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

EVE

“ I t’s been too long. Maybe we should wake her?” Iris whispered, taking a look at our newest addition.

I wanted to let out a sigh, but for Iris’s sake, I held it in. The poor, delicate girl didn’t need anything else to stress her out. Though with her power, I’m sure she could already sense how I felt about the situation.

“The longer she sleeps, the better,” I replied, crossing my arms and looking at the sleeping girl with a scowl.

Why another one?

At that point, it was more and more undeniable that the demons who had taken us were likely farming us.

After we’d been forced into this small room, we had yet to meet another girl.

We had first been put in a large communal area with about twenty beds, and there had been others.

Then they started picking them, taking them one by one, slowly dwindling our numbers until Iris and myself were the only ones left.

But what I hadn’t figured out just yet was why they left the two of us. And why we had changed rooms.

Maybe it has something to do with our powers? Or maybe our end is getting closer and closer .

I pushed away the last thought. I didn’t want to think about my own death anymore.

I knew all of us had powers, but some were stronger. Apparently, Iris’s and mine were pretty obvious—or more important—ones, while others could just change an eye color for a few seconds or make their voices echo.

Nothing substantial. But if we were grouped by level… The girl sleeping in the bed likely had something strong inside her.

“But maybe we can think of a way to escap?—“

“You know that’s not an option,” I hissed, giving her a look. I felt bad immediately as her face paled. “Just let her be blissfully unaware of our situation. I’d join her if I could.” I added the last bit in a softer tone.

Iris was a sweet girl, more often than not fearful of our situation. Understandable. I was scared as fuck every time those doors opened.

But escaping wasn’t an option. Something I had told her time and time again. Yet since we’d been stuck in this room, she had become more adamant about escaping.

The room was misleading. The walls were draped in beautiful, shiny tapestries, with floor rugs made from a similar material. Above our heads was a large, extravagant chandelier. For human traffickers, the demons had expensive tastes.

It reminded me of a prisoner’s last meal. A courtesy before we were offed. Or sold. Or eaten, which is what I assumed demons wanted us for.

I had heard some of the guards joking about it before. Saying how delicious our fear smelled. How it made the meat taste better.

Since then, I’d been trying to reel in my fear. At least it was something I could still control.

“What if they come?—“

The new girl groaned and pushed herself up from the bed. Finally, someone to save me from this conversation. I was done playing the what-if game. If that was what Iris wanted to do, good for her, but I didn’t want my possible imminent death taking up any more space in my mind than it had.

“I’m awake, Jesus H. Chri?—“

She went silent when she saw us staring at her. I don’t blame you, girl. I was weirded out too when I woke up in a random place with strangers staring at me . She took in everything from our matching slips to the high beds and the expensive drapery before her eyes wandered back to us.

When I first came to, I thought it was a cult. All the girls dressed the same, with the same beds and the same fearful expressions. Until I remembered the weird, winged demon that had knocked me out.

Still have to get her back for that one. Hopefully I could get a punch in before my death.

I internally cringed at the thought of my own death, again.

“Are you okay?” Iris asked hesitantly.

“I’m… as good as I could be after getting kidnapped.”

I threw my head back, unable to contain my laugh. It had been a while since I allowed myself to laugh. I wiped the tears from my eyes and gave the new girl a smirk.

Finally! Someone with some sense! How refreshing!

“At least your brain’s working,” I said, then nudged Iris with my elbow. “This is Iris. I’m Eve. There are a few other girls, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen them. I assume they’re dead.”

“Eve! ” Iris hissed.

I merely shrugged the girl off. I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it. Not only would the new girl figure it out soon enough, but she actually seemed like someone who could handle the truth instead of crying in their bunk, tearing their hair out.

“I’m Mia, by the way,” she said, a forced smile gracing her face.

Iris gave her a nod before turning to glare at me .

“We don’t know what happened to them, but you shouldn’t scare her,” Iris muttered.

“Can’t you tell if she is or not?” I asked, giving her a look. An empath. That was what I had learned about Iris’s gift so far. I didn’t know her limits or how much she could actually tell. But it was something. The girls—myself included at times—didn’t like sharing too much about their gifts.

One of the last things we got to keep. As they stripped away our clothes, our identities, everything that made us who we were… the least we could do was keep one secret to ourselves.

“I’m not that good of an actor,” Mia said with a small laugh, her hand coming to tug at her hair. “I’m still trying to digest everything, so I’m not sure my mind knows how to be anything but confused right now.”

I sat up straight, giving her a devilish smile.

How fun . She doesn’t even know. In my short time in captivity, I had learned of only a few girls who didn’t know about their powers.

It seemed the crazy, red-winged demon lady had given everyone the same spiel—or lack thereof—so some girls came to us more confused than others.

I loved watching the realization dawn on them.

Some people were happy they weren’t alone in the world. Weren’t freaks. Others thought it was a death sentence.

I wasn’t sure they were wrong about that.

“No, that’s her thing,” I explained. “She can see it, can’t you, little mouse?”

“Don’t call me that,” Iris ordered. I gave her a wink. She was fun to mess with. Her innocent look brought out the playfulness in me.

“See what?” Mia asked, desperation slipping into her voice. “ Please . I’m losing it here.”

Iris paused. I let her take the lead. After all, it was her gift we were talking about, not mine .

“I can read emotions,” she said after a moment. “ See them. Kinda like an aura.”

Mia swallowed thickly. “So, what can you… see?”

I was wondering that myself. Mia looked composed, but just for a moment there she also looked… worried? Maybe there was something she didn’t want us to know.

Something more than her power?

“You’re confused,” Iris told her. “It’s frustrating you. You weren’t scared… until I told you about my gift. Sorry.”

Poor little mouse. Her disheartened tone made even a heart as cold as mine crack a bit.

“It’s not you. It’s just this whole situation?—“

“It’s okay, I was freaked out about it too,” I said, cutting her off. “I don’t like people seeing into me like that. Which brings me to you. What can you do? Read minds? Fly? Teleport?”

She looked at me like I had two heads. She really doesn’t know. Had she been walking around her entire life not knowing she had some sort of power at her fingertips?

Admittedly, not all of them were cool. I even thought mine was subpar at times. But not to know at all? Even the ones who came to us unaware had some notion that they were different.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“It took a lot of talking, but we figured it out between us and the few that came before you,” I answered slowly. “We all have something. Iris is auras. I can tell when someone lies. And you?”

Her entire body stilled. She’s not gonna tell us. Great. A bit of a disappointment, seeing as how these two girls would probably be the last humans I interacted with before my untimely?—

Stop it.

I wished I could smack the thoughts of death right out of my mind.

“She’s having a breakdown,” Iris said, her back going straight .

“ No, ” Mia offered. “It’s just… She called me a spirit seer.”

She can see ghosts. Fuck, that’s a cool skill.

I would kill to talk to the ghosts of my clients’ dead relatives. The money I could get with that made my mouth water.

Being able to tell if someone was lying had its advantages in my line of work, but I could think of so many more things I could do if I had her power.

I relaxed into the bed, allowing an easy smile to spread across my face. I guess she was just nervous to share. “Well, then maybe you can spot the one that comes into our room to deliver food.”

Iris seemed hesitant to interact with the girl after her admission.

She knows something I don’t.

“Food?” Mia asked. “How long have you been here?”

“Almost a week,” I said. “Iris is on day three.”

As if on cue, the door slammed open.

Iris was always super affected by the thing that skulked into our room, but not me.

It was invisible, but it held an aura to it.

I had once seen it lift a girl up and over what I guessed was its shoulder and haul her out.

She had been one of the ones who couldn't quite handle the news that she had been kidnapped by demons and was likely going to die within days.

She threw up. Yelled and screamed at the wall.

Everything that we wanted to do but didn't.

That was my first interaction with the creature. Its invisibility was off-putting the first few times, but I had been kidnapped by fucking demons, so I had to be open to whatever the universe wanted to throw at me. I had learned my lesson by watching what happened to the other girls.

That's why I knew we could never escape. How were we supposed to go up against a crazy monster no one could see?

“Oh, it’s the food,” I said dryly. “Don’t try to run. That’s how the last one disappeared. ”

I looked at Mia, her eyes narrowed in on the invisible entity. She can see it. Her power had to be stronger than any of ours.

“So… did you see it?” I asked, trying to hide the hesitancy in my voice.

She did. I didn’t need her answer to know, but I wanted it. I wanted to see if the new girl would lie to me.

“That wasn’t a ghost,” she murmured. “Whatever it was…”

She shuddered, unable to continue. There was no bitterness coating my tongue.

She’s telling the truth.

“It’s angry, and in pain,” Iris whispered. “Maybe another type of demon?”

I shook my head. “If that was the case, we would see it.”

The girls didn’t speak for a long while after that. Neither did I.

Fine by me. If we were going to die in this hellhole, I would appreciate some time to decompress.