All The Wrong Signs
Nothing is the Same

When Blaze had said he was going to take me to Petra, I at first assumed he was going to take me back home. Instead, he transported me into a beautiful library study. I couldn’t even be mad when he left me before Petra arrived.

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a room that was wall to wall books. My own private library. It appeared that Petra was living out my dream.

The books were a mix of classics I recognized and others that were clearly from the demon realm. Were we still in the demon realm? I had no clue, and I hadn’t thought to ask Blaze before he left.

Hearing a popping sound, I placed the book I had been looking at back on the shelf and turned around. Seeing Petra, my jaw dropped. She was in armor much like Blaze had been, her blonde hair twisted up. Even in the middle of battle, she was beautiful.

“So you are finally getting a hold of your powers,” she said, laughing, as she removed her armor.

I shook my head. “I have no idea how I got here. I guess I tugged at our connection too hard.”

Petra looked up at me, “personally, I would have loved to have seen his face when you popped up in the middle of the fucking war. I’m sure he was ready to have a whole ass conniption.”

I smiled, “yeah well, some guy named Soren was there.” Just as I suspected, Petra’s lips curved into a smile. “Your brother knows about the two of you.”

She laughed, “I suspected as much by the death glares he gives him every single time we are all together and I get too close to him. I’m so fucking glad you will be here to distract him now.”

I frowned, “but I’m going back. I can go back, right?”

Petra looked over at me, “for now yes. Once you get further along, no.”

“You know?” I asked, shocked that everyone seemed to know I was pregnant but me.

Petra shrugged, “why do you think I’m out here campaigning, making sure that things are going our way? If it wasn’t for my little niece or nephew, Blaze could play soldier by himself. I have no doubt he will win, but we need this war over sooner rather than later. If anyone replaces out…”

“They will try to use me against him,” I said, cutting her off. “I’m fucking tired of being a pawn.”

She snorted. “You should have chosen someone other than a demon prince to fall in love with.” Looking up, she let her chest plate fall to the floor with a loud crash. “He really has been nothing but trouble for you. Are you sure he is what you want?”

“Yes,” I said without question.

“How do you feel about carrying the next heir to the throne?”

I opened my mouth, but then closed it. I hadn’t considered that Blaze’s child would be in a position to take over as prince one day. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “There is a lot I don’t know about. He told me…” I sighed, “well he told me I would live longer than normal now. How do I explain that to my sister?”

“Most mortals who chose to remain in hell fake their death,” Petra said, sitting down. “It’s easier for the family.”

“Not my sister,” I shook my head, “she would be devastated. We have a twin bond. She always knows when something is wrong.”

“It’s not my call to make,” Petra said. “I’m just telling you what other mortals do. And by other mortals I’m talking about the one other one I know. I’ll have to introduce the two of you. Her husband is gone for long spells and she gets bored.”

“I’m not a puppy.”

Petra laughed. “You’re funny Riley. Penny is due in the next month or two. You will both have little ones. It will be good for you to have a human that can relate to you here in hell.”

I knew what she was saying was true. Nothing would be the same anymore. I could probably live in the human world for another ten years before people would notice I wasn’t aging, but I had an obligation to Blaze.

He had given me the one thing I had wanted most in life. He had fixed whatever had been wrong inside of me and gifted me with a child. One he didn’t necessarily want.

“Was he upset?” I asked, remembering how he had told me he hadn’t tried to get me pregnant but hadn’t prevented it, either.

“Oh, he was pissed,” Petra said. “He was going on and on about how you could have gotten yourself killed.”

I shook my head, “no, about the baby. Was he upset when he found out I was pregnant?”

Petra sat up, giving me a look. “Upset? Riley no. When he first came to me, he was in a state of shock. He didn’t expect it. But he was never upset.” She stood up, walking over to stand in front of me. “He loves you. He would give all of this up for you. If you told him to stop right now, he would.”

“But, he said…”

“He’s fighting to take his spot so that your future child does not have to go through the same thing he has. He wants to insure your protection. It’s his birthright and will be your child’s. Lucifer himself will bless the birth of your child. And despite that, if you refused to stay in hell, or you told Blaze you can’t stay here, he would give it all up. He would try his best to blend in to the mortal world.”

Petra’s words hit me harder than I thought they would. Blaze had said sacrifices had to be made. I had assumed he had been talking about me, but it was really either of us. One of us had to choose to give up our old life. One of us had to give up everything we knew.

I had already figured I’d be living in hell now that I was pregnant. My child would be half demon. Maybe even more if it was true that I now had Blaze’s blood running through my veins.

It had to be me. I was the one who would age slowly. I was the one who would have to lie to my friends and family and slowly disappear into the background.

“How long is a long time?” I asked.

Petra looked down at me, knowing exactly what I was asking. “Hundreds to thousands of years, Riley. It’s different with every human, but with Blaze’s blood, I’d say thousands of years.”

Shaking my head as I tried to process what she said, I looked up. “Demons are immortal.”

She nodded, “we are. We can die. Although tough, with the right weapons, someone can kill us. We age slowly, so slow you wouldn’t be able to tell in your lifetime.”

I placed a hand on my stomach, still amazed at all the information I had received in the last few hours. “I’m still a little in overwhelmed.”

Petra nodded in understanding. “He’s been debating how to tell you.” She smiled and nodded her head for me to follow behind her. “He’s afraid you will turn your back on him when all is done, but don’t you dare tell him I told you that.”

I stopped walking. “What do you mean? He knows how I feel about him.”

Petra turned, facing me. “He is a demon. You, even though you now have his blood, are still mostly human. He’s afraid you will remember he is a big bad demon prince and try to hide his child from him.”

My jaw dropped open, but words did not come. It made me sad that even after everything we had gone through, he doubted me. Or maybe it was fear? Had being alone for all of those centuries made him fear being alone?

“I would never,” I said, looking up at Petra.

She nodded, turning back around. “What if he isn’t who you think he is? What if you replace out all the horrible things he did before he was captured? You must neve forget he is a demon. Maybe this was his plan all along.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” I said, taking a deep breath.

“Because it’s what is running through his mind,” Petra answered. “Now come on. You are staying here tonight. I’m sure you are tired.”

I wasn’t, but I didn’t argue. Instead, I followed her up a set of stairs, down a hall, and into a lavishly decorated bedroom. “Bathroom is through that door,” Petra said, pointing.

As I nodded, she turned to leave but seemed to think better of it. Turning around, she looked at me. “Mother would have never approved, but I’m glad it’s you Blaze has chosen.”

When she left, I didn’t know if I should feel honored or not. Why would their mother not have approved of me? Because I was human?

Hell had more magic in it than I had first expected. The bathroom was fully stocked with anything and everything a person might need. It didn’t occur to me until I went and opened the wardrobe hoping to replace clean clothes, that I realized everything in the room was tailored to my liking.

After a long hot shower, I lay in bed trying my best to sleep, but I couldn’t. My mind wouldn’t stop picturing Blaze on the battlefield. His words telling me I was pregnant kept echoing, bouncing off my brain. I had to pinch myself to make sure all of this wasn’t some vivid dream.

As I lay in the dark, I stared out at the moon. It, like the sky was tinged red. Blood on the moon meant trouble, but I had a feeling the moon always looked like this here.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what a child of mine and Blaze’s would look like. My brain kept trying to put horns on the baby and I eventually just gave up.

Laying flat on my back, I stared at the ceiling. One of my hands moved to my stomach, searching for any signs of my pregnancy. I had gained weight, but it was probably more from me actually eating than my pregnancy.

I had wanted to be bonded with Blaze. He had taken that challenge and it appears fulfilled it better than I had ever suspected. In the blink of an eye, my world was changing all around me.

Who would have thought one little tattoo would have brought me to where I am now? One off line had summoned the demon that would change my life for the better. Who needed a knight in shining armor when you could have a tattooed covered demon?