Page 56 of Their Demon

We’d been training differently since the council meeting. Self-defense took a backseat, and it was moved to only once a day in case it was needed for future trials—which Keir said was likely, knowing his father. Instead, I spent the extra time with Nicholas, working on guessing the weight of the treasure. The plan was to get in and out as fast as possible with the correct weight of treasure.

When their father announced my first trial, I thought I was going to faint. I don’t know what I expected for a trial, but this? Sneaking into a cave protected by a huge Hell Dragon, a giant fucking dragon who breathed hellfire, which was much hotter than regular fire? Somehow measuring out 666 ounces of treasure without any way of actually knowing if I had the correct amount? Then, sneaking back out of the cave carrying basically a small child on my back and having my measuring skills put to the test?

Daunting was an understatement, and I tried to avoid thinking of what would happen to me if I didn’t get everything exactly right.

The princes had tried everything to cheer me up, including Keir surprising me with Mavis coming over like he’d offered. It worked… for the twenty minutes I was distracted by her arrival. She was a good sport about the fact I couldn’t focus on anything else, though she tried her best to distract me with every combination of gossip, movies, games, and food.

When I did finally break down and cry, she just hugged me, knowing I didn’t need to be told everything was going to be okay.

Though the twins were in their own rooms, they heard my sobs and came running to the rescue.

I jumped when the door swung open.

Nicholas stood there with wide, worried eyes, Aiden behind him wearing a similar expression.

“Are you okay, little one?” Aiden asked once they stepped into the room to see me bawling in Mavis’s embrace.

I nodded. “I’m fine.” I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. I tried wiping the tears away with my hands, but they were snatched up with a gentle grasp. Nicholas knelt and searched my face, and I sniffled again. “I promise. I’m okay.”

He moved my hands to hold them with one of his hands, giving them a squeeze. “It’s okay to not be okay, baby,” he whispered sweetly, brushing my hair behind my ear. I shivered at his tender touch.

I nearly moaned, but my eyes drifted to Mavis, who was watching us with wide eyes, her hand over her mouth, but Icould tell she was smiling. I blushed and shook my head, trying to escape the foggy desire these twins always managed to drag me into.

“Okay. I’ll let you know if I need you.” I folded my hands in my lap. “You can—uh—go now,” I said, gesturing my eyes to my friend I had sitting on my bed, hoping they would leave without causing me any more embarrassment.

Thankfully, they left without another word, each giving me a peck on the cheek before closing the door.

I turned to face Mavis, her hand no longer covering her huge, cheeky smile that split her face.

“Don’t…” I rolled my eyes at her, but her giggling warned me she had no intention of leaving this alone.

“Girl!” she squealed as she shook me with an unrelenting grip on my arm. “I am so fucking jealous of you!”

“You shouldn’t be,” I laughed. “They’re a lot, especially now with all the shit going on.”

She threw herself back on the pile of pillows with a loud sigh. “What I wouldn’t give to have even one guy obsessed with me like that, running to my room in the middle of the night because he heard me cry.” She let out a frustrated noise. “And you havetwoof them!”

“Mavis!” I palmed my forehead.

“What? You have no idea how lucky you are, Lil. I’m starved for male attention. I just need a big dicked, muscle-y man who can’t get enough of me.” She thought for a moment. “Tattoos and maybe a piercing or two wouldn’t hurt either,” she tacked on.

We broke into a fit of laughter as I threw my decorative pillow at her face.

By the time we stopped laughing, even that distraction wasn’t enough to keep a smile on my face. I felt a lump form in my throat, my mind unable to force thoughts of the trials away for another second.

“Oh, Lil,” Mavis said as she sat up and scooted closer to me. “I’m here, babe.” She pulled me into another hug and held me while I sobbed, only leaving once to get me a glass of water.

I cried in her arms until the exhaustion dragged me against my will into sleep’s dark hold.

“Hey…” Nicholas held the sides of my face, lifting me up to look at him. I hadn’t realized I’d looked down, huge tears ready to fall. “Don’t give up.” He placed a sweet, chaste kiss on my lips before putting all the treasure back in the chest. “Try again, baby. For me?”

I nodded and wiped away the moisture that had pooled in my eyes then started placing handfuls of gold and jewels into the backpack, stopping ever so often to check the weight by holding it in the air and bouncing it around by the straps. The guys stressed that there was no time limit, so I took my time each round of practice.

Forty minutes and several bouts of self-doubt later, I handed him the backpack. He took it and placed it on the scale. As the numbers went up, I rubbed my arms repeatedly, trying to calm myself down.

The number stopped at 652, and my breathing became so shallow, it felt like I wasn’t breathing at all. My ears started to ring, my vision blurring. I blinked repeatedly, trying to regain control of my body, but I couldn't.

Fuck, this isn’t good.

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