Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,18
“Where have you been? Making snow angels in the backyard?”
Despite my sour mood, my lips twitched. There was a time when any sort of reference to the name angel had become an inside joke. My cousin thought it had been a sick twist of fate that he was a half demon who had fallen in love with a girl named Angel. The irony. “I went for a run in the woods.”
“Did a bear attack you? Or a demon?” he asked with a raised brow.
My eyes rolled. “Neither. I had a run-in with a shade.”
Those usually playful eyes narrowed. “Is that why we’re day drinking?”
I sighed, sinking lower into the couch. “Partially.”
“Hold that thought, I just need to…” His focus turned back to the TV, a series of gunshots flying across the screen seconds before the little guy I was pretty sure he was controlling dropped dead. “Damn her,” he muttered under his breath, flinging the controller off to the side of the couch.
My lips touched the bottle for another drink. A few more generous sips and I’d be trouble free for at least a few hours. “Is Angel threatening your gamer manhood again? You can’t fault her for being better than you.”
He forked a hand through his sandy, already messy hair. “You have two seconds to take that back.”
I grinned. “Yeah. That is not going to happen.”
Sometimes I forgot how fast my brother could move. He wasn’t like Chase. It only took one look at my cousin to see his intensity, to feel the danger that lurked just under the surface. Travis did a better job of hiding who and what he was. He gave no warning, stealing the wine bottle from my grasp. “So, what happened in the woods?”
At this rate, we’d have the bottle gone before my buzz kicked in. “Do you want the short answer or the long one?”
“Seeing as I only have a few minutes before the next match starts, give me the condensed version.”
My fingers pressed into my thighs as my thoughts traveled back to that icy pond. “I saw Ashor.”
“What do you mean, you saw him? He’s here?” His voice spiked with sudden anger, his body hardening with tension as he went still.
“Chill out, bro. He is still in the underworld.” I didn’t try to cover the frown on my lips. “It was some sort of telepathy thing from our soulbond.”
He set the base of the wine bottle on top of his stretched-out leg. “I don't know how I feel about my sister being bonded to a demon. It doesn’t sit well with me, especially with a demon prince. I don’t like him, Lex.”
This wasn’t the first time Travis had expressed his dislike for Ashor. It seemed the few times I had seen my brother, he echoed the same sentiment like a broken record. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” I asked, tilting my head to look at him.
“Have I?”
“Travis,” I grumbled. “Don’t play coy. We both know shit hasn’t been exactly rainbows and unicorns lately for me. And you’re not the only one who has doubts about me being mated to a demon. I don’t trust him either, not completely, but I can’t deny or hide from what is.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. His fingers drummed over the glass bottle in a thoughtful rhythm. “We could find a way to break the link,” he suggested. “Emma and I have talked about it. There has to be someone who—”
“Wait,” I butted in, sitting ramrod straight on the couch. “Emma and you have talked about Ashor and me?”
“Yeah, so? What’s the big deal?”
Well, for starters, I didn’t like other people talking about me behind my back. It felt too invasive. And if you were going to talk about me, don’t tell me. “Travis, it’s really none of your business who I decided to date or don’t date.”
“So you’re dating the demon now?”
“No, I never said that, only that the choice is mine to make,” I replied firmly, hoping the message would come across clear. Butt. Out.
“You’re my sister. I can’t help but worry about you, and I want the best for you.”
“And I respect that, but it isn’t for you to determine if Ashor is or isn’t the best for me. I get Emma and you are only trying to help, but I don’t know that I want to sever the connection between us. I don’t know what I want. However, I do agree I need more information, which is why I’m going to see Mom.”