Page 105 of The Devil and His Goddess

“You came out just in time,” Mitch said as he set me back on my feet. “I was about to come in there and throw all of this cookie dough at you.” He swiped some of the sticky dough that covered his hands onto my nose.

I didn’t even care. My glassy eyes darted between my brothers. They hadn’t changed much since I saw them last. Todd still had the same floppy black hair and dusting of a potential beard on his chin. Mitch was still a few inches shorter than his older brother, with his close-shaven hair and bright blue eyes. They wore matching red-and-white Christmas sweaters with green text that declared they’d trade their sister for presents.

Laughing, I looped my arms around each of their necks and got on my tiptoes as I held them tightly once more. When I released my brothers, my mom and dad were right there with their equally dark hair and light eyes. They quickly pulled me into their arms.

“Surprise!” Mom squealed as she hugged me.

“Did we do good keeping this a secret?” Dad asked, smiling down at me.

“I had no idea,” I answered with another laugh, wiping the happy tears from my face. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Your boyfriend invited us in for the holidays,” Todd said and pointed at Perseus, who watched all of us with a warm smile from his place at the island.

“Yeah,” Mitch chimed in. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as he griped, “How could you not tell us you’re datingPerseusfrom Sinners Do It Better? Do you know how much I love that band? I can’t believe you kept your famous boyfriend a secret from us!”

I opened my mouth to correct them about Perseus being my boyfriend, but Perseus spoke before I could.

“I’m notthatfamous,” Perseus argued, only to be called a liar by my brothers.

With stars in their eyes, the two rejoined him at the island. I knew my brothers were into the type of music that Sinners Do It Better created, but I could never keep up with all the bands they were into. Knowing that Sinners Do It Better was one of Mitch’s favorites made the situation we found ourselves in even more surreal.

“We’re getting the cookies started before we decorate,” Mom revealed as she took my hand and pulled me alongside her.

I joined my family at the island, though not before falling into Mr. and Mrs. Jackson’s arms for a hard squeeze. Aiysha’s little brother, Dion, and her sister, Sierra, were next, and my heart warmed more and more with each embrace.

I took a place between Perseus and my mom with my brothers across from me. Everyone else found whatever spare space they could around the large marble island.The Nutcrackersoundtrack continued to play from the TV speakers, just like every Christmas, and that tradition made the glee filling my chest that much brighter.

I didn’t hear Tchaikovsky and spiral into a world of grief. I didn’t hearSwan Lakemelodies amidThe Nutcrackerones. Instead, the classical music spurred a euphoric feeling of home, of family, of loved ones.

“So how are you feeling?” Mom asked as she gave me dough to roll out and cut with the dozens of cookie-cutter options. She smiled at me, but I saw the worry in the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “Perseus said you got injured, so you were taking time off of ballet to recover.”

The hint of pain in her otherwise cheerful tone told me the real questions she wanted to ask.

What happened?

Why didn’t you tell me something was wrong?

Are you okay?

I couldn’t answer her. I didn’twantto answer her. I was so fucking happy—happier than I’d been in nearly a month—and I didn’t want to ruin this moment by going down that road.

So I wore a grin and began to work on my cookies. “It’s just a typical overworked muscle injury. I’ll be fine at the start of the new year.”

Her light eyes tightened as she studied me for a sign of the lie. She’d always had a scary ability to tell when something was wrong with me, Todd, or Mitch. Thankfully, she looked away and let it go. Maybe she knew I needed this. I needed to be with them and enjoy every little moment without that darkness swooping in.

“Here you go,” Perseus said softly as he placed an empty baking sheet near me. His green eyes snagged mine, and the tenderness in his gaze made my chest tighten. “For your cookies.”

I smiled, feeling a surge of yearning rising up. He’d done this. He’d brought my family here to his home, opened it up for us to make a mess of it with cookies and holiday decorations. Hell, he even wore a damn sweater with a llama decked out in Christmas lights and a Santa hat. Forme. This demon had done all of this forme.

A ball of dough suddenly hit Perseus square in the chest. His eyes widened as he watched it fall to the floor, and we both whipped our heads around to find the source of the rogue food.

“Don’t stare at my sister like that,” Todd ordered with narrowed eyes. “We haven’t grilled you yet to make sure you’re worthy.”

Perseus smiled. “I’m not. I never will be.”

The response made the air in my lungs that much thinner. How wrong he was.

“No, you’re awesome,” Mitch declared with a sparkle in his eye as he stared at Perseus. He quickly leaned into Todd and hissed, “Dude, he’sPerseus. Look at his house. He flew us inandpaid for the rental we’re in while here.”

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