Page 41 of Thane's Demon
“He has had a long day. You should try not to add to his stress, Alora, and do as you are told.”
I watched as the girl I had just spent the afternoon with, the one who had spoken about books like love letters and who had smiled when I told her I liked her hair, folded in on herself justa little more. Her expression shuttered. Her gaze dropped. She murmured something that looked like an apology, and I hated the way the word shaped her mouth.
She should not be apologizing!
‘We should take her.
We would protect her.
Worship her.
Our Queen.
Our Goddess.’
The demon insisted, its voice a rough purr now, dangerous with its intent to steal her away. And despite how much I tried to hold it back, the image rose unbidden in my mind. Alora, in my space. Not in this sterile box of glass and marble with its cold lighting and even colder people. But in my apartment, where the world could not reach her.
Wrapped in new colorful blankets I would buy for her. With new books in hand, her hair a wild halo around her head, loose and untamed. Eyes softly looking up at me, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth because she felt safe.
The thoughts were so vivid they nearly knocked the breath from me. It was wrong. Impossible. I had no right to want something so simple yet so enormous.
I forced the fantasy away and focused. Information first. Control yourself. You cannot rip her whole world apart because you dislike the way her father looks at her, I told my demon…At least not yet.
The conversation continued. Questions about her grades. Thinly veiled threats about what would happen if she did not meet expectations. A reminder of how much they were paying for her education. Every sentence weighed, every word turned into pressure. She stood through all of it like a small ship in a relentless storm, never entirely capsizing, but battered all the same.
“You will come straight home after classes tomorrow, no exception,” her father finished. “No more wandering. No more library stories. I will not have you throwing away this opportunity the way your mother would have.”
The way he said ‘mother’ turned my blood to ice, and at the same time, Alora went utterly still. For a moment, every negative emotion showed on her face. Just for a heartbeat. Pain flashed through her eyes, so raw and deep that it made something inside me roar in response. Then she smoothed it away, burying it under obedience.
“Yes, Father,” she said again, but this time the words sounded like they scraped against her throat.
‘Enough!’
My demon snarled, thrashing against its confines.
‘He speaks of her dead mother!
Mocks her memory.
Hurts our female.’
My hand tightened so hard on the balcony rail that a sharp crack split the air around me. It was quiet, not enough to be heard over the sounds of conversation and distant traffic, but the metal beneath my grip had bent. I forced my fingers to uncurl, breath coming harder now, the effort of restraint suddenly feeling like a battle.
I couldn’t storm into that room. Not yet. I couldn’t wrap my hand around the man’s throat, lift him off his feet, and show him what real fear felt like. No matter how much my demon burned to do exactly that. It would only bring more danger to her doorstep, not less. And as much as I craved the satisfaction of putting an end to his cruelty, I wanted her to feel safe around me even more. I needed her to trust me before I could snatch her away from this cruel world masked by an ivory tower.
‘She is not safe here.
He could hurt her.’
The demon whispered.
‘They will break her.
They will dim the light of her soul.’
I knew it was right. I had seen too many souls broken without a single blow being struck, words and rules and cold affection cutting far deeper than any weapon.
They left her alone eventually. The man retreated to what I assumed was his study, the woman drifting away with him, their conversation shifting to business, money, and social events. Alora remained where she was, alone in the center of the room for a few long seconds, as if her body didn’t know where to go now that it was no longer required to stand and listen.
