Succubi Chapter 99. Toddler Demons
I laid her down and slipped in beside her, tugging the sheets over us.
And then she started.
Pampering me.
Her hand rubbed slow circles on my chest, fingers tracing the lines of my collarbone, the dips of my muscles. Her tentacle slithered softly down my side, not teasing, just warm, almost like a massage. Another coiled gently around my hand, guiding it to rest against her stomach.
"Close your eyes," she whispered.
I almost laughed. "After everything that just happened, you think I can sleep?"
Her smile was sleepy, but her tone was firm. "Yes. Because I'll make you."
I huffed, but my eyes did close as her fingers stroked through my hair again, her nails grazing lightly against my scalp. Every time my thoughts tried to spiral, about the King, about the attacks, about whether I deserved her, she dragged me back down into touch, into sensation.
"You don't have to be strong all the time," she murmured.
My chest tightened. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true." Her voice was almost stern, which was rare for her. "You think strength means standing alone. It doesn't. It means knowing when to lean."
I snorted softly, eyes still shut. "You sound more and more like Callahan now."
Her tentacle brushed my cheek, stroking down the line of my jaw. "Then maybe he's not as boring as you think."
I opened one eye to squint at her. "Are you seriously quoting class while cuddling me?"
She grinned, innocent and sly all at once. "Yes. You're stuck with me, Evan."
I groaned, burying my face in her chest. "Ah, help me."
Her laugh was quiet, but her arms tightened around me, her tentacles curling like a cage I didn't want to escape. She pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
"I mean it," she whispered. "You're strong enough. For me. For us. You don't need to prove it right now. Just… let me hold you."
And I did.
I let her.
My arms tightened around her waist, pulling her close, pressing my forehead against her collarbone. Her scent filled me, sweet and faintly salty, like ocean air mixed with sugar. Her heartbeat was steady under my ear.
She kept stroking my hair, humming softly. A lazy, tuneless melody, but it wrapped around me like warmth.
Every time my pride whispered that I should be the one comforting her, that I should be the strong one, she shushed me with her touch, her tentacles brushing my arms, my back, my hair, soothing me like I was something precious.
And maybe I was. To her.
I don't know how long it took. Could've been minutes. Could've been an hour. But eventually my breaths slowed, the weight in my chest easing bit by bit. My body sank against hers, heavy, spent.
My last conscious thought was her whispering in my ear, her lips brushing my skin.
"Sleep, Evan. I'll be here when you wake."
And for once, I believed her.
I let go.
And drifted.
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the warmth. Not the blanket, not the morning sun trying to sneak its way through the curtains, but her. Sera. Her body curled beside mine, her face pressed into my shoulder, drool dampening the corner of the pillow.
She looked… different like this. No smug grin. No lazy, half-mocking tone. Just soft. Sweet. Cute in a way that would have made me laugh if I wasn't busy staring at her like an idiot.
I felt better. Lighter. Like last night had pulled a knot out of my chest I didn't even realize I'd been carrying.
I reached over, trying to check the clock on the nightstand…
And froze.
Because something was moving.
In my room.
At first, I thought maybe one of the girls had snuck in again. Or Lilith, with her endless smug teasing. But no. This wasn't them.
These were… shadows.
Tiny ones.
Toddler-sized little silhouettes, vague and smoky, yet solid enough to actually move things. My eyes widened as one of them scrubbed the velvet sofa with what looked like a rag, grumbling to itself in squeaky nonsense. Another was carrying folded clothes, Sera's, fresh and pressed, setting them neatly to the side. Two more toddled around the bed, collecting her bra and panties from the floor, along with my pants and shirt.
I blinked. My mouth went dry.
Sera and I had fallen asleep naked. Blanket or not, that meant these weird little… things had been crawling around us the whole time.
Demons. Had to be.
I didn't need my system to tell me that. My gut screamed it. But what the hell were they doing here?
I pushed myself up on one elbow, careful not to wake Sera, and squinted at them. They didn't feel threatening. No killing intent. No aura of danger. Just… busy. Focused. Almost like…
"Are you guys doing chores?" I whispered.
The one scrubbing the sofa stopped mid-wipe and turned its stubby, shadowy head toward me. I swear to the abyss, it glared. Or… tried to. A toddler-sized glare is about as scary as a puppy pout.
Still, it jabbed its stubby arm at me, squeaking in rapid-fire gibberish that sounded suspiciously like a mom yelling at her kid for trashing the living room.
I sat there, dumbfounded, as its tiny finger pointed right at the sofa.
The same sofa where last night… yeah.
"Oh," I muttered. "Uh… I guess… sorry for the mess?"
The little shadow huffed, a literal huff, like a pouty cartoon, then turned back to scrubbing, shaking its head.
The one holding the folded clothes looked at me next. Slowly. With a stare that radiated nothing but disappointment. Judgment.
I stared back. "What?"
It didn't answer. Just shook its head again. Like I'd failed some test I didn't know I was taking.
"…Seriously?" I whispered. "You're gonna judge me? In my own room?"
The shadow snorted. A squeaky, unimpressed little sound. Then it waddled toward the door, dragging the pile of dirty clothes it had gathered.
My jaw dropped. "Did I just get scolded by a demon toddler maid?"
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