Page 19 of My Demon Desire
"Why?” I shudder though, thinking of that weird-looking dragon. “Where are we going?”
“Back to the house, where you’ll be safer.” He puffs out a breath, arching an eyebrow “Unless you want to tangle with more fae creatures that want to kill you?”
I place my hand in his clawed one, tingles spread up my arm.
In one dizzying motion, he sweeps me off my feet, carrying me and I can't help thinking his muscles are firmer than they look.
Screaming howls echo in the darkness, and I shudder.
Without a word, Thorne races through the forest.
We're moving so fast, I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster ride. Trees blur around us and I cling to Thorne’s neck. I can’t believe he has the strength to carry me and run so fast after fighting the dragon.
Freezing wind blasts against me, but Thorne is warm like an electric blanket turned all the way up and I want to stay in his arms forever.
Or maybe I hit my head a little too hard when I landed because he's a monster, a dark fae, and not even human. And he can shift into a werewolf, apparently. What else don’t I know about him and his kind? What if they secretly eat hearts and this whole ritual thing Reis wanted to do is part of the preparation to do that to me. I shiver, a chill sweeping through me.
Finally, the trees thin and we come to the tall, iron fence and I’ve never thought I’d be so happy to see it.
Yet, he doesn't stop, but carries me through the enclosed courtyard that is now lit by bright torches, their orange flames flickering. I look up and see a huge, ivy-covered castle looming in the distance on top of a mountain.
“What’s that?”
“The queen’s castle,” he says matter-of-factly like castles are the norm in this world.
I want to ask more questions, but the firm, thin line of Thorne’s lips convinces me otherwise.
Thorne races us through the gate. As if by magic, the gate swings closed behind us. The sound of something hitting the gate echoes behind us. Shrieks fill the air, which has me wondering if there really are demons in this place.
And if I'm in worse trouble than I thought trusting monsters. Unseelie, they say. Isn’t that like dark fae?
I swallow hard, a feeling of dread settling in my stomach. I take a deep breath and steel myself for what is to come, praying that I'll be strong enough to survive whatever lies ahead. And that I haven't made the biggest mistake of my life by coming back here with him.
After all, Kaden obviously didn’t want me here and I see no sign of him or Reis.
"Where are the others?"
"Reis was out looking for you, he'll be back soon,” Thorne says. "And I'm glad Kaden dragged his ass out of the kitchen or I'd be tempted to hit him again."
"No. you're still injured from the dragon, you don't need to fight Kaden." Which I assume is because Thorne is pissed at Kaden for sending me out at night alone in this crazy world of theirs.
"Let's get you something to eat." Thorne grunts, wincing as he sets me down. Their house is cut from gray stone and resembles more of a large cottage than a modern-day home.
"I'm not really hungry," I say. I nearly died today. How can I eat?
But Thorne doesn't listen to me and guides me to the kitchen, not saying a word the whole time. The kitchen is bigger than mine with an old-fashioned stove and a fireplace. A table with four chairs that look hand-crafted sits in the middle of the stone floor.
He shows me to a chair, pushing it in for me as though I'm a guest and he's the host. He moves around the kitchen silently, gathering food and drinks, and eventually places a tray of food and a mug of some steaming liquid in front of me.
"Eat," he orders without looking at me and then retreats to the other side of the table after pouring himself a goblet of the same liquid as mine and drinking it down.
I devour the food that's mostly some type of flatbread and gamey-tasting meat. But it's so good, I eat it all. I wonder where Reis and Kaden are. Though seeing how torn up Thorne looks, I decide to wait. They could be in their rooms for all I know.
After taking the last sip of my drink, I gasp, still unused to the flavor. I look up to the corner of the room to see him set the goblet down.
He adds logs to the fire in the hearth and soon it's roaring to life. He stumbles back into his chair and sits down. He leans forward, rubbing his forehead as if he has a raging headache. He's in pain and here I am stuffing myself the whole time.
"Your injuries," I start. "Do you have a first aid kit? I can clean your wounds and stitch you up."
