Page 11 of Taken to the Deadlands

Aris’s mouth twisted into a snarl.

“They will not bid on this one. Give her to me. I am running out of patience.”

The other demon sighed but didn’t fight her.

“Seventy thousand going once… twice… Sold to Aris of the Deadlands!”

When Aris’s gaze met mine, my breath was stolen from my chest.

This woman—demon—is going to eat me.

Another thought followed that one.

Well, at least she’s hot.

Chapter 5

Aris

This little human is going to fucking ruin everything.

Not only had she burst out headfirst onto the stage, but even as I brought her back to my spot to sit, she fought against me.

“Let me go, you asshole!”

She tried to pull her tiny wrists from my hand, but she was too weak, like most of her kind. Still, I pulled her to me, needing her to come close. When she winced, a shot of guilt burst through me.

“Just be good,” I warned, leaning closer to whisper in her ear.

The weight of the eyes of the many demons in the room made my skin burn. It wouldn’t be good for me if they saw my weakness. It wasn’t uncommon for demons to take a human companion, but not many treated them with respect.

Nor did they let them throw a fit in the middle of an auction.

Madam’s voice sounded behind me, and the auction was resumed.

The human looked back to the stage, and I took advantage of the distraction to pull her away.

She didn’t fight me as hard this time. Maybe because we were headed straight to the twins and to the people who were already focused on bidding on the next human.

“A royal favor.” Eros’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried far, silencing anyone who so much as attempted to speak over her.

Even the human knew not to say anything as I sat her down in my chair. She attempted to make herself smaller by folding her shoulders in and putting her hands between her legs. I knew the right thing to do would be to kneel in front of her and calmly talk her through this, but I had an image to uphold.

I felt Yien come to my side before I saw or heard her. The coldness of her shadows enveloped us and caused the human to look up at me with a startled expression.

I was met with hazel eyes with long, damp lashes. Umber skin shone under the dim lighting, enough for me to catch a glimpse of the dark freckles that lined her face and neck. Her brown hair was stuck to her skin, which I now realized was slick with sweat.

The human is scared.

“Cover us more,” I ordered Yien.

“My human is next.”

“This won’t take long.”

Yien’s shadows filled the space around us. I dropped to my knees in front of the human, and she straightened suddenly, giving me a grim expression.

“I don’t taste good,” she said quickly. “I have a human blood disease that is slowly rotting me from the inside. If you’re not careful, I’m pretty sure you can catch it too.”

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