Page 71 of My Demon Neighbor
Twenty-Five
Pythor
Codie sighed as hesnuggled into my side, and I pressed a kiss into his soft hair, breathing in the scent of his fruity shampoo and the underlying sweet scent of him.
"I'm glad you're okay," he murmured, and I gave him a squeeze.
"Mammon had already left when we got there. I was never in any danger," I assured him, and he hummed.
After returning home, we'd just cuddled on the couch with a movie playing that I didn't think either of us had watched. Then we'd had an early dinner before retreating to bed, both of us far too tired after everything that'd happened today.
"I feel... lighter. Is that strange?"
"Not at all. It's perfectly understandable."
Codie tilted his head up so he could look at me, his chin pressed against my forearm, and I smiled at him, brushing my fingers over his cheek.
"I feel like I can breathe properly for the first time in months. I know this won't fix everything, that I'll still need to work on myself, on getting my life back, but I'm not... I'm not scared anymore. I don't feel like they'll jump out of a corner the moment I step outside."
I was glad I could do that, glad I could make him feel safer.
"I—" The buzz of my phone cut me off, but since Maximus had promised to update me, I grabbed it off the nightstand, giving Codie an apologetic look that he waved off.
Maximus: This note was left on one of the bodies, and I have a feeling it's for you.
Below the message was the picture of a note written in Mammon's familiar scrawl, and the words made me flinch.
"What's wrong?" Codie asked, leaning up to peer at my screen so he could read, "‘I hope your mate is okay.’ Wait. Is that meant for you?"
I nodded, then clicked the phone off. How had Mammon known about Codie? Did that mean he was the one who'd sent that bastard? Why? He would've known I'd take care of him, that I wouldn't let him hurt my Codie. What had he been trying to accomplish?
"He wanted to distract you." Codie came to the conclusion at the same time I did, and I grunted.
"It seems like it," I said after a moment, and Codie hummed thoughtfully.
"So he distracted you, then killed those witches that you said were not nice people, and stole their book full of dark magic?"
"Yeah. I don't get the witches part either. They would've made great allies for whatever he's cooking up, but instead hemurdered them. I don't know much about witchcraft, but the spell they'd been working on looked dangerous, which tells me they were probably pretty powerful."
"And yet he chose to kill them rather than work with them. Are yousurehe's a bad guy?" Codie asked, and I honestly couldn't answer.
While every demon since the first one who went dark knew it was a possibility, none of us ever thought our friends were capable of it. It happened slowly, and while there was some darkness to all our souls—anyone who'd worked in Underworld for any length of time had it—none of us had thought it was enough to push us over to the dark side. At least, not until it happened to Mammon.
"I wish he wasn't," I settled on saying, and Codie made a sympathetic sound as he hugged me tighter. How had this gone from me comforting him to the other way around?
"I can't exactly relate to you, but I know that if Nessa woke up tomorrow and started doing evil shit, it would break my heart. Especially if I had to be the one to stop her."
"Yeah," I murmured, then shook my head. "Let's not talk about this anymore. There's no point in debating over this. We'll catch him and the dark souls, sooner or later."
"I'm sure you will," Codie agreed, and I kissed his forehead, making him smile.
He reached up and pressed his lips to mine, and for a few blissful moments, I lost myself in him. He was so warm and sweet and gentle, and I loved how good he felt in my arms. He was the most precious person in my world, and I wanted to treasure every moment I spent with him, especially when it was just the two of us.
Hella grumbled sleepily from her spot at our feet, as if reminding me that we weren't, in fact, alone.
I smiled against Codie's lips, then pulled back so he could breathe, and he watched me with dark eyes as he sucked in a breath, his cheeks flushed beautifully.
"What?" he asked, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Is there something on my face?"
