Theo's POV

Aamon was looking as rakishly handsome as ever. He was wearing clothes that looked quite complicated, similar to an ad I saw outside of Target with a married couple in them. His sharp teeth glinted and his eyes flashed gold.

"You must return to Hell," I growled. "My father is not pleased with your behavior."

He shrugged and leaned against the booth, making me stiffen. I never liked Aamon; he was always so careless. "No can do, Princeling. I have shit to do up here."

He dropped a wink at Cyrus.

I stiffened. "You'll stay away from humans," I growled. "Now is not the time for careless lesser demons to be ruining my plans."

Aamon stifled a yawn. "Hey, kiddo. Newsflash: your plans suck. Your father is pissed at you for being so arrogant that you think, at age twenty five, that you have the experience to be running off to the land of the living."

I hated how other demons kept shoving my age in my face in front of Cyrus. I really didn't want the human I held affection for to continuously see me as a baby demon.

Cyrus glared. "Who even are you?"

Aamon blinked in surprise, and then grinned as if Cyrus' question delighted him. "I'm many things, kid. You'll probably find that out soon."

Cyrus snorted and looked away. "All you demons keep trying to sound so cool and mysterious. I see right through it. You look like you're forty, but you're probably only twelve, just like Theo."

"Cyrus!"

"Actually," Aamon corrected. "I'm a few hundred years old. Used to be an angel in heaven, then I rebelled and God turned me into a demon. Pretty typical. Not a big deal. Now I'm one of the noblemen of Hell and I like to spend my time taking long walks on the beach and torturing the souls of children."

"Jesus, I didn't ask for your life story," Cyrus grumbled.

Aamon glared a little, then snapped his hands and pointed. "I like you. Your mother did a good job. You're an asshole."

I held his hand over the table. "My Cyrus is very softhearted and kind. Get away from my human and find your own to nag. Or, even better: go to Hell."

Cyrus snickered and I was not sure why. "Finally, your expression is normal," he added under his breath. I was confused.

Aamon smirked at me, all condescension and smugness, and pointed at Cyrus. "My human now. That's right, bitch, I claim him."

"You—you can't just do that!" I snapped.

"Sure I can." Aamon shrugged and scratched at the gray-brown stubble on his chin. His smirk widened and I caught a glimpse of the wolf teeth that he was known for. "You did." He took a deep sniff of Cyrus and his eyes darkened. "Just because you drew spells near him and kissed him a little doesn't make him yours."

"No offense," Cyrus said drolly, looking Aamon up and down. "Some people kind of like the sexy older man type, but not me. I mean the speckled gray is kind of charming, but I like the men in my bed free from the fear of heart attacks and high cholesterol."

Aamon fake-gagged. "I didn't mean like that. That's disgusting. Plus, some of us demons know how to keep it in our pants." That side-eye was directed at me, surely.

"Go away," I grumbled. The look Cyrus shot my way was filled with amusement.

"I thought you were being big bad tough guy, demanding I go home to your daddy?" Aamon drawled, crossing his arms.

"Now I just want you to go away."

Aamon sighed and leaned against the booth, too close to me for my liking. "Well. When I planned this interaction, it didn't go this way in my head. It was way more dramatic. Anyway, I'll save the dramatics for later. I should probably go, Theo's attitude is giving me a headache."

He vanished with a pop sound, making a lot of humans look over curiously. One of them animatedly talked to one of their friends, but was subdued after a brief conversation. It was funny how easily they went about their norm, so certain that their world-view was all that existed.

"I can't wait to dominate every one of these idiots," I growled.

"Kinky."

Cyrus was looking at me with amusement in those beautiful brown eyes and the slightest upturn to those kissable lips. I wanted to slide to his side of the booth and straddle him, kissing him until he moaned and begged me to take him.

Then, with a sour feeling, I remembered that he was a temptress and a traitor. I scowled.

"That comment did not make sense," I snapped.

"Sorry, I forgot," Cyrus mumbled, giving me puppy-dog eyes. "Fuck you Jesus, no more jokes. Because they're bad, grandfather dammit. And you swear, on your lord Satan, that you never want to hear them again. Right?"

"Are you trying to be cute so I'll forgive your treachery?" I snapped.

Cyrus' eyes lit up. "I'm cute?"

Ugh. No focus at all.

When I didn't answer, Cyrus relented. "Okay, it wasn't really treachery. I just don't want you to go all pyromania on my friends and family."

Our food was brought to us, but I really wanted the blood of the innocent. Human food tasted like ash compared.

"I have stated this before," I sighed. "Your friends and family will become my trusted human counsel."

"Bruh. Not the point!" Cyrus took an emphatic bite into the burger, which disgusted me. Someday, I would show him true food. My cock hardened a little at the mental image of Cyrus sucking blood sensually out of the veins of a hellbeast. "I don't want any humans dead! That's just rude."

I did not quite understand his point. "I understand your attachment to those closest to you. But why save the lives of those you don't even know? ...Temptress."

"What did you just call me?!"

I looked away and crossed my arms. "Answer the question."

"Because, that's what empathy is," Cyrus grumbled into his food. "And I think you can probably feel that, you just think of humans as lesser so you don't care. Like how humans think of chickens, or something. Except I wouldn't feel sexually attracted to a chicken, so I don't know what the hell is wrong with you."

I did not like the logic Cyrus was presenting to me. It went against everything I had ever known, my whole life.

I had to deal with it maturely.

"I don't like your face right now," I growled. I grabbed my food and stalked out.

"...Theo! We have to pay!" Cyrus was blabbering as I slammed the restaurant door shut. All the humans looked my way, but I did not care about them. They were all a bunch of worthless, non-sexy, chickens anyway.