Page 66 of House of Kallan
Tyrus smiled. “We have a friend and he let me take his picture.”
Above the bed were eight more pictures. All with a black background, but there were two images within each. Like looking in a mirror, but their backs are to the other. One in their human state and the other showing their monsters. Except for two who were human entirely.
“And these?” I asked.
“It’s us,” he said and pointed to the one of him. “That’s me.”
I chuckled. “I know. It’s a curious décor.”
“Oh.” He laughed. “I wanted him to know that it’s okay to be a monster, you know?”
“That’s really great, Tyrus. I love that.”
His smile was small. There was something hesitant about him today. I watched as he looked around the room. Not really looking for something, but just looking.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
His dark eyes met mine. He didn’t answer.
“You having second thoughts?”
“No!” he said quickly. “No way.”
“Tell me what’s bothering you.”
His gaze remained on mine for several minutes. Finally, he said, “What if I mess him up?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“What if he turns out like me?” he asked, his voice quieter. “Crazy.”
“I think you operate just fine, in spite of your lack of empathy,” I said.
Tyrus sighed and moved to the window that overlooked the backyard. “But I know it can be a struggle. People look at you weird. They’re afraid.”
“That’s because you’re an oni,” I said, teasingly.
He glanced back at me with a smile. But it was short-lived. “I’m serious, Miss Tatum. What if I mess him up?”
I stepped up next to him and bumped my shoulder into his. “You know what? No parent is convinced that they’re not going to mess up. More often than not, when their child arrives, no matter how prepared they are, they’re afraid of just that.”
Tyrus nodded. “I’ve read a lot of parenting books,” he said. “But none of them are psycho demons raising children. Where are those books?”
“You’re not doing this alone, you know,” I said. “You have an entire family of husbands here to help you. Right?”
His shoulders relaxed a little. “Yeah.”
“Tyrus.” We turned at the voice to find one of the men I hadn’t met yet. He was big, beefy. There was something that screamed military about him. Or… biker? “What are you doing here?”
Tyrus gave him a wide smile. “Showing Miss Tatum Bael’s room. This is Raleigh, my husband. We don’t have sex, but he’s still my husband and loves me.”
Raleigh sighed. “How many times do we have to talk about what’s appropriate to tell people, Tyrus?” He reached for Tyrus and the oni went without question. Raleigh hugged him but Tyrus’s eyes met mine and he knew exactly what he was saying if the smirk he gave me was anything to go on.
“Nice to meet you, Tatum,” Raleigh said as he took Tyrus’s hand in his before meeting my eyes. “Sorry about this. I’ll keep him occupied.”
“How will you do that, Raleigh?” Tyrus asked, giving him big doe eyes and batting his lashes.
Raleigh shook his head. “Let’s go.” He pulled Tyrus from the room and disappeared around the corner. But they weren’t so far away that I missed Raleigh saying, “Why do you do that? You don’t even want my dick, demon.” Tyrus’s laughter followed.
