Page 30 of Devour
Yesss,the hiss says again.Let me in.
I grind my teeth.
Just accept my power and you could be a god walking. You could be everything these mere mortals beg for. You could be everything?—
“Fuck off,” I bite out.
Everything goes cold in that instant. My body falls limp to the floor, and then the void sucks everything out of existence until there is only me and the darkness.
13
Lina
Iwake to warmth beneath my cheek.
A deep hum beneath the gritty ground rouses me. I lift my pounding head and blink away the confusion. I am alone in a dark closed-in space. Rock surrounds me on all sides.
“Lovely,” a voice purrs.
I groan as I force my body upright to find I am not so alone after all.
Before me are a set of beautifully polished golden toenails absent of blood. I swallow and lift my eyes all the way up a thin body adorned with golden silk. One bronze leg peeks from between the lush fabric. Finally, I find the face of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
Her hair is black. Her eyes and lips blood red.
I flinch as she reaches toward me. Her eyebrows lift, but then so do the corners of her perfect lips.
Her fingers, painted gold to match her toes, reach my hair, and she rubs the strands of dirty bronze.
“Beautiful color. Your curls would be so luscious with a bit of help.”
I swallow. What in hell is she talking about?
“Where am I?” I say through cracked lips that sting with every movement.
“You didn’t drink any wine at our revelry, did you?”
How is that question relevant?
“My men first found you on the edge of the desert, starving and cowering in a pit.” She squats beside me, gripping my chin between her fingers. “Poor thing.”
I jerk my face from her grasp. “Don’t forget the part where I was hog tied, gagged, and dragged into literal hell.”
“Oh, don’t tell me my boys were rough with you.” She clicks her tongue in disappointment. “I’m very sorry to hear that. Perhaps your beauty was too much of an allure for them. They simply could not help themselves.” Her voice has a lilt like a melody. Beautiful but patronizing.
Anger boils up from my belly. “They couldn’t help themselves?” I bite out with ferocity I didn’t know I was capable of. “Couldn’t help but drag me into a pit where demons?—”
She stands. “Oh, don’t act like you were better off before. You were sleeping in a tree hollow for Nihil’s sake!” Her laugh is shrill.
“Only because we were hiding from your demon spawn,” I growl.
“We?” she says, tilting her head. Her eyes spark.
I cross my arms and refuse to speak. I don’t know that I’m capable of lying at the moment or if I even should. So, I decide silence is the best recourse.
“Where were you sleeping before the tree hollow? Was it better? Where would you have slept last night if it weren’t for the Ancient One’s grace?”
I lift my chin and refuse to answer.
