Page 81 of Demons of Eden

“She says your brother and his husband are by the barrier, and that they’re arguing with a large group of invaders. Apparently the invaders also trampled on some of her favourite plants in the fields that lie outside of the barrier,” Ash helpfully translates once the sprite has finished speaking.

“You’re talking about plants when there’s, what I presume is, a very angry mob of witches that are here to kill me?” I slip out from his one-armed embrace to look up at him incredulously.

“She was very insistent that I pass on that part too.” Ash shrugs, giving me a charming smile despite the obvious tension in his body. It’s mirrored by everyone else in the room, their concern for the situation obvious despite their attempts to appear calm.

“I’m sure she was. Well, tell her that I don’t need to go ‘hide in the burrow’ because I’m going out there to make sure my brother is okay.”

“We can do that,” Rio objects, gesturing to himself and Torrin. “You should stay here with Ash and the sprite.”

“Not a fucking chance. It’s my fault they’re here, and you’re high if you think I’d leave Forrest to take care of it alone.”

“He’ll be fine behind the barrier,” Torrin argues, trying to sway me into staying put.

“Well, if it’s so safe behind the barrier, there’s no reason I can’t go out there with you all, is there?” I argue right back, then I start moving out of the room before any of them can think of a better justification to use in order to keep me here.

I understand their need to protect me, but that means they should understand my need to protect them, too. What if I do nothing, and my brother is hurt, or worse? Or if I let Rio and Torrin go out there without me, and one of them is harmed instead? No fucking way.

We protect each other.

I’ll have to bring this up once this is dealt with. New rule: we all protect each other, and no one gets left behind, or else.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

When we reach my brother and Kit, it’s clear the shit has already hit the fucking fan.

It seems like almost two-thirds of my coven are here, all standing around in a large huddle of over a hundred witches. What’s worse is they’reinsideof the damn barrier, like it hadn’t hindered them in the slightest. At the front of the group is our coven’s leader, Zenith, with Alina and Lorcan standing at her sides. I find it a little odd that the other coven elders aren’t present, but maybe they’re simply hiding out of sight.

Forrest is yelling at them as we approach, his threats cutting off as he realises they’re all staring behind him. Staring at me. Yup, get your looks in now at the freaky witch who got pregnant with demon spawn, because you’re not going to be here for long.

Suvi and Daion had joined us along the way, and so the six of us join Forrest and Kit, standing in a line together. Well, seven if you include the damn sprite who had stubbornly followed us and has taken to standing on my demon’s left shoulder. Ash keepsclose to one of my sides, and Torrin takes the other, with Daion and Rio at his other side, staying as near as they can.

I open my mouth to demand what they’re doing here, despite already having a pretty good idea of it, but Suvi beats me to the punch.

“What happened to never bringing harm to another witch, or our duty to heal?” she snaps at our coven’s other few healers. They freeze, shock clear on their faces. I’m not sure if it’s her words or if it’s that she’s had the audacity to side with me, a demon-screwing heathen, and then berate them fortheirlack of ethics.

“We’re not here to cause harm,” a voice says, but it’s not one of the healers. My eyes dart to Alina, who is looking between my face and my stomach like she can’t believe what she’s seeing. The last time she’d seen me, my bump had been tiny, and now I look practically ready to burst. So, I suppose, her surprise makes sense, even if her words are complete fucking nonsense.

“It's a little hard to believe that when you’ve come after me and my unborn baby,” I retort furiously.

“We’re not coming after you. We’re here to help you,” she objects, a few members of the coven either echoing her words or nodding along.

Her mother, Zenith, is notably silent. She’s staring at my stomach almost covetously, and I don't think it’s because she’s looking to have more kids. If there’s something she desires, I'd bet on it being power, which is extremely bad news for me.

“And my baby?” I question, my eyes flickering between Alina and Zenith.

“Your…it’s not a normal baby, Eden,” Alina replies hesitantly, shifting her weight between her feet, clearly not having expected the protest. “You have to understand that, right? They will put usallin danger, including you andyour family. It’s more like you’ve been infected with a demon parasite.”

“Is that what you actually believe? That my child is just a demonic parasite? Because I can assure you, this is a baby.My baby.So what if they’re half-demon? Are you conveniently forgetting they’re also half-witch? That there are also plenty of demons who come to Earth and don’t cause any problems?”

“It’s what…” she trails off, looking at her mother, who catches the imploring eyes of her child and sighs deeply.

“You may be carrying the spawn, but the reality is that they will grow to be both powerful and extremely unstable, more so than a regular demon. All of their kind who have been allowed to live have caused chaos ever since the very first put our two species at odds. It is for the good of our entire community that this must be done.”

I wish I could point out that it’s untrue, that I could tell them all I've met a hybrid, and they live a somewhat normal life as a demon hunter. I can’t expose Daion’s secret, though. Especially not if the information could end up being discovered by Paimon. I want to scream at them for being ignorant, but seeing as everyone’s talking, maybe there’s still a chance to end this without resorting to hurling spells and fists at each other.

I’m worried about Forrest having to clear over a hundred dead bodies off the property, because if they attack, that's what will happen. We might be outnumbered, but they’re outmatched. I don’t know the full extent of Ash’s abilities, but I do know he’ll protect me and our child with all he’s got. Between him, and three demon hunters who are used to going up against opponents with far more raw strength and magical power, this isn’t going to be the easy win the coven thinks it is.

“There’s no guarantee they’ll end up like the others, and who knows if the records are even fully accurate? Maybe there have been others too, and we just don’t know about them becausethey never went mad or caused any trouble and instead stayed in hiding,” I respond, attempting to meet the eyes of as many of them as I can, hoping to make some at least consider the weight of what they’re attempting.

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