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“—accidentally.”

“And you took my blood—”

“—borrowed.”

Evan gritted his teeth. “So, shouldn’t you be a little grateful? Or did you leave your morals back in hell?”

The demon fell silent. Scarlet eyes wandered across Evan’s face, then down. A possessive glint flickered in his pupils as he stared at the fading puncture wounds on Evan’s neck.

“Grateful…” The word drawled past the demon’s lips into the dark. Evan stiffened on the floor as the demon straightened to his feet, circling around Evan before taking a seat at the edge of the bed and folding his arms across his broad chest.

Evan had no idea what to expect the demon to say next, but it definitely wasn’t—

“Thank you,” scarlet eyes zeroed on Evan, gleaming brighter as he murmured, “For setting me free.”

Evan’s pupils dilated, dumbstruck and mesmerized all at once. From what little he could recall about demons he’d read years ago, he knew they were tricksters, one of the most dangerous beings of the dark with no sense of empathy towards humans whatsoever.

But even if itwasa trick or a fake skin, this demon’s aesthetic—his jaw-dropping allure and magnetic sex appeal—seemed unfair to all men in all the realms.

And the way he spoke, if Evan hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought he was being sincere. But he was ademon. A master of the art of sweet-talk.

Despite the heat swirling in the pit of his stomach, Evan narrowed his eyes at the red-clad figure.

At this point, Evan was aware of two things. One, the demon didn’t intend on killing him. At least not anytime soon. Or Evan wouldn’t have made it out of Greene Mansion alive.

And second, Evan hated the way the demon looked at him.

Considering only the first point, Evan came to one conclusion.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

For the first time since he’d crept into Evan’s bedroom, like a pervert on a panty hunt, the demon blinked, confused. “Whatever do you mean?”

Unable to help himself, Evan forced a laugh out, gritting his teeth to keep himself from combusting. He turned to face the demon and sat cross-legged on the floor. “Let’s not play dumb anymore. You’re here because you want something from me. What is it?”

Evan wasn’t an expert in demonology but had some basic knowledge about the species. For example, demons were manipulative and deceitful and were known to cunningly lure humans into forming a blood contract with them. They’d give an impossible task to the human bound to them, and upon failure to complete the said task, they’d lose their soul to the demon.

The weight of the realization that he could be one of those humans dropped like lead in Evan’s stomach.

Had they formed a contract when the demon hadborrowedhis blood? Was he here to take Evan’s soul?

Likehell, he could. There was no way Evan was dying so easily. Not before he could make sure Celie wouldn’t suffer from his absence like Evan had from their father’s. As long as he was needed by his sister, Evan was going to live. Even if for just one more day.

“What do you want?” Evan stared at the demon. He was sitting poised on the bed, relaxed, completely opposite to the man on the floor. Even though serious on the outside, Evan’s skeleton was rattling against his organs as he held those scarlet eyes.

If the demon asked for his soul, Evan planned to jump out the window and bee-line for Rhea’s shop. She would most likely help him get rid of this thing. That was the plan.

A pretty shitty plan.Dying would be so much easier and less embarrassing.

Evan mentally slapped himself. He should’ve read that book about demons when he’d gotten his hands on it. At least he would’ve had an idea how to deal with a demon on his own.

After studying Evan’s face for a good minute, the demon smirked. “You got me,” leaning forward, he perched his elbows over his knees, fangs flashing as he spoke. “Thereissomething I want. And I want it from you.”

Evan’s face paled. “What is that?”

“Your help,” the demon said, leaning close enough that his breath fanned over Evan’s face.

With a rigid body and frozen vocal cords, Evan forced the words out, “My…help?”