Page 10 of Dark Captivation

“You want to play a game, Sunny? I’d love nothing more than to play games for all eternity with you. But know this.” He pinched my chin, craning his head down so his face hovered inches from mine. “When I play. I play to win.”

His breath smelled of mint and spices, tickling my nose and awakening all my senses. He traced the tattoo with his finger tip, the touch sending sparks of heat searing under my skin.

“When this tattoo fills in completely, it will mean that your heart belongs to me. If that should happen before the 16th of October, exactly two months from now, then you will be mine.” Dark possession seasoned his words.

“And if it doesn’t fill in by then?”

His eyes squinted harshly and a hundred watt smile stole his face. “I will abandon all my war plans and return the territories I’ve acquired.”

Just looking at his shit-eating grin made one thing clear. Malek was so sure he’d win our bet, he would bet his entire future on it.

I grabbed his hand and gave it a shake. He wasn’t the only one who was sure. I had the entire world counting on me now and I sure as hell wasn’t about to let them down. This demon wouldn’t be hurting anyone else, not if I could stop him.

Malek was irresistible; no one who saw him could deny it. But behind the glistening darkness of his eyes lived an evil unlike the world had ever known. How else could anyone justify the deaths of millions for his own wants?

I broke our hand shake and resumed my seat at the table, and put three BBQ chicken legs and a helping of rice onto my plate. Malek joined me, serving himself some ham and macaroni.

I watched the ancient demon eat, contemplating the fact that now, for the second time, I had broken our world’s most sacred law. Mine was a crime that could get me hanged a hundred times over.

I heard the elders’ words of warning as clearly as if they were sitting right beside me.

‘If you want to keep your life and your soul intact, never make deals with demons, especially if that demon happens to be the Demon God.’

CHAPTER FOUR

LIVY

It was the crack of dawn and I was a wolf on a mission. I’d had all night to mull over the events of the last several hours and I’d concluded, I’d fucked up big time.

I rushed down the south wing hallway of Malek’s castle. Raising a hand, I was blocking out the bright sunlight that filtered in through the glass windows on the left.

I needed to stop Malek’s war. Millions of innocent lives depended on it. Yesterday, I made a deal with Malek that if I didn’t fall in love with him within two months, he would abandon his war plans.

Anyone with eyes could see I’d never fall in love with Malek. But you know what they say, demons could make lawyers look truthful. I’d be a fool to expect the Demon King to honor his word and not go through with his plans just because he lost a silly little bet.

He was ruthless and determined. There was no way he would be so easy to stop. I’d need to do more than just wait around for two months to pass and hope he kept his promise when he lost.

A wooden plaque hung at the fork in the hallway up ahead. It read, ‘Library, fifty feet away.’ A red arrow points right at the fork set beneath it.

I took the right, my strides growing wider as I picked up speed.

Malek had been expanding his territories for almost four years.

I needed to learn more about him, discover his fears, his past, his weaknesses and everything that made him who he was. Only then would I know just how to stop him.

I burst in through the library door, tall shelves packed with books stretched out forever. I combed the aisles for the history section, following the signs. This place was colossal with a ceiling thirty feet high, and a bright light overhead that could rival the sun.

It was hard to gauge just how many rooms this library held, as every couple steps I took, I uncovered a new section with shelves of different colors and books of varying designs on the covers.

I passed a reading corner with four comfortable looking accent chairs for reading. Cutting between the chairs, I dove into the French language books section.

I inhaled deeply, savoring the woody scent of the old books on my left. These smelled particularly nice. God, there was no aroma better than this, I thought, as my mind floated back to the book shop Aurora works in.

On slower business days, Aurora and I used to sit around for hours reading romance novels together. We chatted, describing how we thought our future husbands might look, dreaming about the day we would fall in love and all of our dreams would come true.

“Find what you’re looking for?” A womanly voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned around to see a beautiful woman in thick glasses. The embodiment of feminine cuteness, she wore a frilly black dress that flowed just below the knees. Her shoulder length hair was red as fire and her large eyes were a majestic sapphire. Her tiny face was heart shaped, with cheek bones as high as they were sharp.

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