Page 17 of Taken to the Demon Court (Stolen Demon Brides #3)

EVE

“ T ell me the plan again,” I murmured, my hand running up Oros’s arm.

Eros was behind me, her hands wrapped around my waist. Her breathing was steady, but I knew she was awake.

We were all gloriously naked, cuddled in their bed after spending the rest of the night and morning fucking. Turns out the twins were so much better at controlling their bloodlust thing when they had me together. I wasn’t complaining. I’d stopped caring about what I should and shouldn’t do.

Fuck that.

I want them both, and they want me.

They were both so thorough I wasn’t sure I even had a favorite anymore.

“There’s a banquet,” she whispered. “Father invites his closest people and loses himself in humans and bloodlust. We never go because?—”

“It’s disgusting. Vile ,” Eros mumbled against my skin. She had been against the plan from the beginning.

“But it’s the first time he’s meeting with his inner circle since the treasurer was caught,” Oros said. “His lips will start to loosen once the bloodlust takes over. You know him.”

“But this time we have Eve,” Eros said, lifting her head and no doubt sending her twin a glare. “I don’t want her to see that . And having to protect her in a room filled with bloodthirsty demons? You barely held it together when you smelled her fear.”

Oros’s gaze narrowed at her sister. The threat in her eyes was deadly.

“If you hate the plan so much, why don’t you try to come up with something? You never even try; you just leave it to me to do all the?—”

I placed my hand over Oros’s mouth, and I could feel her frown against my palm.

“Let’s not say anything we regret,” I said and sent her a smile before turning to face Eros. Her expression mirrored her twin’s.

I hate seeing them so unhappy.

“Thank you for your concern.” I ran my fingers over the wrinkles on her forehead. “But I know you’ll protect me. You did so last time, and I know you can do so this time.”

“It will change the way you see us,” she said, her voice lowering. She couldn’t look me in the eyes. “Those parties show just how deplorable our true nature is.”

Something clenched in my chest. Images flashed through my mind. Demons eating humans. Tearing off their limbs. Sinking their teeth into our flesh.

Am I ready for that? I knew the answer already. It was a resounding no . But for them… I needed to do it.

Oros’s hands snaked around my waist, her lips near my ear.

“My dear sister is worried that, once you see what we truly are, you’ll no longer want to share a bed with us.”

“More than that,” Eros said, her eyes digging into mine.

She said forever .

Her admission rang through my head with a renewed force. She must have felt the same because she leaned in, her lips centimeters away from mine.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. My limbs weren’t listening, and my brain was scrambled.

Do they really want me that bad? Me? Out of everyone they could have?

“It will work,” Oros said, her hand traveling down my bare stomach. “Now spread your legs for us, Eve. Take my sister’s mind off the job.”

I did as she said, leaning back into Eros as Oros’s mouth found my neck, leaving hot, wet kisses down toward my chest. This I can handle. The pleasure. Sex.

At least I thought I could. But it felt even more powerful knowing that they truly wanted me to stay.

I gasped when her hand found my slick core. They played me with ease, knowing exactly which touches and words would send me spiraling.

Her fingers circled my clit before teasing my entrance. I arched into her, begging for more. But just as she was going to push her fingers into me, she paused. I could feel the smile pulling at her lips.

“I just knew you were a fucking pervert,” Eros said, amusement in her tone.

What?

Eros’s head raised, and I followed her gaze to see a darkness covering the end of our bed. In the middle, there was a demon I’d seen at the auction. Her eyes were completely black, her white pupils digging into me.

I let out a shocked noise and attempted to hide myself beneath the covers as Oros glared at the demon.

“I heard a rumor. I came to see if it was true,” the demon said. The room got darker as if our very own storm was raging inside it .

“Speak,” Oros commanded, her anger obvious in her tone.

How the hell did the demon get in here?

“Allura was known to frolic at the edges of this realm. She hasn't been seen in weeks.”

Eros’s head turned to Oros. I could feel them having a silent conversation while I was stuck in the middle, not knowing what to do.

Who is Allura? Whoever she was, she was important to this demon.

“I saw her around,” Oros said. “But I made sure to send her on her way.”

I stayed silent, observing how the demon’s jaw clenched.

“And did she actually go on her way?” she asked, her voice low.

“The first time,” Oros replied.

“And the second?”

“I tried to stop it.” Eros finally spoke up. There was a sadness to her voice. I had been around them long enough to know that whatever had happened was weighing heavily on Eros.

The room shook. The light flickered before going out. A strong presence was leaking from the demon and suffocating us.

“Fuck.”

Then I felt it. The slithering coldness of something grabbing me. My hands. My ankles. Wrapping around my torso.

It feels like death.

“A life for a life,” she growled.

No. Am I seriously going to die here like this? The twins promised to keep me safe ? —

“Please, Yien, let’s talk?—”

Yien. Memories of the first time I’d attended a court proceeding ran through my mind. They mentioned her. Mentioned a relative of hers …

Horror gripped at my insides. The twins had tried to stop it from happening. They were telling the truth.

But it wasn’t enough. Not for Yien.

“Talk?” The demon asked. “Don’t you think you should have talked to me the first time she was caught?”

Windows broke. I tried to break out of whatever was holding me, but I was stuck. My breathing quickened, each inhale making it harder and harder to breathe.

Eros and Oros were by my side, their hands on me. Their faces were stricken with a panic I had never seen before.

“One royal favor,” Oros said quickly. Eros’s arms were wrapping around me, trying to pry me from Yien’s grasp. “It’s not the same as her life, but we'll grant you a favor—anything within our power.”

“I would have sent for you,” Eros said. “But I assumed you knew.”

“Well, I didn’t,” the demon hissed. “I will hold you to that fucking favor.”

In a flash, she was gone, and so was the coldness that had taken over my body.

I let out a heavy breath as Oros’s and Eros’s warm arms wrapped around me.

“I’m sorry,” Eros whispered against me. “It won’t happen again.”

There was a slight bitterness in my mouth after she said it; she wasn’t sure of what she was saying. Oros remained silent.

And even after Eros’s promises of forever, I couldn’t help but wonder.

What if I can’t survive here with them?