Page 111 of Their Demon

“This coming from the guy who fucked her on the forest floor next to the demon she’d just killed?” Keir declared from his spot on the couch.

I shrugged and gave Nicholas a look that said Keir was right. Aiden busted out laughing.

“Damn. I’m the only one who hasn’t fucked her in the dirt.” He held his hand over his heart like he was wounded. “I am beginning to feel left out, little one.” He leaned over and stole a kiss from me. “I think you and I need to take a trip outside soon.Alone.”

Nicholas and Keir were both chuckling, and the energy in the room felt… right, like this was how it was supposed to beall along. I looked at each man’s face,mymen, and my heart skipped a beat.

"I fucking love you," I blurted out, making them all turn to face me. "I love you, all of you," I said, hoping to sound softer, sweeter, as I admitted my love for them together for the first time.

The room was quiet as they stared at me. None of them looked shocked. Instead, I was greeted with adoring, love-stricken faces.

“I love you too, baby,” Nicholas said, squeezing my knee.

“Same, little one,” Aiden chimed in. “I love you so much.”

I looked at Keir, the only one who hadn’t spoken. He looked like a love-sick puppy; I was honestly surprised hearts didn’t appear in his eyes. It was an odd occurrence, but I could get used to him looking at me like I was his reason for living.

He stood up, and I sat straight. Aiden and Nicholas moved out of the way as Keir got down on his knees in front of me, a sight I was beginning to favor. I watched him with curiosity, wondering what this man was up to.

My hands were scooped up into his, and he held them tightly. “I loveyou, Lillian,” he said loud and proud, staring right into my eyes with an intensity that made my chest tighten. “I will always love you.”

He lifted one of his hands to my chest, rubbing his finger along my collarbone, and I couldn’t hold back the tiny moan that left me. His hand moved behind my neck, where he threaded his fingers into my hair, using it as an anchor to pull my face to his. Our mouths collided in an explosion that could’ve leveled Hell.

“He always has to one-up us,” Aiden muttered to his twin. He grunted as Nicholas elbowed him in the side. “What? It’s true.”

“I can’t help that I’m her favorite,” Keir joked without looking at him, leaving me panting like I’d just run a marathon.

Aiden and Nicholas started to say something back, but I held up my hand. “We arenotplaying that game.” I smacked Keir’s shoulder. “I will never have a favorite. I love each of you the same, and I always will. I’ll never choose just one, so shut that down right now.” I tried to shoot them all a stern glare, but I couldn’t help cracking a smile.

We were all laughing together soon after, talking about the council meeting earlier in the afternoon. Keir’s big reveal had distracted us all from coming up with a plan to prepare me for the next trial.

“So all I have to do is dive for a seahorse egg?” I asked the guys. “I didn’t know seahorses even had nests with eggs. I thought the dad carried the bab—”

“Our father is a dick, and he said it that way on purpose.” Keir stood and grabbed a book from the shelf next to the bar, flipping through the pages until he found what he’d been looking for. “Thisis what he was talking about.”

He put the open book in my lap.

It was a horse. No, that was definitely not a horse. It had the head of a horse—well, kind of—and the front legs of one, but that’s where it stopped. Its skin was a beautiful mixture of sea-green and blue. At the end of its legs where hooves would have been were fins. In place of its mane was a long, spiky fin. Then, there was its tail—no hindlegs, just a tail. It was scaly, a darker shade of sea-green. Its tail curled up, but at the end of the tailwere flaps like a mermaid’s. It was the wildest thing I’d ever seen.

“That’s a hippocampus,” Keir explained. “Hell has ruined them just like every other thing it imprisons. They were once known to be docile creatures, but not anymore, especially when you fuck with their nest. They’re super protective of their eggs, particularly the males. Plus, the eggs are extremely fragile and may not survive the swim up. And to get to the nest, you’ll have to dive nearly a hundred feet. We have to find a way to get you down there without drowning.” Keir kicked the side of the couch, jolting me. “He fucking set you up for failure.”

I stood and walked to him, stopping in front of him. “Do you believe in me?” I asked him.

Without any hesitation, he said, “Of course I do.”

His confidence in me brought a smile to my face. “Then we will figure it out, just like we did for the first trial.”

He nodded slowly.

“I’ll take you swimming tomorrow, baby,” Nicholas said from the couch.

I walked over to them, planting myself on Aiden’s lap and putting my legs on Nicholas’s. He held onto me and massaged my calves, which honestly felt magical.

“I can do this,” I announced to everyone in the room. “As long as you three are behind me.”

***

Turns out, I wasn’t a strong swimmer.

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