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She caught on quickly, racking up a body count that was sort of cathartic once she got into it. Mindlessly mowing down enemies gave her a chance to burn some nervous energy and take her mind off the tragedy and violence going on in the real world all around her.
Weird how a violent game could be so relaxing, so—
Suddenly, Crux threw down his controller and leaped to his feet. She nearly screamed.
“Anyone want a soda or beer while I’m up?”
Mace flicked his hand dismissively, and Eva shook her head, unable to find her voice. The kid flung himself over the back of the couch in a single, effortless leap and disappeared into the kitchen.
“He’s like a squirrel on crack,” Mace muttered. “You get used to it. Mostly.” He jammed his finger on a rapid-fire button. “Yes! Got the bastard.”
She glanced over at him as he lounged on the couch in black sweat shorts and a Foster’s T-shirt, his tan skin contrasting with the cream leather. She’d only seen him in passing at DART, and she’d known the moment she laid eyes on him that he was a Seminus demon. They all looked like they were made to play the starring role in a romantic action movie.
“I’m surprised you’re playing old-school games.”
“Oh, dude.” He hit the pause button and turned to her, making the personal glyph below his jaw, a bird in flight, flap its wings. “We have a sweet mixed-reality game room where we usually play, but we gotta get some rest and didn’t want to get too amped, you know? Too bad you suck at this.”
What a jerk. “You say you have a mixed-reality room?”
“A killer one.” Crux sauntered back to the couch with an armload of snacks and drinks. “We even have racing and jet chairs.”
Oh, things were definitely looking up. She hadn’t sat in a jet chair in years but doubted she was rusty. “Do you have any games with torpedo racers?”
“Duh.” Mace popped open a bag of cheese puffs. “Why? You wanna try a race game?”
Welp, the Elders had wanted her to play dumb, hadn’t they?
“I’d love to try.” She batted her eyes, all innocence and enthusiasm. “I’ve heard so much about them.”
Crux grinned at Mace. “This is gonna be fun.”
“Killing a noob? Nah. But killing an Aegi? Let’s do it.”
Suckers.
“Tell you what,” she said, looking between the two demons, “let’s play two against one.”
Mace snorted. “What, you and Crux against me?”
“No.” She set aside her controller. “Youand Crux againstme.”
Crux laughed into his can of soda. “Puny human thinks she can beat us.”
She wasn’t going to beat them. She was going todestroythem. “Wanna make it even more interesting?”
“How’s that?” Mace asked warily.
“A wager. Whoever wins four out of seven games can claim a favor from the loser. Or losers.”
Mace and Crux exchanged glances. “Deal,” they said in unison.
Fools. She might not be a match for them physically, but she was more than a match for them in her own way.
She would make them kiss her puny human ass.
Chapter Twenty
Logan barely held in a chuckle as he slipped inside Eva’s hotel room. The Sem boys were probably driving Eva nuts. They were harmless—mostly. Crux was young, nerdy, and hadn’t yet gone through the sexual maturity ordeal that his species went through in their twenties. And while Mace was a deadly fucker with no filter or impulse control, he wasn’t into sexual assault.
