Page 32 of Demon Hunger
Even though I tried to push him away, he prevailed. I tried everything to keep him out of my head, but it was useless. Only one thing seemed to finally do the trick: exhaustion.
Another eternity passed, or so it seemed, before I became aware of myself again. It happened by degrees. My ears started registering sounds. My nose twitched with the scent of disinfectant. The glow of a cool light shone through my eyelids, and the feel of a hand wrapped around mine let me know I wasn’t alone.
I opened my eyes to find Drevan’s chiseled profile. He was sitting on a chair next to my bed. His right hand was on top of mine, holding it tenderly while his thumb absently caressed my knuckles. His attention was focused on the row of windows next to my bed and the shafts of sunlight slicing through the glass and making squares on the floor.
Somehow, I knew he’d been here all this time—not the eternity I’d imagined, but many hours. He’d refused to leave. I knew that too. And Dani… she’d been here. I’d recognized her voice. I must’ve been semi-conscious as she treated me. Where was she now?
I glanced toward the entrance to the infirmary, and that was when Drevan noticed I was awake. He sprang to his feet, squeezing my hand and smiling, even though his eyes wavered with untold emotion.
“You’re awake,” he said in a tremulous voice that made me wonder if he’d doubted I would ever mend. His warm hand caressed the side of my face, pushing hair behind my ear. He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, then pulled back. “I’m sorry. I’m just so glad you’re better.”
I continued looking at him without saying a word. I scanned his high cheekbones and strong brow, his devilish eyebrows and sculpted lips, his raven hair and Roman nose, then fell into his golden eyes, imagining they reflected the ichor that ran through his veins.
A frown split his forehead. “Lucia, do you… know who I am?”
It took me a moment to understand why he was asking, then I realized I hadn’t said a word. I’d just been staring at him as if I’d never seen him before.
Unable to help myself, I matched his frown. “Um…”
Panic flooded his expression.
I blinked slowly, scanning the room as if I’d never seen it before. Drevan seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for something to click in my brain, and I would have continued the charade if not for the way his breaths became visibly agitated, as if the very apocalypse he feared was at our doorstep. Something twitched inside my chest at the sight of his deep concern.
I met his gaze without saying a word. A smile started stretching the corner of my lips. He wrinkled his nose as the realization of what I was doing hit him. Then a spark of mischief lit up his gaze.
“Allow me to introduce myself then,” he said, letting go of my hand and pressing his palm to his broad chest. “My name is Drevan Morningstar. I am the Prince of Hell, and you’re terribly in love with me.”
My frown deepened at that. “Is that so?”
“Perhaps I’ve exaggerated a bit.” He paced around the front of the bed, where the matching black jacket to his pants was draped over. He was in shirtsleeves, the silver tie around his neck loose and crumpled. “I am notthePrince of Hell. I amaPrince of Hell. I have many brothers and sisters. Emphasis on many.”
“Is that all you exaggerated about?” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.
He stopped at the window, glanced down at the street, and seemed to ponder for a moment. When he turned around and faced me, his expression and teasing mood changed. Instead, now he seemed solemn.
“Do you believe my second statement was only an exaggeration?” He walked closer and took my hand once more.
I glanced down as he interlaced his fingers with mine. I expected to feel revulsion and anger like before, but my feelings were very different. I couldn’t tell exactly in what way, but it seemed that almost dying had a way of pivoting points of view.
He went on. “Ms. Sunder—your name is Lucia Evelina Sunder, by the way,” even though he was serious, it seemed he hadn’t abandoned the joke altogether, “an exaggeration is an amplification of the truth, which would indicate that perhaps you do feel something for me, something that one day can grow into more.”
I swallowed thickly and tried to extricate my hand from his, but it was a weak attempt, and he held on to me. I found no words to confirm or deny what he was saying. When he received no answer, he lowered his head, averting his eyes.
“Strangely so,” he said, “I find your silence encouraging, so encouraging that,” his golden eyes met mine again, “that I must confess it is I who is deeply in love with you.”
A small gasp escaped my lips. My trembling hand covered my mouth as shock trembled through me like a small earthquake. Though he’d told me this before, I still couldn’t believe it. I shook my head. It couldn’t be true. This—
“Forgive me for taking the liberty to tell you this once more, but the past week I feared I would lose you, without you truly understanding the depth of my feelings. I feared I would be responsible for your demise, for taking such a risk by transferring you through a portal when you were already ill.”
“A week? It’s been a week since…?” Clearly, the coward in me chose to focus on entirely the wrong thing.
Drevan nodded in answer, though the disappointment at my evasion was evident in his expression.
“Dani was here? Wasn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“Is she gone now?”
