.

While looking like this in the past would’ve made me feel guilty—like dressing up meant I was doing something wrong—I felt good in my own skin today. It was a new feeling, but I liked it. I hoped this same sort of confidence followed me as I started my journey toward my new life.

The other members of Sinners Do It Better and Eden were already gathered at a spacious table near the dance floor, throwing back shots and smoking something that had a pink haze of smoke lingering in the air.

Dante was the first to spot us. He narrowed his eyes when he saw me, but they quickly slid to Zagan and lost their hostility. “Looks like our boy made it.”

“And he brought wifey,” Xander hollered, his gold eyes trailing down my body.

Eden giggled and slapped Xander on the arm.

My eyes widened at the name, and I looked sideways at Zagan. “‘Wifey?’” I whispered, my voice coming out almost like a squeak.

Zagan rolled his eyes and scowled at Xander. “Ignore him. It’s a joke they came up with because we live together.”

I nodded slowly, but the heat didn’t leave my cheeks. They were teasing Zagan about me being his wife? The mere thought had my heart stampeding for some odd reason. It wasn’t like I really was or was even close to anything like that. He and I were just friends.

Friends who had sex.

And now lived together.

I chewed the inside of my lip to keep the embarrassment from completely overtaking my face. My gaze, seeking somewhere to go, found Dante’s. His red-and-black eyes were trained on me once more, and they were cold, narrowed slits. The look made my skin crawl, and I stepped just a hair closer into Zagan.

“D-Did I do something wrong?” I whispered to Zagan, turning my body away from the table to appear like I was taking in the club. “Dante seems mad at me or something.”

Zagan waved a dismissive clawed hand and kept the other firmly on my back. “You didn’t do anything. Like I said, the guys have been making stupid jokes lately, and they put him in a bad mood.”

I could understand being grouchy, but it felt like that grouchiness was directed at me, as if I were the one who’d made the teasing remarks that pissed him off. Still, I accepted Zagan’s answer, and we turned back to the table.

“Iyla,” Eden chirped. She gestured at the empty seat across from her and Perseus. “Come sit here.”

Happy to have the bright-eyed demon here, I went over to the free seat and sank down. Zagan took the chair at the head of the table between Coldin and Dante. I glanced warily at Perseus directly across from me and Xander on my left. Dante, who sat to my right, ignored me as he started talking to Zagan about some book he was reading, but even so, I could feel the tension rolling off him in my direction. It didn’t take a genius to know that he didn’t seem to want me here, but I wasn’t sure what I’d done to offend him.

“So, Iyla,” Xander began with amusement glittering in his gold demon eyes. His tall-and-thin horns jutted up into the air from both the shaved and dark-haired sides of his head.

I’d learned in my time with the demons that you could tell the many different kinds apart by their horns and eyes. Incubi and Succubi, like Zagan, Perseus, and Dante, had black eyes with a red vertical slit in the center, as well as rather short black horns. Mischief demons, like Xander and Eden, had gold eyes with gazelle-style black horns. And then there was Coldin’s kind of demon, one I still didn’t know much about. They had thick, curved black horns like a ram, and their eyes were solid black with orange flames dancing in the center. Even now, seeing his eyes unnerved me a bit.

“You’re living with our leader now,” Xander finished.

---