“Oh. Okay.” She rattles her bright, blonde head a bit more but ultimately scuttles urgently past me, out the door down the hall, and...
She fucks right off.
Perfect.
I chuck the satchel of hers off of my bed and let it tumble through the third story window before closing out the cold night air. I have mere seconds to take a seat on the small bed before the door opens slowly once more.
And I’m ready.
Ivy’s shining eyes are black as night, something I’ve never seen at home. Her big gaze meets mine for the first time in...forever.I was expecting us to be home by now. I was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her safe.
I wasn’t prepared for her to forget me.
The twisting sickness of that thought churns through my stomach, but I smile charmingly anyway.
“Ivy?” I stand with my own offering of pleasantries though I’m not as good at it as Bethory, but my sister seems excited to see me, nonetheless.
“I’ve never stayed away from home before,” she says with a confidence only dark magic can bring. It’s foreign to me, and my smile falters only slightly before I pull it back up into place.
“We’ll have the best of times.” And I mean it. I believe it. What little time we share here, it’ll be friendship and trust built up all over again.
We don’t need Pete Davidson’s sexy smile to form a friendship between us. We just need each other.
...I hope.
“What’s your heritage? Demon Descent? Shadow Demon? Horny Devil? Soul Eater? Imp?” She rattles off more and more, but I’ve already bitten back my tongue.
The Kingdom of Carnal homes a lot of demons, it’s true. But also outcasts of all sorts. Leavon finds what each girl is good at, and he has them focus on that until the magic here really brings it to life. Anyone can be a simple demon in this world. But some, some are Jackals, Zombies, and Skinwalkers. The Kingdom of Carnal accepts them all.
Even the freaks like me.
I can’t tell her what my true background is. Because if I reveal too much, it might link us too closely. That can cause distrust. And I don’t want her untrusting of me. I want her trust, and I want her to come home with me. Willingly.
It’s the only way.
“Succubus,” I say lamely. God, the sex demons are the worst. Get a real power and grow up already.
“Oh,” she says wide-eyed and innocently.
A hard smile curves my lips at her understanding of my “magic.” She’s the same sweet little girl who would beg me hunt fireflies with her and hide beneath the bed from Mom.
“Is it... is it wild?”
“The wildest,” I tell her with a sultry smile.
I may not truly be a horny, sex-addicted Monster, but I’m a woman all the same. And yeah, sex, it’s nice. It’s the empty small talk and lies guys give me after that ruins it.
Her giggle is a symphony of memories in my mind that warms me all throughout.
Until a bursting sound bangs through the small bedroom.
And there stands Bethory. Drenched from the rain like a wet dog.
“You lied!” An accusatory finger flings my way, and I stare back at the woman as if I’ve never seen her a day in my life. Certainly not today, anyway.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” I lift a delicate hand to my chest as if I’ve been fatally wounded by her accusation.
Her jaw nearly detaches and hits the floor with how wide-mouthed she’s gaping right now.