Getting out of bed, she straightened her clothes in a standing mirror. She looked around the unfamiliar room until someone knocked lightly on the door. "Come in," she called as she ran her fingers through her hair.

  Gaap walked in and smiled at her. "You're awake!"

  "Where am I?" she asked impatiently.

  "A royal guest room, my love. Samael was going to order Alex to take you to your room, but I insisted you stay in here. It is more suited for a woman as beautiful as yourself." he took her hand, caressing it gently.

  With Gaap's soft touch, she let out a scream of pain. For a brief moment, she saw herself in the arms of a dark figure, but she lost the image immediately, and the pain vanished.

  "Keshiema, are you alright?!" Gaap's panicked voice came from across the room.

  "I'm fine," she said quietly. "It was just a muscle spasm."

  "But, I-" he stared at his hands in horror.

  "It was a weird coincidence." she cut him off and walked over to him. "See, look." She grabbed one of his hands. "I'm fine. It wasn't you." she lied.

  "Is she awake, brother?" Eurynome's voice came from the open doorway. As he walked in and saw Keshiema holding Gaap's hand in hers, the room's temperature dropped drastically, and his face twisted into a snarl. "Gaap, your flirtatious ways have gone too far. She's our guest and Alex's sister."

  "Get behind me," Gaap pushed her back, "My brother is upset. You could be in danger."

  "Seems like he's pissed at you, not me." She smiled slyly, crossing her arms.

  The temperature in the room continued to plummet as Eurynome approached them. "I don't think that matters, Love." Gaap shivered as he spoke.

  "Would you stop calling me that?" Keshiema snapped. "I don't even know you!"

  "What?" Eurynome calmed instantly, and the temperature stabilized. "So, he doesn't have you under a spell?"

  "No?" She scoffed at the situation. "He already gave his word not to use his powers on me." Leaving the icy room, she walked down the corridor. After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly, Keshiema finally turned to the two demons following her in awkward silence. "Where's am I supposed to go exactly?"

  "Right, that's what we came to tell you. We've already prepared a feast." Gaap pointed at a large door at the end of the corridor. "The others were told to wait until you arrived."

  Waiting seemed to be an understatement. As soon as Keshiema walked into the large dining hall and sat down, the polite and patient men turned to gnawing, thrashing, untamed beasts. As the demons shouted and reached for various delectables, Keshiema quietly filled her plate, trying her best to ignore the commotion. She kept her plate simple: grilled steak tenderloin, thick and creamy mashed potatoes, fire-roasted broccoli, and sweet corn on the cob. The foods reminded her of home.

  The dinner rolls looked amazing, even though they were definitely gluten-free. Gluten was severely toxic to demons, and in high enough doses often proved deadly. Most halflings were affected in the same way. Almost every grain of wheat, barley, and rye had been burned during the apocalypse. Unfortunately, the humans discovered its effects before the demons, leading to countless casualties. These days, the grains were almost impossible to come by. Almost.

  The door behind her creaked softly. Someone tapped on her shoulder, and she looked back to see Ayperos. "You can relax. We all want you to feel comfortable here." He smiled warmly at her before taking his seat at the other side of the table.

  "Yes!" Gaap shoved a goblet of wine into her hand. "So drink up!"

  "Hey! She's going to be training soon!" Pyro admonished his brother as he walked in. Taking the ornate cup from her, he downed it before shoving it past Keshiema's face into Gaap's chest. "We can't be getting her drunk."

  "Not that you wouldn't want to get her drunk any other time," Eurynome mumbled before biting into a piece of raw meat.

  "What?!" Keshiema looked at Pyro, turning white.

  "What the hell are you saying?" Pyro yelled, throwing his chair aside just as he was about to sit.

  "You heard me," Eurynome sipped on his wine.

  "Silence!" Samael's voice felt like it could shake the walls of the large dining hall. "You are brothers. Act like it!"

  "Relax, Samael," Beelzebub waved his hand through the air, "We're allowed to have fun every once in a while."

  "And Eurynome's right," Ayperos added, "Pyro loves to party a little excessively."

  "I wouldn't call it excessive." Pyro defended himself.

  "Why would you? You're the one doing it." Asmoday laughed.

  "What do you think, Meer?" Pyro looked over at Merihim, who had yet to say anything.

  "I don't really give a shit, either way." Merihim only looked up from his meal long enough to speak and then continued to pick at his food.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "Either way," Pyro grumbled, "the drinking is always saved for after the party."

  "What's wrong with Merihim?" Keshiema asked Eurynome quietly so that no one would overhear her prying.

  Eurynome leaned over to answer her but found himself breathless by her smooth, pale skin. For a moment, he imagined himself holding her in his arms, taking in the soft sweet scents that enveloped her. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to give her a tender, deadly kiss. The thought of feeding on her fresh corpse had his mouth watering.

  "Eurynome?" She gazed into his pale jade eyes, worry enveloping hers.

  He drew back, disgusted by his own thoughts. "Nothing, Merihim is the Prince of Pestilence." He whispered as he straightened.

  A loud crash caught everyone's attention just before someone yelled, "Intruders!" Eurynome grabbed Keshiema by her waist, pulling her out of her chair as Gaap and Ayperos overturned the giant table. Pyro leaped forward and pressed his palms against the floor, creating a wall of fire between them and the doorway. The heat from Pyro's flames was a welcoming comfort. and it did not hurt to know that anyone who might mean to harm her would first have to go through them.

  Two dozen human soldiers filled the room, throwing down three dead Orc-Daemon guards and the head of a Sentry. Blood pooled beneath the mangled bodies, and the stone head crumbled on impact. "Samael!" one of the intruders stepped forward. "Samael, we had a deal! Why was my village attacked?"

  "Eury," Asmoday whispered over his shoulder. "Get her out of here!"

  Grabbing her hand, Eurynome rushed through the door opposite the attacking humans. As they hurried out of the room, Keshiema heard the human leader ordering one of his men in a hushed voice. "Bring me that girl!" she tried to tell Eurynome what she heard, but he was busy ordering the kitchen staff to get their weapons ready. Leaving the kitchen, he pulled her down a long corridor.

  Someone grabbed her wrist, covered her mouth, and yanked her back. Feeling her slip away, Eurynome turned around. A human soldier held a knife to Keshiema's throat. "Step back, prince!" The voice belonged to a woman. "If you even think about using that touch-of-death, she dies."

  'Do I really look that weak?' Taking hold of the woman's arm, Keshiema flipped the human over her shoulder. With a swift kick to the head, she knocked the woman unconscious. The knife wound on Keshiema's neck healed rapidly when she held her hand to it.

  Stepping over the human, Eurynome grabbed Keshiema's hand and continued down the hall. Several more intruders chased after them. "Why aren't we fighting?"

  Completely ignoring her question, he turned down another hall. He ushered her into one of the rooms, closing the door softly behind them. "Shh." The lights remained off, but their demon eyes quickly adjusted to the dark. Looking around the windowless storeroom, Keshiema frowned. No escape options made this a terrible hiding place.

  Her ears twitched as she picked up hushed voices on the other side of the door. "They didn't have that much time. They went into one of the doors." Unsure if Eurynome heard the muffled voice, she pulled him back. When he glared at her, she pointed to the shadow at the bottom of the door.

  With a loud explosion and the crack of splintering wood, the door burst apart. The blast knocked them back, and wooden shrapnel tore through the small space. A large piece sliced Eurynome's upper arm as the two crashed into the shelves on the back wall. Blood trickled from the jagged wound, filling the room with the scent of deadly nightshade blossoms.

  Her jaw ached from something hitting her face. Untangling herself, Keshiema grabbed the prince's left hand and helped him to his feet before the humans came in. Her hand burned fiercely, but she ignored the pain and turned to face the destroyed doorway. Drawing her dual kodachi, she took a defensive stance in front of Eurynome.

  Three assailants blocked their only escape. Launching forward, she slammed a hilt into the closest one's stomach, using him as a springboard as he fell. Mid-air, she took hold of another one's hair and spun around. As she landed behind him, he arched backward. Using the momentum to her advantage, she slammed him into the wall. Turning back to the storage room, she froze. The last soldier held his sword against Eurynome's throat.

  "You're fast, Little Demon." The edges of the human's eyes wrinkled, marking a smile under his mask. "But not fast enough. Surrender, or the prince is dead." Sheathing her short swords, she stood up straight and lifted her hands. "Atta girl. Now‐" Eurynome grabbed the sword by the blade and pulled the attacker in, biting into his neck. With a chunk of flesh missing, the human fell to the floor with an audible thump.

  Eurynome swallowed the savory meat and wiped the blood from his face. Looking over the cut on his left hand, he frowned. "Looks like I'll need a new glove." Touching the wound, he winced. "That thing was sharp. Went straight to the bone." Metal clanged in the distance, marking a disturbance in the kitchen. "We need to go."

  "Eury!" Pyro's voice warmed the chilly hallway. "Eury, we got everything under control, you-" he stopped shouting when he rounded the corner and found the destroyed storeroom. The sight almost floored him. "Eury!" Seeing him injured, Pyro rushed to his brother's side while the guards he brought tended to the two surviving intruders. Sliding an undamaged crate over, he motioned for Eurynome to sit. "You're bleeding. Let me cauterize the wounds."

  "Wait..." Eurynome held up his undamaged hand. "Keshiema is a Friskalia. Let her heal me." They both gave him unsure gazes. "It'll be a good first test of her abilities."

  "Be careful not to touch his skin," Pyro cautioned her as she reached out to examine his hand. "Skin-to-skin contact with a Reaper is lethal." He gave her a stern glare. "Instantly."

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she took a deep, calming breath. 'I just need to relax.' She took the small medical kit from her cargo pocket and opened it. Her purple aura formed around her hands as she sterilized the instruments. Careful not to touch his skin, she examined the entry and exit wounds on his arm. After removing a few fragments of wood, she hovered her hands over the wounds and released a significant amount of aura. All of the pain the injury would have caused over time hit him in an instant. Clenching his teeth, Eurynome managed to keep from screaming.

  Kneeling down, she looked over his left hand, inspecting the wound as best she could by moving the worn and frayed leather with a sterilized scalpel. The leather was not cut by the blade that sliced his hand. Her heart pounded in her chest. She sent a burst of aura through the wound, healing it much too quickly. The sudden flurry of pain caused Eurynome to pass out. When she finished, she stood and turned away. The abrupt movement, mixed with using so much of her power, caused her to stumble.

  Catching her mid-fall, Pyro steadied her. "Hey now, do we need to call someone to help you?" he gave her a quick once-over. "How is it you managed to get away without a scratch?"

  She pushed away from him to signal she could walk. "I can heal my own injuries." The answer came automatically, as it was a question she had received too many times to count. "Help your brother. I'll be ok."

  Digging a fire blanket out of a half-destroyed crate, Pyro wrapped Eurynome up before lifting him over his shoulder and carrying him back to the dining hall. "Samael." Pyro called as he leaned Eurynome against the overturned table. "Eury's out cold. Can you clear him?"

  Frowning, Samael kneeled next to Eurynome. Checking his pulse and temperature, he nodded thoughtfully. "He'll be fine. I can carry him to his room. Go meet Ayperos in the dungeon. You might need to cauterize some wounds."