kind of honesty in her reaction to the angel. She was angry and a little frightened and I...believed her, or at least I believed that she genuinely doubted Azariah’s intentions as much as we doubted hers.
The church was empty and I found Deyva doing lazy cartwheels in the gymnasium, wearing black leggings and one of Stavros’ shirts that slid up her stomach as she was upside down, offering a tantalizing flash of skin before righting again. Take away the horns and give her a pumpkin spice latte and she’d have looked just like an Instagram influencer from before the Rising.
“Are you waiting for me to flash you or did you need something?” she asked, rising up from a tumble and spinning to face me. She reached for the hem of her shirt, yanking it up, and I looked away in reflex.
I had to force my face to scowl at the sound of her bright laughter.
“It’s time for you to be useful,” I said.
“Oh, Kais. I thought you’d never ask,” she purred. I levelled her with a flat look until she huffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure, fine. What do you need?”
“You’ve been feeding, so I take it you’re feeling healthy?”
I was a little surprised by the bitter look on her face. Stavros was in some deep shit and he didn’t even know it. To be fair, I probably hadn’t realized it would be so easy to hurt a hellion’s feelings either. A woman was a woman, horns or not, and Deyva didn’t like hearing Stavros’ excuses for why he was having the time of his life fucking her.
And I was absolutely not going to get in the middle of that. Because if I comforted Deyva, or reassured her that sex with her was probably the reason Stavros’ woke up in the morning with that dumb ass smile he’d been wearing… Well, I was pretty sure I knew where I’d end up, and it was as tempting a destination as it was idiotic.
“I’m not at my peak, but I’m in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time,” Deyva said.
Where have you been? What have you been through? What can I do to make it better?
I shut my thoughts down.
“Good, then you can help me around town.”
Deyva’s lips pursed, head tipping, and the look was unintentionally sexual, if that were possible for a succubus. Still, I was pretty sure she hadn’t meant for me to be thinking about her mouth in this way.
“I know everyone’s feeling nice and shiny about your new feathered friend, but don’t you think I’ll put a damper on things?”
“Look, Daisy,” I said, endlessly delighted by the annoyed furrow of her brow as I called her that. “Are you going to be Bethel’s new favorite neighbor this year? Probably not. But if people see you working, helping out, I think eventually there will be acceptance. I know Stav tried things his way, but watching him hand feed you at the diner when you haven’t even helped out around here, probably didn’t add to the warm feelings.”
Deyva snorted and then sighed. Absently her hands brushed up the back of her neck, gathering her hair and exposing the elegant length of almost bone-white skin. And then she took two handfuls and twisted them up around her horns, tucking in the ends and making the most absurd looking hair buns I’d ever seen.
“Fine. It’s better than hanging around here all day. But now that I’m on a healthy diet, animosity gives me a stomach ache—”
I nodded and turned on my heel, letting her follow me. “I can think of some things where you’ll be out of the way, but people will be aware you’re contributing. It’s a goodwill building exercise, yeah?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
She didn’t sound sure.
I didn’t think I was one of those guys who felt challenged by a woman’s strength or authority. I focused on bettering myself, living up to my own expectations and then raising them again.
But there was something a little bit galling about watching Devya lift an entire fucking tree branch off the top of a house. She didn’t make it look easy, but she definitely looked like a moderately-strong superhero.
It was hot. And intimidating. And I wasn’t sure if it was exactly what the town should be seeing, if they’d feel comfortable knowing she was that strong.
“Fucking cool,” Kyle Phillips muttered behind me. Kyle was fifteen, and had exclusively grabbed comic books when his parents had cried out for him to pack at