Page 26 of Dating the Dealing Demon

“Under false pretenses,” I clarify. “So yeah.”

“Very well.”

So formal, my demon prince.My? Where the literal hell did that come from? I banish the thought while keeping my mouth shut before some of that crazy spills out as tired as I am. Not that I’ll be able to sleep in a strange realm with guilt over what happened to my friends weighing down on me.

He rubs his forehead like he can think me and my pesky protests away. “Can we continue our temporary truce for a day or two while I consider new terms?” His words slow, and he shifts a few inches my direction with a faint groan. Maybe he’s hurting more than he’s letting on.

I reach out—slowly, carefully as though approaching a tiger—to touch his forearm.

His muscles tense beneath my fingertips, and he opens his eyes. “Thank you for staying. I swear I’ll reconnect you with your friends.” The gravity of his promise—it sounds like a vow. I’m not sure I can handle serious right now. The tight leash on my feelings would probably come unwound and I might do something awful like cry in front of him. He turns his palm over, and it seems so strangely natural to slide my hand into his and let him interlock our fingers. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“Who’ll keep me safe from you?”

“I swear I’ll never hurt you, my mate, and should I or any other demon be foolish enough to try, you’re still protected by that beast you insist on allowing in our bed.”

Ourbed? Whoa. I choose to stick to his other ridiculous comment. “You think Monty could take down demons?” I glance at my sweet soul guardian curled up in a mongoose ball. “My Monty?”

“Demons generally consider two things in existence to be as deadly as a beheading. A god’s candle and a soul guardian.” He runs his thumb over my knuckles, and I struggle to concentrate on his words. “Legends of Montejanus are told to demon children to scare them into behaving. Shadowvale could play the stories for you, but those violent tales wouldn’t make for a good bedtime story.”

“I just ask the castle to tell me? Like I asked it for the rocket launcher?”

“I’d rather not know your plans for the rocket launcher.”

“I’m happy to send it back now that I know more about the castle. Once I figure out how.”

“Sending things back can be as tricky as conjuring them. Shadowvale doesn’t create new items. The castle simply retrieves them from other places. Like the plant my mother left you is one of her prize blooms. Shadowvale would have had to take it from her private rooms.”

“No wonder she was pissed at me.”

The corners of his lips tip up into the ghost of a smile. “Brimstone Bells are as close to a sacred flower as our realms have. They will only grow every few years on one mountaintop of a single hell dimension, so your mother and grandma trying to summon the queen of hell to request one?—”

“Hang on. What are you talking about with Mom and Nonnasummoning?”

He stares as if judging whether or not I’m being honest with my question. “They tried to cut a new deal with my mother.”

My mouth goes dry, and nerves coil into knots in my gut. “What kind of deal?”

“They would give a cursed one to serve the queen of hell in exchange for a single bloom. I understand the petals can be used in anti-aging potions.”

“My family offered me up as a sacrifice for aflower?”

“Not you specifically. The bargain could’ve been fulfilled with a future daughter.”

Anger rises in me, and I can feel an epic tantrum brewing. But Theo didn’t have to share the information, and it wasn’t his fault my family has gotten greedy. Mom told me the business has been failing, that we needed the promotion opportunities. I hadn’t realized how far she’d be willing to go to get Bonetti Beauty back in the black. Filming me and my friends on our trip would’ve been the least of her exploitation.

Theo closes his eyes again, pain or fatigue creasing his skin. “Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to send the rocket launcher back without starting an international crisis among the humans.”

“I’d rather not start a war because I was trying to bust my way out of a locked suite. I didn’t know the castle was alive.”

“Shadowvale isn’t alive in the way you might normally think of it, but she’s sentient. She also serves as a sanctuary.”

“How would I have known when you haven’t let me go beyond a few rooms?” My temper adds an edge to my voice.

“The castle would create more rooms for you if you’d like them. No diplomatic disasters required. I can give you a tour of Shadowvale tomorrow. Or Nic can if you prefer her company.”

“Would the tour be part of some demon deal?”

“No strings attached. Consider it a welcome gift. Or maybe an enticement to deal with me instead of my mother.”

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