Page 55 of I Summoned A Demon For A Date?!
Blackwood nodded, apparently satisfied with Stephany's acceptance. "The contract is severed, then. You have three days to remove yourselves from the premises."
"My engagement party ends in three days," Stephany protested.
"Then I suggest you make alternative arrangements," Blackwood replied without sympathy.
He turned away from her dismissively, his attention shifting to Jan. The transformation in his demeanor was striking. The harshness, the cold authority melted away, replaced by something almost gentle.
"Jan," he spoke her name softly, with a familiarity that spoke of decades of connection. "You have been unexpected."
Jan's smile was sad but genuine. "As have you. All these years."
Blackwood reached out one massive clawed hand and, with surprising delicacy, brushed a strand of hair from Jan's face. "Most humans fear me. Resent me. You never did."
"I understood the bargain," she replied simply. "And you kept your word."
"As did you."
I watched this exchange with growing bewilderment. There was history here, deep and complex, that I couldn't begin to understand. Jan and Blackwood weren't just bound by a contract; they had developed something like respect, maybe even affection, across the decades.
Blackwood leaned down, his towering form bending until his face was level with Jan's. With a gentleness that seemed impossible from such a fearsome creature, he pressed his lips to her cheek.
"You were my favorite," he whispered, the words clearlymeant for her alone, though the stillness of the moment carried them to all of us.
Jan's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She reached up and placed her palm against the side of his face, a gesture of farewell between old friends, or perhaps something that could have been more in the past.
"Be well, in whatever realm you choose," her shoulders bowed as she held in a sniffle.
Blackwood straightened and turned, his burning gaze sweeping across all of us before settling on Aldaine. A silent communication seemed to pass between the demons, culminating in a slight nod from Blackwood.
Aldaine returned the gesture, his hand tightening around mine. For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of surprise in Blackwood's eyes as he observed our linked hands. Then, without another word, the massive demon began to fade from view, his form dissolving into mist and shadow until nothing remained but a lingering scent of smoke and spice.
The silence that followed was absolute. We all stood frozen, processing what had just happened, the monumental shift that had occurred in all our lives in the span of minutes.
Stephany was the first to break. With a strangled sound that was half-sob, half-scream, she whirled and stalked back toward the house, her heels clicking furiously against the pool deck.
Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER 23: ALDAINE
Iguided Rosie through the hallway toward our room, her weight leaning against me in a way that made my chest tighten with unfamiliar emotions. The events at the pool had taken their toll on her, on all of us really, but Rosie most of all. Her family's world had been turned upside down in the span of minutes, revelations spilling forth like water from a broken dam.
Yet she walked with her head held high, her fingers intertwined with mine, occasionally squeezing as if to reassure herself that I was still there. That I was real.
As if I could be anywhere else. As if my entire existence hadn't narrowed to this slip of a human woman who'd summoned me on a whim and changed everything.
"Almost there," I murmured, supporting her with an arm around her waist as we approached the door to our shared bedroom. She smelled like sunshine and chlorine from the pool, with an undertone of uniquely Rosie, sweet and earthy and alive in a way that made my ancient heart stutter.
"I can walk, you know," she protested weakly, even as she leaned more heavily against me. "I'm just.."
"Overwhelmed," I finished for her, pushing the door open. "You don't need to pretend with me."
Her smile was small but genuine. "I know."
Those two simple words sent a rush of warmth through me that rivaled the heat of my home realm. That she knew she could be vulnerable with me, that she trusted me enough to let her guard down, it was a gift I hadn't known to ask for.
All of these emotions within such a short timeframe should terrify me but it just made me want to be with her more.
The bedroom welcomed us with its quiet luxury, afternoon sunlight filtering through gauzy curtains to paint golden patterns across the plush carpet. I guided Rosie to the edge of the bed, where she sank down with a sigh that spoke volumes of her exhaustion.
