Page 6 of Taken to the Demon Court (Stolen Demon Brides #3)

EROS

A ris’s human was the first one. A small thing that was glaring at Madam. It was comical.

But the way the human fought against Aris was more amusing than I expected.

Aris had really met her match with this one.

“Let me go, you asshole!”

Oros and I let out matching laughs as we watched the demon pull her back to her seat. Humans were so interesting.

Especially when they had no idea what they were getting into.

Madam’s voice echoed throughout the room, pulling our attention back to the stage.

“Next up, we have a human lie detector,” she said and motioned to the tall girl who was walking across the stage with a scowl.

Her dark hair fell around her shoulder in light waves.

The slip she was in hugged her curves deliciously, giving me all sorts of dirty thoughts about exploring them with my claws.

“Not a very exciting gift, but when I tell you she is powerfu?—”

“A royal favor,” I said. I didn’t need to raise my voice for the entire room to fall silent .

I ignored Aris and Yien as they situated Aris’s human, my eyes narrowed on my human on stage, currently glaring at me.

Excitement raced up my spine.

Madam looked at me for one long second before a grin split her face.

“Sold to Eros of the royal court.”

No one tried to fight me for her. They would be out of their minds to do so anyway.

“Go get our prize,” I said, looking at Oros.

The command seemed to surprise her. As if I hadn’t understood the hints she gave Aris.

I knew my sister was curious about the human lie detector in that way. I had seen her with humans before, so I knew she had a preference for them.

Would this human be susceptible to her advances ? That would be something we’d both have to figure out. But if there was one thing Oros and I had in common, it was that we found no greater joy than watching our partner come apart because of us.

Oros advanced on the stage with quick steps, only for the human to shrink back. She glared at my sister, her body tensing.

“Touch me and you’ll regret it,” she warned.

I couldn’t see it, but I knew there was a smile on Oros’s face.

“I’m not sure I will,” she replied, and in a blink of an eye, Oros was behind her, whispering in her ear. The human’s eyes widened, and the telltale smell of fear burst through the air.

But then Oros hit the back of the girl’s neck, rendering her unconscious before gently picking her up and carrying her to me.

The demons she passed looked at her with envy. I had no doubt they would have fought for her if it hadn’t been us bidding—and what we offered for her. Still, now that they knew we were interested, the want for the human grew .

“We should leave soon,” Oros whispered.

“And miss out on the fun?” I asked and carefully took the unconscious human from her arms.

I was so focused on her that I didn’t even realize the next one had come on stage.

“Last but not least, we have an empath!” Madam announced.

A silence descended onto the crowd before the yelling started. The human in my arms didn’t even stir.

“Twenty royal coins and a fire gem.”

“Thirty coins!”

“A portion of The Glowing Isle!”

The poor shadow demon was running out of luck. She wasn’t from a particularly rich realm, but neither was Aris. And that’s just how the auctions played out—whoever could give Madam the most valuable thing would win.

No one ever said it had to be money.

“Maybe if you beg, I’ll buy her for you,” Oros said, a smile curling her lips.

I gave my sister a wicked grin. I loved seeing her mischievous side. Especially since she so rarely showed it.

Something about the demons at our side seemed to pull it out of her.

“Don’t you have a plaything to take home?” she shot back. “Hurry before she wakes up and rejects you.”

Oros’s smile turned into a deep scowl. I couldn’t help the smirk that flitted across my face. I ran my claws down her cheek.

For some reason, I didn’t think that would be a problem.

“At least we have one,” I muttered. Oros let out a laugh.

“Half a soul sphere!”

Shouts rang. Chairs were thrown. Some started pushing and shoving at each other. I let myself watch it unfold .

Maybe a more responsible court member would put a stop to the chaos.

But a responsible court member wouldn’t even have shown up to the auction.

I laughed when someone forced their hand straight into the skull of the person who offered the sphere.

“Empaths are a hot commodity, it seems,” Madam called out over the roaring crowd. “Let’s add something interesting to this bet, hm? Does anyone have another soul sphere to offer?”

The shadow demon raised her hand.

What?

This was better than any court nonsense.

“We should come to these more often,” I whispered to Oros. This time, she didn’t smile at me, but she did reach her clawed hand out to touch the human’s soft hair.

Aris and the shadow demon kept bickering until Yien confidently said, “A soul sphere… of a realm ruler.”

Silence fell across the room.

Even Oros and I turned to look at her.

If the court hears about this…

“Proof,” Madam demanded. The human on the stage was starting to shake. I could smell the fear coming from her now too. But my eyes moved from her to watch Yien.

Her shadows moved toward the body of the demon Aris had killed to get her human. They covered him fully, but the power of what was happening rippled across the space.

When she pulled her shadows back, there was only a single, black orb with a red core floating where the body had been.

Aris yanked the human out of her shadows faster than I’d ever seen her move before.

“That hurts me,” Yien said. “I thought we were friends.”

“I didn’t know you could?—“

“Sold! ”

The shadow demon was quick to take her prize and disappear without a moment of hesitation.

Fair. I looked at Oros with a smile.

“Ready to take our prize home?”