Page 60 of Demonic Cage
I open my mouth, then close it again. I hadn’t even thought about what Darya might look like.
“He is,” I begin, gesturing around, “like this when he transforms?”
“The Demon King’s form is unparalleled. So is mine. That’s why we’re perfect together, and have been for hundreds of years now.” I sense the threat in her words.
“I heard you also came from my world,” I say, referring to what Nárs had said about Darya picking up Léthé from a slavetrading ship in the middle of a storm. She nods.
“That’s right. Darya saved me, and even then, he knew that I would become a special demon. He personally oversaw my training.”
I glance over her black, short jumpsuit. Most of her chest is exposed, but the neckline reaching down to her navel isn’t as conspicuous as the almost panty-sized shorts.
“And did the Demon King personally have your military uniform tailored for you?”
She doesn’t take the bait, but rather smiles triumphantly.
“I often need it for my work, and besides, why cover up what looks good?”
I try to hate and scorn her, but I have to admit, this woman is truly beautiful. Maybe her strength lies in proudly wearing her flaws as wonders, making everyone feel like there’s nothing lacking in her. At least, I can’t find anything besides her arrogance and killer instinct, which would be a problem. Maybe these are even attractive to Darya.
The crimson light is replaced by the sunlight shining through small openings. I know where we’re going before we step into the spacious, root-covered room. A sense of calm settles in my chest. The marvelous grayish-red branches of the tree lazily reach out across the chamber, touching the edges of the walls. The surrounding, crumbling earth initially seems like lifeless mud, but as I step closer, I see it’s the result of the perfect symbiosis between the tree and the space. The plant seems to emphasize that, while Darya may be the king of demons, it rules over all of Filizi’s land.
And there he stands. By the trunk of the tree.
The black claws of the Kraldem rest on his elbows, his clasped arms accentuating his muscular shoulders. Blackteardrop tattoos emerge from the corner of his eyes, nicely lining his curved lips, before disappearing under the leather shirt reaching up to his neck. His gaze sweeps over me, and a small gap forms between his lips, as if he were hissing.
“Shall we go?” the mermaid next to me asks uninterestedly.
“Léthé,” Darya addresses her firmly. “Leave us.”
Disdainful ridges appear on the woman’s face.
“The ceremony is about to begin,” she says tensely.
“We’ll be there,” Darya says, waving off her concern and approaching us, but he only looks into my eyes as if Léthé doesn’t even exist. My heart pounds again, and it feels like hundreds of spiders are running under my skin.
The mermaid sighs, and I see her angry gaze from the corner of my eye, then she turns on her heel and leaves. But when Darya looks down at me with his piercing eyes, I can only swallow in my embarrassment.
“Come!” He puts his cold hand on the small of my back and leads me to the tree.
“Touch its trunk!”
“What? It didn’t go so well yesterday…”
“Aren’t you curious to find out if anything has changed?” I’m afraid to touch the tree.
After a moment, I change my mind. What’s the worst that could happen?
I touch it, and calm washes over me again. I don’t think about grief. I don’t think about how little I am to Darya. I’m just enough. Without worry, I take my hand away.
“What… what was that? Why didn’t I feel overwhelmed?” I ask, as Darya leans closer to me. He places his hand on the tree, towering over me now, and I turn my back to the trunk.
“You felt what it’s like when you truly allow yourself to be happy.”
He leans closer to me.
“Will it always be like this now?” I ask, but in such a choked voice that I can barely hear myself.
The Demon King shakes his head.
