The latter comment made Harper’s hackles lower. She’d spoken with Devon just last night, who was mad at Drew for “not using his brain” and just letting the whole thing go. But she also felt sorry for her brother, and she was upset that he was so angry with her for not giving him a heads-up when Knox first began pursuing Harper. She hated that Devon was hurting and there was such friction between the siblings—they’d never really argued before. Harper wanted to see an end to all this shit.
She blew out a breath. “Two minutes, Grams. I’ll give him two minutes, but that’s all.”
With a pleased smile, Jolene patted her upper arm. “Good girl. I’ll wait downstairs. And don’t be too hard on him. He made a mistake, he knows that. Let him put it right.”
Harper twisted the doorknob and pushed it open. Drew was standing at the window, watching the traffic go by. He turned to face her as she closed the door. She only took a single step into the room.
He gave her a weak, too-quick smile. “Hey.”
“Hi.” God, could this be any more awkward? Nope.
“Thanks for coming.”
She didn’t say anything. Didn’t know what to say.
“So … you know about the tattoo.”
“I don’t understand why you had it done,” she said with a shrug. Marking himself for her demon was not only wrong but huge. Dramatic, even.
He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “My demon needed it. It chose you a long time ago. I chose you. My demon was ready, but I wasn’t. Not then. Now … Fuck.” He thrust a hand through his hair. “If I hadn’t stayed away, if I’d just come home—”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference to Knox if I was with someone else.”
“No, it wouldn’t have.” He took a step toward her. “But you’re loyal to the bone. You wouldn’t have given in to him if you’d already been claimed by another.”
“You’re taking for granted that I would have let you claim me.” Her inner demon snorted at the idea.
“If you had—”
“I wouldn’t have cheated on you, no,” Harper allowed. “But, as my anchor, Knox would still have been a part of my life. And I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t have grown to care for him just as I do now. I wouldn’t have betrayed you, but I also wouldn’t have stayed in a relationship with you if I felt so strongly for another person—that wouldn’t have been fair to you, me, or him. Things would have ended up exactly as they are right now. Me with Knox and Asher.” She wholeheartedly believed that.
Lips thinning, Drew threw up his arms. “I don’t get it, Harper.”
“Don’t get what?”
“You and Thorne. You don’t make sense as a couple. You come from completely different backgrounds, you’ve lived totally different lifestyles, and you don’t seem to have a single thing in common. Beneath that hard shell, you’re giving and softhearted—don’t even deny it—while he’s … him.”
Bristling, she clipped, “Well, I don’t need you to ‘get’ it. It’s none of your damn business.”
“Don’t you want someone who cares for you?”
“Yes, I do. And that’s exactly what I have.”
Drew tossed her a disappointed look. “You can’t honestly tell me he loves you with the intensity that demons are known for. He sees you as a possession. A thing. Something he won’t share but can never love.”
“Wrong. But you believe whatever makes you feel better—I really couldn’t give a fuck.” She raised her hands, palms up. “And I’d say we’ve now officially reached the end of this conversation.” She turned to the door.
“I almost didn’t leave.”
Glancing at him over her shoulder, she frowned. “Excuse me?”
“The night after I came so close to having you, I almost didn’t go back to Cuba. I thought about staying and seeing if there was any way to get behind those walls of yours. They were always sky high and ten inches thick. But I figured you weren’t ready—even shitfaced, you’d pushed me away before it went too far. So I went back to Cuba. And, yeah, part of the reason it wasn’t so hard was that I wasn’t ready either. Not for anything serious.”
“Drew, this is old—”
“I took it for granted that when I came home you’d still be kidding yourself that you could be happy with a human, even though you knew your demon would never accept one as a mate. That was my mistake.” He let out a short, humorless laugh. “I couldn’t fucking believe it when I heard you were mated. Devon didn’t tell me about him. Said she kept it from me because Jolene didn’t want you to be with someone whose priority was chasing the next rush. But it wouldn’t have been like that, Harper. You would have been my priority.”
“It really doesn’t matter. I’m mated. I’m happy. I have a son. I’m totally committed to Knox.”
“Which makes no sense unless you’ve deliberately chosen someone who won’t demand everything from you. The kicker is … you won’t get all of him either.” Drew took another step toward her. “Your little boy is bright and warm and playful—all you. Do you want him living every day of his life with someone as cold and dangerous as Thorne? Because if he does, he’ll lose that warmth bit by bit. You’ll lose that little boy.”
So tired of this shit, Harper planted her hands on her hips. “Pray tell, Drew, what should I do instead?”
“Leave Thorne. Leave him.”
“Why exactly would I do that? I love him, and he loves me. You don’t have to believe that. I really don’t care if you do or you don’t. But it’s the truth. I know he loves me, and that’s all that matters.”
“Did you also know that he was sleeping with one of the Horsemen? Isla? They were close, Harper. They’d known each other for centuries. But he killed her. You think you’re any safer with him?”
At the reminder of Isla, Harper’s demon curled her upper lip. “He killed her because she hurt me. And yes, I do believe I’m safe with him.” She fumbled behind her for the doorknob. “Look, you need to go back to Cuba, Drew.”
“Nothing I say could change your mind on Thorne?”
“Nothing.” With that, she turned to the door again.
“I know that Asher’s not a sphinx.”
That comment had her hand freezing on the knob. Whirling to face Drew, she scoffed, “Of course he’s a sphinx. It’s perfectly easy to sense.”
“Did you forget I have the ability to identify a demon’s breed on sight?”
Yes, actually, she had forgotten. But she remembered now that he didn’t even need to be in the vicinity of the person in question. Drew could look at a photo of a demon and simply see what they were. Stomach rolling, she nonetheless stated, “Asher is a sphinx.”
Eyes soft with sympathy, Drew shook his head. “No, Harper, he’s not.”
Fisting her hands, she advanced on the asshole and then jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare fuck with me just because you’re bitter about my—”
“This is not me fucking with you. I would never lie about something like this. I’m telling you, Harper, your son is not a sphinx.”
“Then do educate me, Drew … what is he?” she spat sardonically, humoring him.
“Each breed of demon has a sort of aura. Not a spiritual glow like what humans talk about. The auras I see are faint ribbons of light that twine around a person. Thorne’s light is black, which sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it? But the color black is really just the complete absorption of visible light; it’s the absence of color. I have no idea what he is, but it’s dark and old and I’ve never come across one like it before.”
“And Asher’s light?” she asked, voice cracking.
“He doesn’t have one, Harper. He has a shadow instead. It’s like a dark smudge. Do you know what that means? It means he doesn’t belong to a breed. He’s a demon, yes, but he’s nothing … natural. Whatever he is doesn’t have a marker because it shouldn’t exist.”
Her spine snapped straight. “My son has every right to exist!”
“I’m not saying he should be fucking killed, Harper, I’m saying he isn’t a natural breed of demon. I haven’t told anyone, before you ask. And I won’t. But you need to be careful, Harper, because that dark smudge … it pulses. Like an irregular heartbeat. I don’t know what the fuck that means, but it can’t be anything good. You wouldn’t have fully committed yourself to someone who kept secrets from you, so I’m sure you think you know what Thorne is. But I doubt he’s told you the truth because whatever that guy is, he couldn’t even conceive a normal demon. What does that say about him?”