Kieran sits in the center of my bedroom floor as I pull out a bin full of candles and start setting them out next to him.

"How is it that you have so many candles yet I've never seen you light one?" he asks.

"Because I don't light them. I just like candles, okay? I smell one in the store and I want it and I have these grand visions of being this person who reads a book in the candlelight. And then I don't actually do any of those things because I'm a trash person who ends up eating an entire family-size bag of chips while watching old seasons of Project Runway."

I spread them out around us so that there are about 20 in a scattered circle around us, with enough space in the middle for us to both sit.

"First off," he says, "everybody loves Tim Gunn, that's just a fucking fact. Second, this is definitely way more candles than we need."

"Well, you said to get out some candles so we could practice fire stuff."

"Yeah, I didn't mean the entire stock of Candles-R-Us?"

"Candles-R-Us?" I giggle.

"I don't know... wherever they sell candles. I'm clearly not as much of a connoisseur as you."

Pumpkin walks over and joins us in the middle of the circle, finding a cozy spot on Kieran's lap and laying down.

"Is it safe to do this with him here?" I ask.

"Don't worry. I'll keep lil Pumps safe." Kieran scratches him on the chin and Pumpkin makes a contented purr-like grunt. I'm starting to think my pig prefers Kieran over me.

I cross my legs and sit opposite them on the floor with a few candles beside me.

"So what do I do?"

"Okay, so it's just a little spark, right?" He holds out a finger and touches the tip of the wick. "Channel that feeling of heat, the intensity, whatever that is for you—anger, frustration, arousal..."

He wiggles his eyebrow suggestively at me.

"You wish," I say.

I hold out my finger and try to remember the place I was in the other day when I triggered the power. Frustration... feeling useless and annoyed.

Flames erupt around my entire hand and I yelp, but they simmer to a low half-inch layer of blue flame just around my skin. The candle lights, but my hand is still on fire.

"You can do it, babe," he says with a smile. I find myself getting caught up in his expression, and before I know it, the flame is out.

"I did it!" I cheer.

Pumpkin lets out an annoyed sigh, clearly unimpressed with my feat.

"See, I told you. Now do it again."

*****

After about half an hour, we've lit most of the candles in the room and I've started to get a handle on using Kieran's fire powers. And I've only charred my rug twice.

There's a tapping at my door.

"Come in!" I say.

Zahra walks in and looks around at the scene with confusion.

"What... What on earth are you guys doing?" she asks.

It didn't occur to me that this probably looks really strange to her.

"It's a long story." It's the best explanation I can come up with on short notice.

"You guys better not be having a séance in here. If you get possessed, I am so out of here."

Kieran laughs and shoots me a devious grin.

"If you want to be possessed," he says just loud enough for me to hear, "I know of a demon who would love to get inside you."

I feel my cheeks heat up as I try and fail to ignore his words.

"What's up, Zahr?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Oh, here," she says, walking over and handing me my phone. "You left this on the coffee table and it's been ringing nonstop. I think someone's trying to get a hold of you."

"Oh, thanks!" I look at the screen and see I have 12 missed calls from an unknown number.

"No problem. I'm headed back downstairs. And I better not have to call an exorcist!" She heads out and closes the door behind her.

Kieran opens his mouth, I assume to make a sexual comment, but is interrupted by my phone vibrating in my hand.

"I better see what this is," I say, standing up. "Don't burn my room down while I'm gone."

I answer the call and bring the phone to my ear as I step out into the hallway, leaving the door just cracked behind me.

"Hello?"

"Don't hang up," the voice on the phone says. It's a voice I recognize, no matter how much I've tried to forget it—Victor.

"Give me one reason not to," I say, heading downstairs and into the kitchen. I'm not sure this is a conversation I want to have with Kieran listening.

Heck, this isn't a conversation I want to have at all.

"I'm just calling to talk. I want to come clean about everything. You need to know what's going on and I... I need your help."

"You need my help? To do what, exactly?" I lean an elbow on the kitchen counter and rest my head in my palm.

"Everything that I've told you is true, but there's a lot more happening than you know. I'm not sure what you were told about demons, but that guy who's been showing up in your dreams... his name is Kieran. He's the king of the Incubi."

"And...?" I'm curious what he has to say, but so far none of this is news to me.

"Did he tell you how he got that position? Well the former king, Asmodeus... Kieran killed him. Took his powers."

"Uh huh..."

"Well," he says. There's a bit of sourness in his voice, like he expected his revelations to shock me more than they have. "Did they tell you who you are, Sam? How you fit into all this?"

Since I found out about the empath thing, I assumed Vic knew, but it's good to have confirmation of exactly what he knows.

"Who am I, then?" I ask.

"You're not entirely human, Samantha. You're part Immortal, a creature with different biology than humans. And you're a very powerful one. That's why Asmodeus wanted you dealt with. It's why Kieran will want you dead the moment he figures out who you are—if he hasn't already."

"So you think Kieran wants me dead because I'm part Immortal?"

"Because you have the power to challenge him."

"Okay, so Kieran wants to kill me. How does this concern you?"

"Do you really have to ask that question? I love you. Everything I've done since we've been together has been to protect you. I get that you hate me, Sam, I do. And if you have to hate me forever, I can live with that. But don't get yourself killed to spite me."

"Kieran is not going to kill me."

"You think he's any better than Asmodeus? 'Cause he's not. The second he realizes it's you or him, he's going to pick himself."

"It doesn't have to be me or him. He's not like Asmodeus—he used to be human. He has feelings just like you and I. He's a good guy."

"A good guy? Are you shitting me? He killed Asmodeus—murdered him in cold blood. And you think he won't do the same to you because, what, he showed up in your dreams a couple of times and played the hero? You're so fucking naive, Samantha."

"He was a person first, Vic. He wasn't born a demon like Asmodeus. I know you don't want to hear it, but he's not trying to kill me."

"And what would you have said about me when we first met?"

I want him to be wrong, but he isn't. We dated for a long time and I never knew he had ulterior motives.

How do I know now? How can I ever really know?

"So is this the reason you called? To tell me Kieran wants to kill me?"

"No. I called you because I'm worried about you and I know I've gone about this the wrong way. I thought if I could just talk to you—tell you why this is important—that you would understand what had to be done."

"And that would be?"

"This man is dangerous. He killed the King and creator of all Incubi, who had been ruling us for thousands of years. There's chaos among demons now and no one is safe with this feral brute in charge—least of all you. Whatever you think about me is irrelevant. He can't be allowed to stay in power."

"Oh my god, Vic. If you don't start being straight up with me I'm hanging up. Stop speaking in riddles and tell me what you're trying to say."

He gives me a frustrated grunt and pauses for a moment before replying.

"I need your help to kill him."

I freeze in place, my mind reeling.

Vic wants me to help him kill Kieran?

"Why the hell would I do that, Vic? And what makes you think I even could?"

"I can't tell you that over the phone."

"Why am I not surprised? You have a serious problem with just telling me the truth, you know that? You never just answer my questions.'

"I know, I'm sorry. I can tell you anything but that. What answers do you want? I'll give them to you."

"Okay..." I ponder for a moment, asking myself what it is that I really need to know. "Why did we meet? What was your mission?"

"Hell... okay. Asmodeus knew what you were. You were a threat to him, and I was sent to kill you."

"Why the act? Why pretend to date me?"

"At first, we didn't know how your powers worked or if you were even mortal. I was supposed to get intel and find a way to catch you off guard. Going up against an empath can end badly, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless they don't see it coming."

"So it was a con to get in my life."

"Sam, please, just let me explain. It started out that way but... god damn it, I fell for you. I fell hard. I knew I couldn't hurt you so I defected. And I..." He sighs long and hard. "I freaked out. I pushed too hard, I started obsessing over keeping you close—keeping you safe. I know I went overboard..."

"Overboard? You stalked me, you broke into my house, you tortured me."

"Stop being so dramatic. I did that to protect you!"

"And nobody asked you to."

He's silent for a few seconds.

"I can't... I can't just let you die. Even if you hate me for it. I'm sorry that I chased you away and into the arms of the last person on earth you should trust, but I can't take that back. I would if I could, but I can't."

"Vic—you are the last person in the world I should trust, not him."

"Seriously, Sam? You don't even know him."

"You're wrong. I do know him."

There's nothing but white noise on the other end of the phone for a moment.

"How much have you gotten to know him?"

His voice is low and menacing, crackling just slightly beneath the surface.

"What?"

"You know exactly what I'm asking, Sam. How well do you know him?"

I swallow hard. He's putting two and two together; he knows something is going on between Kieran and me. I can't think of anything to say that he won't see as a confirmation.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Samantha? Are you actually fucking the Demon King? God, I knew you could be clueless but this is un-fucking-believable."

I hear a series of loud bangs through the phone. Knowing Vic, he's probably demolishing whatever is within his reach.

"I didn't sa-"

"I know you, Sam. You can't lie to me." There's another heavy crash. "Fuck!"

"It's not really any of your business."

"You know what I know about him? He's a killer. He's an idiot. He fucks anything that moves. But you think I'm the bad choice?"

"I'm not having this conversation. If you don't have anything helpful to sa-"

"Don't you see what he's doing? He's literally following the same plan Asmodeus had for me—seducing you, getting close to you, waiting until you let your guard down to kill you. He won't walk away like I did; he'll finish the goddamn job."

A sinking feeling weighs on my stomach. I know Vic is just saying what he thinks will be most hurtful, but that doesn't make it untrue. It would make sense. What wouldn't make sense is the gorgeous Demon King of Lust falling for some random human girl and deciding to give up his lifelong playboy lifestyle to be with her.

Me falling for the same shit I already fell for with Vic? That makes sense.

I creep back up the stairs to get a look at Kieran, who I can just see through the crack in the bedroom door. Kieran is sitting on the floor holding Pumpkin in his lap, moving him side to side so that he looks like he's dancing. Pumpkin generally doesn't like being moved around, but he seems surprisingly okay with Kieran doing it. There's instrumental music playing on the speakers and Kieran is singing some kind of impromptu song to it.

"Pumpkin pig, got that snout that the ladies dig," he sings, moving Pumpkin to the beat. "Who dat big ol' sexy guy? You know that's Pumpkin, lookin' fly. Go Pumpkin, go Pumpkin, go!"

Kieran sets him down and he enthusiastically spins on the carpet.

"Break it down, Pumps!" he cheers. I cover my mouth to hold back a laugh. Kieran looks to the side like he heard me anyway, so I quickly step away from the door.

"I can't believe you're sleeping with him," Vic spits through the phone. "You're really that goddamn easy?"

I sit down on the top step and sigh.

"Easy? Really, Vic? I'm a person, not a math test. And what I do with my body is none of your business."

"You're right, it's your body. It's yours to shake for strangers, it's yours to fling at every pathetic sod who gives you an ounce of attention. You can give it away as much as you want—and clearly you are."

"I'm hanging up on yo-"

"He's a liar and he's going to hurt you."

I could let Vic scare me... shake me. Maybe it would even be the logical thing to do—assume the worst of a demon. But seeing him like that, playing with my pet pig like a giant dork, I just don't see a world in which that could ever be true. Despite everything, even when I don't have faith in my own instincts, I have faith in him.

Because I care about him.

Because I love him.

Oh no.

I love him.

That was not supposed to happen. But here I am. Hopeless over the last guy in the world I should've ever fallen for. A man who is also one of the most powerful demons in the world. The same man who dances with my pig when he thinks no one's looking. And this asshole is trying to hurt him.

Anger burns in my chest, my jaw clenches, and I rise to my feet.

"You know who's lied to me? Who's hurt me? It's you. It's not Kieran. Kieran told me the truth right from the start. I have never seen him hurt an innocent person. I've never seen him judge or mistreat anyone. So you can say whatever you want to say about him, but he's not just a demon and he's not just a fuckboy, he's a goddamn person—and a much better one than you are. Fuck off."

I hit the end call button and I strongly consider throwing my phone down the stairs for dramatic effect, but I don't really think that will have the intended effect. I turn back around toward my bedroom and I see Kieran standing in the doorway, his lips parted and his eyes wide.

I guess he heard me.

◆