Page 68 of Dating the Dealing Demon

Huh, when she puts it that way. “I am awesome.”

Nic rolls her eyes so hard I wonder if they touch her horns in her demon form. “Is it any wonder you and my brother were literally made for each other? With chutzpah like that, no one else would have either of you.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I sort of miss him being an arrogant asshole,” I admit. I don’t add how his hurt tears at my heart like we had some kind of cosmic connection for a hot minute until he decided to throw a giant wall between us.

“Yeah, well, if we’re confessing deep, dark secrets, I do too.”

I suppose if it’s full disclosure time, I should ask the question plaguing my mind since her mommy dearest showed up to accuse me of wrecking their world with the borrowed magicsheshoved inside me. “You think Theo has a problem with having a human as a mate?” I refuse to ask out loud if he has a problem withmeas a mate.

“What? No.” She waves a hand at her glamour. “We find humans fascinating. Why do you think we walk around looking like your kind all the time?” She narrows her eyes. “Did he say something to you? That bastard, I’ll?—”

“No,” I answer honestly. “Theo’s never hinted at such a thing.” I don’t bring up their mom. “It’s just…” I settle on another truth. “I feel so useless.” I give the first-rate devices that fill every counter, nook, and millimeter of space in the lab an appreciative glance. “I have all this amazing equipment that Shadowvale magicked me, yet I have no answers, and if the DNA all leads back to your dad, I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Actually, I came to see if I could interest you in a magic lesson.”

“Like the one where I almost took out Theo’s entire wine collection?” Yep, that happened. I’d shot a ray of light that sliced through somereallyexpensive bottles.

“No.” Nic goes silent and picks at her non-existent split ends to the point I debate offering her a fidget toy and a shot of truth serum. If that last is a real thing. I could ask Shadowvale the next time the castle and I have a heart-to-heart. Ooh, I wonder if I could get a supersized dose for Theo to tell me what the hell I did to make him ghost me—Nope.Focus.

I do my best Prince of Darkness imitation since my mate doesn’t bother to show his horns these days. At least not around me. “Spit it out.”

“Remember Cousin Reginald who’s part shadow monster and part demon?” she says.

I shudder. “As if I could forget the guy who tried to kill Theo and then crawled around inside my head like it was his personal pervy playground. Yeah, I remember Reggie the Repugnant. Why?”

She trails her finger along the countertop. “He’s locked in the dungeon below Shadowvale.”

“What? Why? Wait, there’s a dungeon?”

As if Monty senses my slight freak out, becausewhywould that scary Reggie mofo be here in the castle, my mongoose magics down to paw at my hand until I strip off the nitrilegloves and pick him up for a cuddle, the toy unicorn settling in alongside him.

“Seeing a soul guardian act like a familiar will never not be weird,” Nic says.

“You have a freaking dungeon you didn’t tell me about, and you’re calling my sweet baby weird?” I keep my voice from going shrewish. Barely.

“Fair, although technically it’s Theo’s dungeon, which makes it yours too seeing as fated mates probably pre-date the whole community property concept?—”

“Nic! I’m not letting you distract me into arguing who gets what in a demon divorce.Whyis your sicko shadow demon cousin in the dungeon?”

“Because Theo has a warded cell that will hold Reginald.” She finally lifts her gaze to meet mine. “And my brother might’ve mentioned keeping that deviant locked up until he could turn him permanently corporeal.”

“To do what?” Honestly, I would’ve thought Theo was a morekill first, ask questions laterkind of enforcer. Guess it shows how little I know my mate.

“Because he plans to nail him to Shadowvale’s wall for an eternity of suffering as a reminder for no one to disrespect you.”

Fuck. I don’t know whether to be horrified or turned on. Maybe I’m more suited to living in the hell dimensions than I thought. I hug Monty closer. Funny enough, talk of endless torment doesn’t seem to bother the little guy. “That’s…uh, creative.”

“Cousin Reginald’s already condemned to die a billion times over for touching you, I figured we could use him as target practice for your magic. You up for it?”

“What makes you think I could do anything to that creep? He barged into my thoughts as though brains are a revolving door for him. How do I attack someone who doesn’t even havea real body most of the time? He’s just shadows—floating darkness.”

“And what destroys the dark, Ms. Smarty Pants?”

“Actually, we don’t know what dark matter is made up of so?—”

“Light,” she answers. “You were supposed to say light.”

“Oh.” The realization smacks me. “Light as inlike my magic?”

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