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“What’s wrong with you two?” Eris asks, her voice dripping with disdain. “I thought you had better manners than warding against old friends.”

I’m moving without thought, pushing through the gate. Then I’m throwing my arms around Eris as I hug her tight, the demon grunting from the impact.

“Fuck. When did you become so sentimental?” Eris grouches but her arms come around me, giving me an awkward pat. “And you let the male knock you up, eh?”

A sound that’s half laugh, half sob comes out of me and I let her go, shaking my head. “Twice, if you can believe it,” I answer, then shove her shoulder. “And I’ve always been sentimental.”

Ashe comes up beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and tugging me into his side. “So, not dead then?”

“Not dead,” Eris confirms. “I’m surprised too. But, ehh, Hell wasn’t done with me yet.”

“Aeternaphiel?” Ashe asks.

She shrugs. “In Hell stripped of all his archangel powers and currently serving as the lapdog to one of the dark princes. The Resplendents up in the heavens have abandoned him, as he deserves.”

I sniffle, cursing the pregnancy hormones for making me so weepy. With a twist of my fingers, my wards part to allow her through. I point with my thumb over my shoulder. “I was just about to make an early dinner. Would you like to join us?”

Eris looks like she’s about to decline but then shrugs. “Why not. I did come all this way after all.”

“Why did you come?” Ashe asks, gesturing for Eris and I to go first back through the gate. He’s wary, as he should be considering Eris is a demon.

She looks over her shoulder at him and winks. “Oh, have I got a story for you.”

Eris hooks her arm through mine and I shake my head at her teasing my mate. It doesn’t matter why Eris is back, even if I suspect she’s made up some excuse just to visit. She knows me and the possession went both ways. I know her better than anyone else in the realms.

“Whatever the reason,” I say as I push open the door. “We’re glad to have you. I missed you, if you can believe it.”

The demon scoffs. “Of course, I can believe it. I’m fucking wonderful.”

Even Ashe laughs at that. I shake my head again and push her towards the hearth, where Josephine sits with Anthony. I head back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner, smiling broadly as my son starts peppering Eris with questions. To my surprise, she answers patiently... for now.

My world settles, as if a long missing piece has finally returned. The babe in my stomach kicks, as if in agreement. I pat my bump and reach for the olive oil, listening to the sounds of my family, and get on with making dinner.