Page 51 of Hell Sent

Something shifted between them after that night.

The change was mostly in him, if he thought about it. Raiya had always been kind to him, always smiling at him, always offering him her hand. He was the one who had maintained the barrier between them.

When she asked him to return with her to the Roamer camp just outside of Ontag-ul to visit Jai and Madira, he agreed easily, despite his mixed feelings about the place. He followed wherever she guided him, not just because he had nowhere else to go, but because he trusted her wisdom and because he wanted to see her smile when he said yes. He was an obedient pet, a vigilant bodyguard, and her shadow. He would go anywhere with her, do anything she asked.

Succumbing to the enthrallment was terrifyingly easy. He slipped beneath the waves of desire and trust, drowning himself. He was fully broken, and the longer it went on, the less he cared.

If he’d been enthralled by another demon, he would have been doomed—thrown on his back and ruthlessly used, or exorcised, or simply executed in disgust, like Atara. But with Raiya… perhaps he would live through this.

The Roamers welcomed them into their midst again. Jai and Madira offered them a bedroll, even after it became clear that they realized what he was.

He knelt beside Raiya as she tucked herself into her bed. Rain pattered against the walls of the tent. Outside, there was a burst of laughter from a group of Roamers who were still awake. Azreth pictured them smiling and laughing, enjoying each other’s company.

He had hated them before. Their joy had made him furious. Now, he thought nothing of it. He was not even annoyed by the noise. He was embarrassed by how he’d reacted to them before.

Raiya’s hair was freshly washed and damp, shining in the lantern light, and the skin bared by the collar of her undershirt was clean and smooth. Through the thin, white cloth of her underclothes, he could make out the faint shape of her body, all supple and slim and curved. When he looked at her, he had an urge to touch her that was completely different from anything he’d felt with another person before. It was nothing like the dull, obligatory attraction he’d felt toward Nariel, and he didn’t know why.

“It’s been a while since you slept,” she said. “You must need rest.”

“Not here.”

She smiled gently. “No one will hurt you here. And I’ll be with you.”

A dull pain cut through his chest—the enthrallment. Before now, he hadn’t known that enthrallment presented not only as an ailment of a mind, but as a physical sickness as well. His chest ached constantly. When she was sweet to him, it got worse. He had never loved pain so much.

“I can’t.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her—only his own fear held him back. He would never be able to sleep while he could still hear dozens of people in other tents nearby.

“Then will you just hold me while I sleep?” she asked.

“Are you cold?”

“No.”

He looked at her for a long moment, glancing toward and then away from the healing bite mark on her shoulder. “Does it not frighten you to have my arms around you? Does it not make you feel… trapped? In danger?”

She smirked, amused. “I like having your arms around me.”

There was a painful twist in his heart again. He slid closer to her, looming over her, but instead of shying away, her eyes went soft and sweet.

“Do you know that you’re beautiful?” she said.

She must have meant to say something else. No one had ever used the wordbeautifulin relation to scarred, disfigured Azreth. But she slid her hand over his arm, savoring the feel of his skin as if it were luxurious fabric.

“I suppose you must know that you’re impressive,” she said. “And I suppose demons are designed to seduce mortals, so maybe it goes without saying. But you’re beautiful. I’d bet that you’re uncommonly beautiful even among other demons.”

The pain in his chest throbbed, so intense he thought he might die. He took her hand, and then he was leaning down, putting his face close to hers. He paused with his mouth an inch away from hers, almost thinking better of it, because maybe she’d misspoken or maybe he would frighten her or maybe he wasn’t doing this right.

But then he leaned in and carefully touched his lips to hers, the way she’d done to him before. A thrill went through him, from his head to his toes.It was reckless, transgressive, deviant. It was a spectacular display of trust to invite someone’s mouth and teeth so close.

When he finally broke away, he did so reluctantly. “I am happy to do as you ask,” he murmured.

She seemed slightly breathless. “Happy?”

“Yes.”

Since she’d removed her outer clothing before bed, he did too, and then he slid into bed behind her. The space was so small that he was forced to press against her, bending his body around hers. She balled herself up against him, pulling his arm over her waist as if she saw it as a source of comfort rather than a weapon.

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