Page 25 of Infernal Secrets

Her cheeks turned scarlet.

“That’s a pretty color on you,” Zeke said, twirling the hair around his finger. When she swatted his hand, unfazed and unafraid, the smile that spread across his face relaxed me. “Oh, come on. We’re all friends here.”

Ezra, who’d been silently observing from a distance, made a mocking sound.

“I’m not your friend. Demon or not, this is my house. You don’t have any business here.” She stepped away from Zeke, and his smile fell.

“We can’t leave.” I clasped my hands between my knees. “We don’t exactly have a place to go—or currency from this world to use.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave anyway, not until I understood my feelings.

“This world?”

Cyn crossed his arms. “This is Earth, is it not?”

Bewilderment crossed her features. “It is… Are you saying you’re not from Earth? Wait.” She raised a hand to stop him from answering. “Shouldn’t Hell be underground, near the Earth’s core or something? How are you not from Earth?”

Ezra turned away, shoulders shaking, suddenly interested in something in the kitchen. I knew he was trying not to laugh at the sheer absurdity of living near the Earth’s core.

Unlike Ezra, Zeke’s lack of tact was obvious as he held his stomach and cackled.

She frowned, unimpressed.

“We’re not from Hell,” Cyn said, lip curling.

“What? But you’re demons… shouldn’t you be from Hell?”

Zeke composed himself and shook his head. “It’s not real. At least not the way you think, anyway.”

Ezra turned back to the room, his tone dismissive. “None of this is important. What’s important is seeing if there is a ritual to send us back. We’re wasting time. If the council learns we aren’t in Elyrdin, the consequences could be severe.”

If Ezra’s father discovered his son and the other heirs left without his permission, we’d face a fury I didn’t want to imagine.

I looked at Zeke’s ashen face and pressed my tongue against the inside of my cheek. We had to find a way home. I couldn’t let my curiosity distract me from protecting my brothers.

Cyn turned away to the kitchen, opening the book and flipping through its pages. “I’ll try to find something.”

Zeke tossed his head back and groaned. “I’m hungry. Your dad would not shut up. I didn’t get to eat dinner.”

Ezra sighed. “If you’d like to tell Father to be silent, be my guest.”

Zeke held both hands up in surrender. “Not for all the cheesy pizzas in Elyrdin.”

“Sit down,” Cyn called from the kitchen. “I can’t concentrate.”

“But I’m hungry,” Zeke whined, over his reaction to Ezra’s earlier comment. Ezra would never make Zeke face his father. None of us would, if we could help it.

Ezra’s father only saw us as tools to manipulate to accomplish his goals, but his treatment of Zeke went beyond anything the rest of us endured.

“Um. I have pizza,” the pretty human said, voice soft and uncertain. It was the first time I’d heard insecurity creep into her tone. Even in shock, she’d sounded sure of herself.

Zeke rushed forward and grabbed her hands, startling her. “I will love you forever if you let me have a slice.” He bit his lip, considering his words. “Three slices.”

Cyn’s head shot up, staring between them, jaw ticking.

“T-that’s not necessary. But you can have some,” the woman said, pulling her hands from Zeke’s and putting distance between them before limping into the kitchen. She stopped short at Cyn’s murderous look. “What?”

His lip curled into a sneer before he returned his attention to the book.