Page 8 of Taken to the Demon Court (Stolen Demon Brides #3)

EROS

I s she… ignoring me?

Purchasing the human was probably the best decision I had made in years.

She was intelligent, sharp, and ready to tell it like it was. There was something else hiding beneath the surface, though. She didn’t feel like the standard human girls we had in the court, power or not.

She is not afraid of us.

The secrets I knew she was keeping were enticing. And nothing ended up staying secret from me for long. All it took was a little persuasion . And I was sure the payout would be worth it in the end with her.

From the time she woke up in my lap, whatever fear she had felt in the auction house had disappeared.

She didn’t shy away from us, nor did she look like she was plotting her escape.

She looked over the estate with curious eyes, like she was actually interested in learning the layout of her temporary home.

I wanted to play with her, and from her scent, it seemed like she wanted to play with me as well. She wasn’t outright accepting my advances—yet—but I knew she would. I was confident in my abilities.

She almost made me forget why we brought her to the estate in the first place. The plans to infiltrate the court and catch Father in his lie felt like a forgotten dream that was replaced with wondering what she’d be like when I finally got her in my bed.

It was hard to keep the bloodlust at bay when all I could think about was sinking my teeth into her flesh as she came around my fingers.

But I was hiding it well… or at least I thought I was until we reached the gardens.

I picked one of the bloodred flowers the groundskeepers had imported from another realm. It wasn’t shaped like the plants we had in this one. The red petals extended out like vines and curled outward.

It smelled fragrant. Sweet with a mix of fresh rainwater.

A rarity that I was set on giving to her.

But when I turned, she wasn’t close to me. She was standing by Oros.

Oros, who looked down at her with a small scowl while the human looked up at her with a look I could only describe as pensive .

“Aren’t you going to ask me my name?” the human asked, a smile pulling at her lips.

“Do you want me to?” Oros asked. “Eros’s attention not enough for you?”

The human leaned forward, getting far closer to a bloodthirsty demon than most dared.

“Maybe I want yours ,” she answered with a grin. “I can feel your eyes. It would be a bit rude for me to ignore you, wouldn’t it?”

Oros scanned her face before a rare smile pulled at her lips, but she still didn’t ask. Not that I would’ve expected her to. My sister could be seen as somewhat shy at times. And to have the human directly ask her probably threw her off-kilter more than it would me.

It’s her first day in the palace, and she’s already so full of surprises.

The human smirked and then turned away, only to stop beside me, meeting my gaze before walking straight past.

Why didn’t she ask me?

I expected her to. That’s how it often worked—Oros would not answer or ignore people, and they would turn to me for an answer instead.

But she didn’t

“Well, I want to know your name, darling,” I said, walking after her.

It was more of a need by that point. I internally kicked myself for not asking sooner while kicking myself for giving in when I should have made her ask me.

She never even looked back. She just continued walking the path of the garden, her blue gown swishing around her with each step.

How dare she? I thought, just as I quickened my pace, needing to catch up to her.

I’ve never seen a human like her before.

I had seen some talk back to demons, with undesirable consequences. Some even had their own agendas and tried to fit in, but none were outright playful.

It drew me in before I could realize what was happening.

I was a wild animal, and she was dangling fresh meat right in front of me. I was going for it. Even though I should have thought that she might jerk that meat away at the last second.

I didn’t.

All I could see was my goal.

All I can see is her.

“Is this a game?” I asked with a playful tone .

“You can know it when your twin asks,” she said.

Does the human want my sister and not me?

This had me stopping and looking back at Oros, who was still standing in the same spot we left her.

She looked dumbstruck. Well… It wasn’t often someone set their eyes on Oros. She was quiet, broody, and typically only talked when she wanted to stir up trouble.

People were more afraid of her than they were of me. And for a good reason. I barked, but she straight-up bit.

And for her to finally be the one at the forefront instead of me had excitement bursting through my chest.

I ran back to Oros, grabbing her and pulling her to follow the human.

“Someone’s lucky day,” I said with a wink, ignoring her protests as we walked.

“So you want me to act like your pet and listen in on highly confidential court conversations to see if they’re lying?” the human asked with a raised brow as she leaned against the outer garden wall.

The flower I had picked earlier was pinched between her fingertips. She looked at it with curiosity. Based on her previous actions, I had thought she might not care for the flower, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Again.

Another thing that reeled me in.

The sun was shining on her, warm light filtering from above and shining on her dark hair. She tilted her face to the side, letting the sun heat up her skin as if she had been kept inside for too long and was just finally able to feel its warmth.

She’s too pretty to be an ordinary human. And too feisty.

The entire time we walked the garden, I couldn’t smell an ounce of fear in her. It wasn’t easy for humans to control it—they would often exude a little bit of it in their just normal, everyday life without even realizing it.

She looked very at home in the garden.

“Pretty much,” I said with a smile. “I promise I won’t get too carried away.”

She let out a light scoff.

“Are you sure this isn’t just a ruse to get me to do whatever you want to me if I fail to meet your expectations?” she asked.

“I have a feeling that you might be willing to do whatever we wanted anyway if we asked nicely,” Oros replied.

Flirty. The demon is finally coming out to play.

The human looked at her for a moment before a smile spread across her face.

“Still not going to ask, huh?”

I closed the space between us, placing my clawed hand on the wall behind her and leaning close to her face. I had forgotten how good humans smelled. My mouth watered as I took in her scent. Sweet, much more so than the flowers surrounding us.

“Tell me then, if she’s too stubborn to ask. At least I’m willing to admit my interest in you.”

“As more than a lie detector?” she asked. There was a teasing to her tone that had my stomach fluttering.

“Much more,” I said, dropping my voice to a whisper. “So… tell me?”

She gave me a smirk.

“Oros is the one who needs to ask.”

I hadn’t realized Oros had come to our side until her clawed hand reached for the human’s face. Her facade wavered a bit as her eyes widened, and there was a light redness that coated her ears.

Cute.

“What is your name, human? ”

She was silent for a moment, the sound of her heart racing hitting my ears.

“ Eve ,” she said in a small voice.

“Beautiful,” Oros murmured, allowing her clawed hand to run down Eve’s throat. The human shivered at her touch.

Pride expanded in my chest.

Oros likes the human too.

I had a feeling sooner rather than later she would be in our bed.

And I couldn’t wait to see what other games the human wanted to play.