Page 54 of Wickedly Yours

“Damien. Telling him how I felt.”

Oh. Well, that wasn’t what I’d expected. “And you told him you love him?”

“Er… Well…No.” Her cheeks were pink. “I only realized thattoday.”

“Willow.”I gave her a dramatic sigh.

“Hey. Don’t sister me while I’m sister-ingyou.” Willow tried to look stern, though the effect didn’t quite work—given she was incapable of looking mean. She was one of the nicest people I’d ever met, sister or not. She nudged me with her hip. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“So, you get to fall in love with a demon and be with him, but I can’t?” I didn’t mean for the words to slip through my lips or to snap at her, but I had.

“Do you?” She asked, voice soft. “Love him?”

I shook my head. “No.” Though I wished the answer was yes, it wasn’t. “But…” My eyes were watery, and I blinked, trying to clear them. The rush of emotion running through me was so strong that I wondered if Zain could feel it through whatever mental bond we shared. “I can’t explain it, Wil. But when I saw him, my heart knew.”

“Knew…?”

“That he was mine. That I was his.” I indicated around us with my hands. “Maybe I’m supposed to behere, you know?”It was the first time I’d dared to admit the words out loud. That I felt that way, but something in him called to me, and I couldn’t deny it. Not to her, and not to myself. Not when his ring sat on my finger and a crown on my head.

“But… Your bakery. Our lives. You’re leaving everything behind.”

I fidgeted with the ring that sat on my finger. I still couldn’t believe it when Zain had given it to me, and I wasn’t used to it yet.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking, well… I don’t know how to describe it. Like I was missing something. And when he asked me to come with him, I didn’t even have to stop to think about it. I just… said yes.” Sure, there was more to the story than that, but I left out the demon attack. It seemed like more than enough information for one day.

“But he’s a stranger. You don’t evenknowhim.”

I blinked. “Well… That’s not entirely true.”

“What?”

Grimacing, I continued, knowing this wouldn’t sound great—since this was the part that I had kept from her. “We’d met before. At the bar. And a few other times.”

I didn’t mention that we’d already slept together to her. That seemed like information I didn’t need to share with my older sister.

“You didn’t think to tell me youmet someone?”She dropped her voice, though I could still hear the hurt echoing through it. It made my heart ache. “I’m your sister, Luna.”

Biting my lip, I looked away. “I know. But you were all wrapped up in Damien, and I didn’t want to pop your bubble. Plus, it’s not like you were one hundred percent truthful with me, either.”

“Right. Well,maybeI should have told you about his, er…demon-ness. In my defense, I thought I was doing the right thing. Keeping him safe.”

“I don’t think he needs you for that.” The laugh spilled from my lips before I could help it, before I reminded myself of the severity of the situation, and my voice lost any hint of humor. But how could she have known about Zain? That we’d end up meeting?

“A witch cursed him,” Willow offered. “That’s the spell I did. Reversing it.”It made sense. The spell she’d performed on the full moon, how she’d skirted around sharing what she wasdoing with me. Why she hadn’t asked for help—from me or the coven. Even if it still stung.

“I didn’t realize who he was to me. Not until later. But I think part of me knew I needed to help him. Maybe it was the same part of me that picked him out at that shelter.” Willow blushed. “And I guess it was right. He’s my…” Her fingers brushed over two little puncture marks on her neck. “My soulmate.”

“It doesn’t have to make sense to feel right,” I said—because I knew that, understood that feeling more than I could put into words. “I thought I would hate it here,” I admitted, giving my truth. “This place. I thought it would beHell.But it’s not. People are free to be whoever they are here. Monster and demon alike. It’s nothing like Pleasant Grove.”

I’d been here less than a day, and I already could feel that. Novalie had shown me that, too. She might have been a maid—a servant, not a slave—but I could sense she was speaking the truth when she’d told me she was treated well. How much shelikedworking here.

And this ball—these demons—none of them were like the ones who had attacked me earlier.

“No, it isn’t,” my sister murmured. She looked up at the sky—the crescent moon high in the sky, the red endless space freckled with stars. It wasn’t our sky, but I found it calming.

Picking up her hand, I squeezed it tightly. “I don’t know what will happen, but I can promise you I’m safe here. I’m not here against my will. I chose this... I choosehim.”

“Okay,” she whispered, squeezing back. “And if you decide this isn’t what you want anymore?”

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