Page 104 of World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon

A tiny smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “You’re not wrong about that.”

Unwilling to rush his decision, Gwen waited.

After another moment of thought, he reached out and firmly pressed the button beside his sister’s nameplate. “Even if I’m making the wrong choice, she’ll forgive me. She never could stay mad at me for long.”

“Well, you are pretty darn adorable.” Gwen smiled at him as the door by their legs slid open and a light flickered to life within the capsule. “Who can blame her?”

He snorted at that.

With his typical polite care, he helped Gwen lower herself to her hands and knees before kneeling too. When she waved him ahead, he shuffled into his sister’s berth while Gwen followed more slowly behind him.

The capsule’s interior was cramped and not quite tall enough to stand fully upright in. At the far end of the space, a small locker butted up against a coat hung from a hook. A round mirror hung on the wall to the left. Otherwise, there were only white paint, white marble floors, and a mattress on a platform situated alongthe right-hand wall. The strip of open space on the left was only wide enough to admit Hugh and Gwen in a single-file line.

Within the capsule, Eloise lay on the mattress, motionless.

For privacy’s sake, Gwen closed the door behind them as Hugh crawled until he’d reached the far end of the berth, near his twin’s head. For a few moments, he didn’t breathe. Didn’t even blink. Seemed frozen in place, as if his lost sibling might vanish again if he moved even an inch farther.

Gwen laid a comforting hand against his bent back. Followed his gaze.

The female demon’s face was placid in sleep, her lips slightly curved, like someone experiencing a happy dream. Eloise’s brown hair, the same shade as her brother’s, surrounded her head like a halo.

Hugh reached a tentative hand toward that familiar hair. Hesitantly stroked a gleaming strand with his fingertip.

Just like her brother, Eloise was slim and not overly tall, with smooth, blunted horns. There were identical frown lines between their brows—but Eloise also had starbursts at the sides of her eyes, telltale markers of a life spent in laughter as well as worry.

Even though her body radiated now-familiar demonic heat, a thin blanket covered her legs. Hugh took hold of the covering and drew it up higher, tucking it around Eloise’s shoulders.

“She always kicked off her duvet, then complained that she got cold at night.” His breath hitched. “Keeping her sufficiently covered while she slept was a constant battle.”

“I bet.” Gwen gently rubbed his back. “How does it feel to see her?”

“I’m obviously overjoyed that my sister’s not actuallygone.”He fiddled with the blanket’s placement. “Even though I can’t see her aboveground, I can still feel her, and it’s a vast relief to know she continues to exist somewhere. Also that she’s happy. Happier than when she was actually alive, if what I’ve sensed over the last few years is any indication, and that’s…”

He trailed off. “I don’t know how to feel about that. I couldn’t be more thrilled by her happiness, but…”

Gwen kept rubbing. Kept listening.

“The contrast in her state of mind says terrible things about her life with our family.” His neck bent, and he stared down at the marble floor. “Her life with me.”

Desperate to provide solace, she hugged him from behind and told him the absolute truth. “From what I gathered, you were the highlight of that life, Hugh.”

He didn’t argue, but the grief in his voice remained. “I’m very glad to be here with her. I just wish I could hear her voice again. I wish I could feel her hugging me.”

Technically, of course, Eloise shouldn’t even remember Hugh’s name, but…“Maybe we can arrange that in the future?”

“Maybe.” His inhalation shuddered. “Will you tell me everything you and she discussed? And everything else that’s happened since you…” He audibly swallowed. “Since you disappeared?”

“Yes.” Gwen leaned her cheek against his spine and hugged him harder. Listened to the steady beat of his demon’s heart. “Whenever you’re ready. There’s no rush.”

His hand found hers. Lifted it and pressed a kiss into the cup of her palm.

Together, they watched over his sister’s body. Paid theirrespects and offered their affection and gratitude in hopes that Eloise could feel the emotion, even aboveground. And eventually, when Hugh was ready, he kissed Eloise’s forehead and left his sister safe, warm, and tucked in for sweeter dreams than any she’d experienced while alive.

31

As soon as their own capsule door slid shut behind them, Hugh lunged for Gwen and hauled her onto the bed and into his arms. All polite deference and formality gone in an instant, he buried his face in her neck and plastered her against his overheated body with desperate force.

“Shit, Gwen, I was so fucking terrified.” His muffled voice was as frantic as his hold. “I didn’t know where you were. Didn’t know if you were in pain or already”—his voice broke—“already gone, and…please, I just need to hold you for a while. I’m so sorry. Give me just a—”