27. Evalee

EVALEE

O kay, so here’s a couple of things I know about succubi. They have the power to seduce men, and they have a lot of sex. None of that makes sense to me since I’ve never seduced anyone in my life. And up until when Max kissed me in the cage at Evan’s, virgin lips graced my face.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter asks worriedly. “You look flushed?”

“It’s nothing.” I shake my head, feeling my cheeks warm even more. “I’m just exhausted and overwhelmed.”

I hate lying, but what else am I supposed to say? I’m flushed because I might be a succubus. Yeah, that’s pretty much a walking contradiction.

By the look on his face, he doesn’t buy my bullshit. It’s irritating that he knows me so much better than I know him.

Opal approaches us with her wings still out, the corners fluttering against the draft blowing out from the portal. “Hunter, we need to get her out of here before the demon wakes up.”

“His name is Max,” I automatically say, then shrug when they both give me a strange look. “What? He told me it was.”

Puzzlement etches into Hunter’s features. “Eva, you know he was probably lying to you, right? Demon’s rarely tell you their real names.”

He has a point, but still …

“Is Hunter your real name?” I question.

Hunter sighs quietly. “Yes, my name is really Hunter.” He leans forward, lowering his voice. “I know you don’t trust me right now, and I totally get it, but I promise you that not everything was a lie. The basic stuff I told you, and some of the more personal stuff, is completely true. And I know that doesn’t justify what I did—all the lies I told—but I need you to know that not everything was a lie.”

My brain sets into a mental tug-of-war over my feelings for him. Do I hate him? Love him? Am I angry with him? Sad? Hurt? What do I feel!

When he notes my expression, he brushes the back of his hand across my cheekbone. “We’ll talk more about this later, okay? Right now, we need to get you home.” He offers me his hand.

Home. Do I even have a home?

I glance around the demon lair, remembering the story Max told me about the hybrid child. Then I think about how Hunter said that the society found me in a demon lair when I was a baby. The stories match up almost perfectly, which means that, at one point, I lived in a place like this. That also means I’m a freak of nature with a clusterfuck of creatures’ blood sloshing around in my body.

I grimace at the thought, but I do take Hunter’s hand and let him lead me toward the portal.

“I’ve never traveled through a portal before,” I admit as we near the swirling tunnel in the middle of the room.

He gives my hand a squeeze. “I know. I’ll get you through it. Just hold my hand, okay?”

I nod as Opal steps up beside me.

“What happens if my hand slips from yours?”

“Don’t let that happen,” Opal says worriedly. “You could get lost inside and never find your way out.”

I turn my head to look at her, but she won’t meet my eyes, her gaze trained on the portal. I wonder why. Does it have anything to do with feeling guilty about lying to me? Or is she just concentrating?

Hunter softly tugs on my hand, redirecting my attention to him. “Ready?”

I give an unsteady nod. “I guess so.”

Truthfully, I’m nervous. If anyone were to end up getting lost in a portal, it’d be me. Having no other choice, though, I clutch Hunter’s hand and step forward into the swirling colors and warm air, hoping upon hope that I’ll make it out.