Page 81 of The Devil and His Sparrow

“You didn’t have to keep trying if it wasn’t working, Z,” Perseus said, giving me a supportive look. “We thought you were just being a perfectionist when you complained about hating the songs, not actually asking for a break. You should’ve said what you needed sooner.”

“Yeah,” Xander chimed in, grabbing himself a mug and pouring the last of the coffee for himself.

I nearly flicked the shaved half of his head. Iyla could’ve wanted that.

“We can do whatever the fuck we want,” Xander continued once he had his drink. “If we don’t want to release an album right now, we don’t have to. We control our group, not some label or higher-ups. People can just deal with it.”

I gave a small laugh. Sometimes I forgot that I didn’t have to do this. It was a career I chose to do, because I loved it. I really did. I just needed to remember why I loved it. Xander’s reminder that this was our band to do with what we wanted made some of the stress lift from my shoulders.

“I hope to get back into the swing of things soon,” I announced, raking a hand through my hair. “I’ll let you guys know when I’m ready again.”

Dante stood up to his full height again and plastered on a devious grin. “That’s what I like to hear. Now that we’ve settled that, how about we go out tonight? I’m ready to have some fun after moving all my shit here from New York.”

Perseus and Xander hollered their agreement.

Normally, I would’ve jumped at a chance to go out for a night of debauchery, but …

I glanced at the stairs leading up to the third floor. Iyla had been distant since our talk, and I wasn’t sure how interested she’d be in going out. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure how comfortable she was here yet since she’d just moved in yesterday. Being in this mansion all on her own might not be fun for her.

“Are you sick?” Perseus demanded, staring at me with concern. “Why are you hesitating?”

“He and the wife are having a spat,” Coldin answered, his deep monotone voice piping up for the first time.

I glared at the demon dressed in all black, who still stared at the ceiling from where he leaned against the fridge. “We aren’t having a spat.”

Xander fought a laugh as he nudged Perseus, nearly sloshing the coffee out of his mug. “I love how his first instinct was to deny that part.”

My stomach bottomed out, and my mouth dried as I realized he was right. What the fuck? Why had that been the part that bothered me the most instead of the jab about Iyla and I being in a relationship? Maybe I really was sick. Maybe demons could get ill now, and I was experiencing the first ever demon disease.

Dante moved across the space between us so that he stood right in front of me. His dark eyes searched mine as his brows creased. “You—You don’t like that human … do you?”

I recoiled instantly, but my heart beat harder. Dante was too close. His words were too jarring. Eden’s taunting from the other night joined in with his question, and suddenly, I felt boxed in. I placed my arm on Dante’s broad chest to move him away and hopped off the counter. I opened my mouth to deny his accusation, but my throat closed up, stopping the words from coming.

“Holy shit!” Perseus gasped, his eyes widening. We stared at each other like the realization hit us at the same time. “He does! He—He likes a human!”

Xander threw his head back in a boom of laughter and came up to me to throw his arm around my shoulder. “You’ve got it wrong, Pers. Zagan would never. None of us would.” His mirth-filled eyes met mine, and silence descended as the teasing slowly faded from his gaze, replaced by open-mouthed shock. “Oh my Hell. You really do.”

My breath came too quick, and I couldn’t seem to slow it down. Everything in my mind was firing too quickly for me to think properly.

Xander pulled his arm off my shoulder and took a couple steps back. “You—”

“He doesn’t like a goddamn human,” Dante suddenly snapped. All eyes went to him as he strode over to me, stopping so that we were eye to eye. He poked my chest hard and gritted out, “You don’t like some human girl. You’re just confused or some shit. We” he gestured to everyone here, “can’t have feelings like that. So get your head out of your ass and back on your shoulders where it belongs. You’re a demon. Not a weak, emotion-guided human.”

He stepped back enough to finish, “We’re going out tonight. Seven. Meet at Hell’s Gate.”

He didn’t wait for a response. He disappeared in a plume of shadows, and with a rather awkward glance thrown my way, Xander and Perseus followed.

I stood there with sand still filling my mouth and my heart sprinting. Dante was right. I’d been feeling off for a while with all the issues I was having with my music, so it was probably those mess of emotions contributing to the strange flutter I got around Iyla. Eden and Xander were mistaken.

Iyla was just another human to me.

Something inside me twisted painfully at the thought. The unsettled flurry now stampeding through me was evidence enough that Iyla wasn’t just another human, just another body to feed off of, just another bond. So what did that mean?

I looked sideways at Coldin, who hadn’t moved or changed back into a snake. “What do you think?”

His green eyes finally left the ceiling to meet mine. He shrugged. “What does it matter what I think? What do you think?”

My eyes narrowed. “You’re the one who started this by joking that she was my wife.”

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