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As he closed the distance, Evan powerlessly tried to recreate some space, only for Xen’s wide strides to swallow them up again. This back and forth continued until Evan felt the cool wall of the living room against his back.

Evan clenched his jaws, ignoring the heat radiating from the demon’s body. “You—”

“I am your shadow, Little Storm,” Xen pressed his palms against the wall, on either side of Evan’s head, his low voicecaressing Evan’s ears. “When has a shadow ever forsaken the body?”

Evan held his breath, afraid even a little movement might draw them closer. But as defiant as he was, he answered Xen’s rhetorical question. “In the dark.”

A smile quirked Xen’s lip.

Tendrils of demonic energy wafted off his body and coiled around Evan, caressing his nape like smoky fingers, their touch warm. Evan shuddered.

“You will never be in the dark again,” Xen uttered the words with such confidence that for a brief moment, Evan believed him. For a brief moment, misunderstood his mockery for sincerity.

He was a demon. Sweet-talking and bluffing were his forte. But even if he was bluffing, his words sounded so sincere that Evan, by default, wanted to counter his kindness.

“You can’t stop darkness,” he said.

“Iamdarkness,” Xen’s smile turned cold, and a chill ran down Evan’s spine. The black tendrils snuck into the collar of his shirt, dipping deeper until they brushed his nipple.

At the sudden intrusion, Evan gasped, blinking out of the trance he’d slipped into. “What are you—”

“Say the word,” Xen whispered, stepping so close that his next words fanned against Evan’s face. “Say the word and I will set this world alight. Then there will be nothing but light around you. Don’t you agree?”

Evan stilled, searching those dark eyes brimming with seriousness and a tinge of amusement.

But something about his statement didn’t sound right.

“If there is no darkness in the world,” Evan murmured, “where will you go?”

Didn’t demons and similar creatures thrive in the shadows? Did he plan on exterminating himself in the process of setting alight Evan’s world? Could he really be that stupid?

Momentarily, Xen’s expressions hardened, although he tried to curtain it with a chuckle. “Careful, Evan, or I might think you actually want me around.”

Evan’s eyebrow twitched. Initially he’d assumed Xen to be the type who was brutally and quite shamelessly honest, unbothered by what effect his words had on others. He was a demon after all. Not caring about human feelings was his second nature.

But Evan had not expected even someone like Xen to show signs of reluctance. It made him doubt his impression of Xen.

Evan scoffed, “Like fuck, I do.”

A warm finger traced along the line of Evan’s jaw before a thumb pressed against his lower lip. “This mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day.”

Evan ground his molars, the movement seeming to draw Xen’s attention to his lips more strongly.

With a huff, Evan dipped under Xen’s arm and stormed back into his room before slamming the door shut. Not a second later, a soft knock came from the other side, followed by a chuckle.

“You know this piece of wood can’t stop me, right?”

Evan gritted out, “Oh, it might. If I shove it deep enough up your gut.”

He didn’t know why, but he could imagine Xen smiling on the other side of the door, and—for the first time since their unfortunate encounter—Xen didn’t intrude into Evan’s personal space.

Evan usually stayed away from people, as if by nature. Whoever said humans were social creatures had obviously left Evan out of the equation. But the way Xen crawled on his nerves was fascinating. Almost hilarious. His presence madeEvan’s skin crawl with…something. And as much as he tried to rationalize it as disgust, a voice in his head said otherwise.

After a brief moment of silence, Xen spoke again. “What is your sister like?”

Evan momentarily stopped chewing on his lips and glanced at the closed door.

Why is he asking about my sister?