Page 84 of Married to the Devil

“I want to help too,” Celeste says softly, her shoulder’s stiffening as she straightens.

I nod, sensing that she’s ready to talk. “How many intruders would you say there were?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe six?” Her brows crease but her eyes have the same sort of pride that Timmy’s do even if there are shadows. I try to keep my questions short, not wanting to frustrate her if she can’t answer specifics.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Her breathing increases, and I’m humbled all over again when she pushes through the panic and starts talking. “We were watching movies and Mama B got up to get more popcorn since we were about halfway through.” Another deep breath, and she swallows. “It happened so fast. The door flew open, and all these people wearing black were there. They slapped a null collar on Mom first. I screamed.”

Celeste’s eyes are wide in question. All her flashing anger and caution are lost to the innocence on her face. “I screamed so loud, but no one came.”

I unclench my jaw and breathe through the rage. “They may have treated the area with a spell that muffled the noise.”

It’s something I have to believe. Otherwise, the concept that she would cry out and not be helped by any of her neighbors makes me want to raze this territory to the ground and walk away.

Celeste bites her lips and accepts my answer easily enough, falling back into silence. If she were an adult, I’d push to get more. I’d ask specifics about what the group was wearing, how they were moving, when they separated her mothers from her and Timmy, but she’s not an adult. She’s barely a teenager.

Stoneheart is right to not want to need their intel. Children should be protected, and it’s not worth interrogating them if he can get more information from elsewhere.

“Did anything seem unusual to you, other than that piece they wore?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “They covered their faces. Dumb and Dumber removed their masks later, but they didn’t talk about much that made sense except something about how the Devil would get his due.”

Stella leans against my shoulder,napping, when I finally get in touch with the demon father of the kids. She’d come home frustrated and exhausted from her attempts at charm making, but still determined to help the kids feel at home. I’d had her make popcorn, and we’d put on some animated classic.

Celeste had been hesitant, but her and Timmy relaxed to the bright colors and music, and a part of my chest warmed at the idea of at least trying to rewrite this experience so it wouldn’t blend in with that terrible night.

“Your dad is on his way,” I whisper.

Celeste perks up immediately. “Really?”

Her expression of excitement makes my heart all fuzzy.

“Yeah,” I say. “A friend of a friend was able to get in touch with him and tell him what happened. He should actually be here in a few minutes.”

Celeste smiles and moves to poke Timmy but huffs a laugh at his sleeping form. The kid really has been through it.

She turns back to me. “Thank you. For being honest about if they’ll find our moms.”

I frown. “Of course.”

“Some people think that just because we’re kids, we don’t understand, so they don’t even bother trying to explain.”

I swallow. I know she understands too much about the danger of our world. I was only a little younger than her when Kalos took me in. Maybe it’s why I feel so protective over these two.

On my deep breath in, Stella wakes with a mumble. I kiss her forehead in thoughtless affection, before remembering that I shouldn’t be doing something like that in front of others, but the kids aren’t paying attention to me. A voice calls through the penthouse.

“Celeste? Timmy?”

Timmy startles awake. “Dad?”

Celeste pulls him up with her. “Dad!”

They run out of the room. Their excitement has something warm catching in my throat.

“Good news I’m guessing,” Stella says, blinking sleepily.

“We were able to find their dad.”

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