Page 29 of Kiss of a Hellish Prince

“The fuck does that mean?” I stood with my hands on my hips. I didn’t care if she lied to me or if I was mad at her. No one threatened my family.

“It means we will bind her angel side. It’s a grueling, painful process that will leave her an empty shell. We will take away any gifts she may have that she may or may not realize are part of her. Including any artistic talents.” Matthew rolled his eyes. “Although seeing as she has already desecrated her body with those filthy drawings, maybe that is for the best.”

I have never wanted to punch someone in the mouth more in my life.

Rune pulled me back to the couch. He unclenched my fist and laced his fingers between mine.

“We need to test Vivi,” Darrius said, changing the subject. “I sent a text to Evie and Murmur asking them to come back in so we can do the last test.”

It took several minutes of painfully awkward silence for the girls to get here.

Vivi was brushing sleep from her eyes and yawning when they walked in. “What’s going on?”

Rune got up and knelt on one knee in front of Vivi so they were eye to eye.“Your sister is like us. We think you might be too. With your permission, we would like to do a simple test to find out. Would that be okay?”

Vivi looked at him for a moment, her head cocked to the side. “What do you mean, like you? She doesn’t have horns or wings.”

“Not all demons have horns or wings, but even if she does, they may not start appearing until she’s in her mid-twenties.”

“Wait, do demons go through puberty twice? That sounds terrible!” Vivi scrunched her face in disgust.

Rune laughed. “It’s not so bad.”

“Okay, but does this mean I get superpowers?” Vivi jumped up and down on her toes, her previous objection already forgotten.

“Ugh, enough of this stalling!” Matthew snapped. He grabbed Vivi by the arm and pulled her towards him.

I tried to get up and reach for my sister, howdarethis asshat manhandle her! Rune put his arm out to stop me. Vivi let out a yelp while she struggled to pull away from him. When he grabbed the giant needle and held it like a dagger, she let out a piercing scream.

Rune grabbed Matthew by the neck and thrust him against the wall, holding him pinned in place.

Vivi ran to me, and I scooped her into my arms and held her away from Matthew, putting my body in between them. She was shaking again. What the hell was wrong with this asshole?

“What did we miss?” Tabberius walked into the room, took one look at Matthew, and started rubbing his temples.

Rune’s fangs were out. He held the angel by the throat and growled as Matthew struggled, his face turning red.

“Rune, drop him,” Ulric demanded, sounding bored by the entire thing.

Rune ignored his father’s order and growled in the angel’s face as it started to turn blue.“These girls are under my protection. You do not touch them without their permission,” he spat.

“Seriously, what did we miss?” Murmur asked.

Vivi pointed an accusatory finger at Matthew. “He tried to stab me with a big dagger thingy,” she cried.

“Rune, put him down!” Ulric said again.

“At least let him breathe,” Darrius added.

Rune must have loosened his grip because Matthew, still against the wall, feet dangling, took a few deep breaths, and his face started to return to its normal color.

“I was just trying to take some blood for the test,” he wheezed.

“Consent matters, asshole!” Vivi screamed from my arms.

Tabberius rolled his eyes and knelt in front of Vivi. “My deepest apologies, little one, for my rude friend. He shouldn’t have scared you. I am working on teaching him some manners, but I fear he may be a lost cause.”

Vivi giggled. Tabberius offered her his hand. Vivi reached out and let him take her hand between both of his.

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