Page 8 of Sweet Violence
I peered nosily around his crimson fingers as the devil pushed open a giant door, and I sucked in a surprised breath. The whole place had a gothic movie vibe to it, from the dark wooden staircases, the mezzanine level above, and the dated paintings of dour men and women hanging on the dark teal walls. It was like I walked into the house fromCrimson Peak,complete with dark brown columns, arches, and a viewing platform two levels above.
"This is just the sitting room," Dev explained, watching my reaction closely as I dragged my attention from the vaulted ceiling, the panels between wooden vaults painted in night-sky blue, to the room in front of me.
I vaguely noticed the sofas and chairs arranged around the roaring fireplaces were human-sized, not Dev-sized, but mostly my attention stuck on a giant, gilt-framed painting of the devil and Taj, both looking scowly and serious, both more or less the same height with fierce red skin, horns, bulging muscle, and fangs bared in a grin. The only considerable difference was the lines around Dev's eyes and the triple row of curving horns to Taj’s two rows.
"I thought you might like to see your mates when we're too busy to be with you," the devil said, his eyes burning the side of my face. “You’ll find more portraits throughout the suite.”
"How long am I supposed to stay here?" I asked, already looking for exits.
The only door on this level was the one we entered through, but there could be any number of them on the two floors above. I was actually excited to explore them, like a kid let loose in a holiday home. My childhood holidays mostly consisted of stalking Dad's victims until he was ready to make his move, butstill, the adventures around new hotels and apartments were fun.
Dev was silent enough that I peered up at his severe face, a deep furrow between his striking eyes.
"Forever," he replied. "Unless you'd prefer not to."
Great, now I felt like I hurt the devil's feelings.
"Let's take it a day at a time, yeah?" I offered, patting his giant hand. "Can you put me down? I want to explore."
A corner of his mouth flicked up as he set me on a thick, woven rug in dark navy and grey in the middle of the room, the heat from the fireplace slamming into me and leeching all the tension from my bones.
"There's the door we entered through, and see here, there's a smaller inset door that would suit your size better than the full height," he said.
When I looked where he pointed, sure enough, there was a human-sized door set within the giant-sized door.
"Huh. Cool."
"And on the second floor, there are exactly eighteen windows, although many of them are too small for even one as small as you to squeeze through, and all but two are sealed to keep out the cold. As for the remaining two, I'd advise against climbing through them; this side of the castle looks out on a sheer face of the mountain."
"Are you ... telling me where the exits are? Or warning me against escaping?" I asked, craning my neck to give him a weird look.
"Both, I suppose," he answered, his rumbling voice quieter with me all the way down here, though I noticed this room was big enough to fit all twenty feet of him inside it. "I'd rather you not hurt yourself in pursuit of knowledge I can freely give."
"Fancy words, I like them. What about the top floor, then?"
"That's where you'll have the best luck. Most windows face the mountains, including the balcony attached to your bedroom, but the highest window on the left side would give you a route across the roof. Butdo noteven think about scaling the roof, babygirl. If I find out you've broken your ankle exploring my rooftops, I'll befurious."
I scoffed. "Broken my ankle? What do you think I am, an amateur?"
Dev made a long sound in his throat, crossing bulging arms across his chest. For the first time, I noticed what he was wearing. His massive chest was bare—apparently allergies to shirts was a trait that ran in the family—and tight black canvas clung to powerful thighs and calves. Not a loincloth in sight.1
"Fine, I pinky promise not to try to escape tonight," I sighed, crossing my own arms.
Dev knelt in the empty space by the door, folding his enormous body and … and extending his little finger. Fuck me, that was cute. The devil was really gonna hold me to my pinky promise? He reminded me of X just then, and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
I wrapped my little finger as much as I could around his giant one, and shook. "There. Now it's binding."
He grunted, accepting the promise, but his eyes met mine, imploring.2
"I don't want you to get hurt. Hell is a big world, and it's full of dangers for a human, even one as deadly and beautiful as you. I know you can handle most threats, but not a perilous fall."
I utterly and completely ignored the heat that crept into my cheeks at the fervent compliments.
"Why do you care so much? I'm sure there are millions of humans who've come through hell. Why am I so fascinating?"
"One, I bonded you. You're my mate, and I take my dutiesveryseriously," he replied, sitting up straighter.
"Duties…" I mouthed, wondering what the hell they could be.
