Page 25 of Inheritance
No part of me wanted to speak with him anymore, not that I could have even if I had wanted to because my door had been locked from the outside all night and morning. Hopefully, breakfast would be coming soon, though, because I had burned through a lot of my energy reserves since waking up at the crack of dawn to start trying to reach my powers.
I flopped down onto my back, feeling the mattress rebound as I fell, knocking the wind out of me just slightly just as a knock came on the door. "If you have food, you may enter. But if your name is Luce, you can fuck right off," I called out, only half of my usual sarcasm infused in the statement, as I knew it didn't matter who it was or what I said—they'd be coming in no matter what.
"I have your breakfast," a soft voice offered, causing me to glance over in confusion. It wasn't a voice I recognized.
Sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I eyed the small girl who seemed to cower near the door with a tray of food in her hands. Her bright grey eyes were unique and glimmered as the rays of light from my window caught them when they darted up to look at me. She didn't hold my gaze longer than a second before they dropped back down to the floor and she asked, "Where...where would you like it?"
"Are you afraid of me?" I asked incredulously. I hadn’t been mean to a single person here—well, outside of Luce at times—but I preferred to call that providing a healthy dose of reality, not being mean. Truly, I was appalled at the thought of a child being afraid of me.
"N...no," she stuttered, still unable to meet my eyes.
Liar.
"What's your name?" I asked, softening my tone.
"Melora," she squeaked. "Or Mel."
"I'm Amare," I answered, smiling at how adorable she was. "Or Ama."
I didn't push her any further and was rewarded after a few moments of silence. Her eyes finally lifted and stayed on my face as she seemed to take me in for the first time. "You're really pretty," she stated, and I don't know what it was, but whenever a child gave me a compliment, it meant more than anyone else doing it. Children were so pure and honest.
My heart warmed, and I patted the bed next to me, "I hate eating meals alone. My dad always told me that meals taste better when you're with friends. Do you want to be friends?"
She perked up and her eyes grew wide, "Really? But you're the queen...Mama told me not to bother you."
Understanding dawned on me as I realized it wasn't that she was afraid of me, but rather that she had been told I was important and not to speak with me.
My lips curled into a genuine smile as I nodded. She squealed and walked over to me, her pale blond curls bobbing slightly with each step as she hyper focused on not spilling the contents of the tray. When she drew close enough, I reached out and grabbed the tray from her, settling it on the bed between us as she climbed up and sat with her legs crossed on the foot of the bed.
"Just don't tell Mama, okay?" she asked in a whisper, her eyes flicking to the door as if her mom was going to show up any minute.
I lifted my pointer finger to my lips, "Our little secret, Mel."
She giggled lightly and then said, "You need to eat so you can grow big and strong, Ama."
Precious little girl...what was this sensation in my tummy? Were my ovaries tingling?
I had never really considered the prospect of children in the future. I mean, I had genuinely thought I couldn’t have physical contact with anyone without killing them until days ago. So the idea of kids hadn’t even been on my radar, especially since it was a built in trait of all Succubi and Incubi to not have the ability to get pregnant unless we flipped that switch within us, signaling that it was time.
Mel was positively adorable and brought a new happiness to me that I hadn’t felt before. It was so pure and judgement free—as if she didn't see the world in jaded colors like the rest of us. What I wouldn't give for more adults to feel that way, or even for the children of Pura to feel that instead of regurgitating the garbage shoved into their brains from birth.
"Okay, I'll eat," I conceded and picked up a strip of bacon that was calling my name. "Did you want any?" I asked before biting off a piece.
She shook her head before peering out my window, "No, thank you."
Wow, she was sweetandhad manners. Her parents deserved an award, for real.
Something in me wanted to just squeeze her to me and soak in her energy. As if the world would feel like it was crashing to the ground around me for just a brief moment while I basked in her light.
As I polished off my bacon, I couldn't help but wonder what species she was. She definitely had an angelic glow about her, but she didn’t quite have the brooding vibe of the Fallen. There were no horns, wings, or runes. I absolutely couldn't picture such a sweet thing being a Hellhound, either. Very peculiar.
A throat cleared from the doorway, making Mel gasp and hop off the bed with wide eyes. Judging by the shadows trailing from her butt like she had tooted in fear, I guessed that perhaps she was a Wraith. I'd have to ask Adrien if he'd ever tooted shadows before he knew how to control them.
I missed him...
Turning my head, I saw Luce and rolled my eyes. I had not missedhim,though.
"Luci!" Mel squealed and ran at him, jumping into his outstretched arms as he crouched down.
