Page 29 of Capturing Sin

My jaw clenched hard enough to ache.

He could pretend to have the moral high ground all he wanted, but I’d seen what blood demons like him were capable of. He’d not exactly proved me wrong with his venomous bite designed for agony.

“Hurry up and bite me.”

“So eager for more pain, hmm? What’s a meek little thing like you even doing here? As irritating as you are, you don’t strike me as evil.”

His words had me shifting on my feet. I’d chosen to do this so I could protect people, but I was still being forced into it.

I said nothing, pointedly eyeing my exposed wrist instead. His bite wounds from before had fully healed, only two red dots remaining. I briefly wondered whether he’d go for the same spot or create a sea of wounds like I had some kind of contagious disease.

“Not feeling chatty today, hmm?” He stepped forwards, sinking to his knees with an indulgent smirk. “I suppose a little poison is worth it if it means hurting one of the hunters capturing and slaughtering my kind. How many demons have you killed? Are there others just like me trapped down here?”

My gut churned uncomfortably at the undoubtable knowledge that I was still the villain here, even though I’d done everything I could to escape the violence.

“Is there anyone just like you? I’ve not met such a bland prick before,” I huffed. “Must be a one-of-a-kind parasite.”

“I’m not a common subspecies,” he sneered, raising his tail over his shoulder to show off the deadly spikes covering the heart-shaped tip. “But I am a dangerous one.”

I already knew there were multiple types, or subspecies, of blood demon. Hunters just liked to group things into the generic categories of what they fed on. That way, we knew what type of attack to expect without overcomplicating things.

Given his monochrome colouring and spikes, he must be the same subspecies as my demonic saviour, but I couldn’t face bringing him up.

“Sure you are,” I muttered. “Besides, I don’t hunt. Not…anymore.”

Fane’s dying eyes flashed through my mind. I didn’t hunt, but I still killed.

My throat closed off with the memory. I wasn’t sure why I was trying to defend myself to a demon I was about to poison, anyway. There was no redemption here for me.

The demon quirked a brow. “Oh, a reformed murderer, then? And when was your last hunt?” He leaned forward ever so slightly. “Whose life did you decide was over?”

I frowned, sensing he might be a little too interested in my answer. “If you must know, I was ambushed in a warehouse three weeks ago.” My words came out carefully neutral. “I haven’t hunted since.”

“Did you shoot them? Or take a blade to flesh?” he hissed, eyes glowing with malice. “Did they die begging you for mercy?”

“Three demons surrounded me, and I cut down each bastard as they shredded my flesh and broke my bones,” I snarled, hating that he was digging up my guilt and throwing it in my face.

Every detail of that night haunted me.

I couldn’t talk about my saviour. His death was on my conscience, even though I hadn’t wielded the blade.

“Good.” The demon bared his fangs, pointy teeth glinting menacingly under the artificial lights.

I held my arm still despite the grating anticipation and rolled my eyes, more annoyed at myself for letting him bait me than the caged monster so eager to hurt me. “Get on with it, demon. I’m no stranger to pain.”

He canted his horns, letting the pearly strands of his short hair fall aside to reveal the tapered tip of his elfin ear. Of course even his ears were pointy.

Glowing eyes bored into me as he seemed to consider something. “No… I suppose you’re not.”

I didn’t like the way he looked at me, like I was some mouse he’d caught to play with before devouring me whole.

“I bet, in a place like this, they’d teach you all about pain. You’re braced for it. Expecting it from every demon you come across.” A slow grin showcased pointy teeth. “But you’re not prepared for this.”

He lunged, fangs slicing into my skin.

I hissed as the pain registered, but instead of the burning agony from before, a different heat swam through my veins.

A gasp cut off my exhale. My whole body responded. Heat travelled through my veins, pooling low in my abdomen. My core clenched in violent need, and I could feel the slickness at the apex of my thighs as I rubbed them together.

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