Page 19 of The Demon Mark

His beard rasped against her pants, and she drew in a sharp breath, so he had to wonder if she could feel the scrape against her thighs as well. She was trembling now. Shaking in his arms like she already knew what she desired, and she was so close to telling him what she wanted.

But then she heaved a long sigh. “You have no future, demon. There is only darkness in your touch and danger in the whisper of your venomous words.”

“Yes, they are venomous, aren’t they?” He turned his head and sank his teeth into her thigh, enjoying the unbidden moan that echoed from her lips at the sensation. “And I desire to consume you, oracle. That is all I want.”

She tilted her head back, eyes closed or staring at the ceiling. He did not know. But he couldn’t stop himself from biting again, leaving little teeth marks just below where she needed him to touch her before he disappeared through a portal.

Let her think on that for a while. Soon enough, she would be eating out of his hand.

8

In some way, this all felt like a dream. It wasn’t reality that Lilith had been stolen out of her home by a demon king who was bent on possessing her for himself. She was just an oracle. A strange little creature that made everyone feel uncomfortable when she was around.

That was who she had always been. That was who her master had found, and that was what she had always been known as. No one wanted her. They wanted her power or her abilities, or they wanted to know their own future.

And yet this man had captured her for himself. Not because she could see his future. She’d told him multiple times now that there was no future to see. Not in the slightest. He was just a blank slate for her to stare into the abyss and see herself reflected back. A failure of an oracle because there was someone she couldn’t see.

Still, here she was.

Lilith had thought going to sleep was the best option. She had snuggled up in the most comfortable bed she’d ever been in, and told herself that she’d wake right back up in the circus. Perhaps she would open her eyes and realize that she was lying on the stable floor. One of the animals had kicked her in the head because she trusted them too much. It was a threat she’d been told a million times.

So, for the night, she allowed herself to enjoy the conjured luxury. It was just a dream, anyway.

She’d told Envy that she didn’t dream of a place like this. That she was happy in her old life, but that wasn’t the truth. What woman wouldn’t want to be here with him? Staring at those broad shoulders and smoldering green eyes for the rest of her life? But dreams didn’t come true.

Lilith could hope and dream and pray her entire life, and that would never convince a man like Envy to want her. He was too handsome. Too powerful. Too wealthy. All the things that she was not. He would eventually look at her and realize he spit and shined gutter trash, but underneath all the polish was still a creature who was worthless in the end.

It was better for her to not suffer through seeing that realization dawn on him. Even her dreams could be cruel, and Lilith hoped she would wake up back in the stable and laugh at herself for such silly fancies.

Maybe she’d go to the healer to get her head looked at when she woke.

But she opened her eyes what felt like moments later, and all she could see was... Sunlight. Bright, glittering sunlight that illuminated the entire room until it was bathed in gold.

It really was a beautiful room. Even she had to admit that, no matter how much she hated being trapped in it. The golden light made it seem like she was in a garden. Like he’d built her a little haven in the middle of a nightmare, giving her a dream within a dream.

The tub at the end of the room was a lovely beast built into the ground. Or, she supposed, carved out of it. She could see a hint of scales within, and wondered if he’d carved a mermaid into the depths just so she could feel like she was swimming with magical creatures.

And yet, even with all these beautiful carvings and light, it was still a room that was just white. Pale and nothing. There were no plants. Nothing alive in the room at all. Just her in this cold, white room with plain brown blankets. A garden that had been frozen in its sleep.

She pinched herself. Hard.

“Still here then,” she muttered, shaking her head before clambering down from the massive bed. There had to be a way out.

He wouldn’t have created a room without a door, so she spent the rest of her morning searching for it. Lilith ran her fingers over every single mark on the walls. Every petal of every fake flower was touched, depressed, leaned on. She took her time on the bed, climbing up onto the mattress and even running her fingers over the ceiling.

Nothing moved at her touch. No shift or sense of magical release. Nothing at all. She was walking around, looking like an idiot, and all she could think was that she’d missed a petal.

But her stomach rumbled with hunger and she supposed it was maybe time to resort to more drastic measures.

Screaming.

She sat down on the center of the bed, tilted her head back, and screamed as loud as she could. The sound echoed around the room, but it had the sense of dullness to it. Like she was buried underground.

Then the panic set in.

What if she was buried? What if he’d put her so far beneath the earth that no one would ever find her? That would serve his purpose, wouldn’t it? He had wanted her for himself and now she was buried in the heart of the kingdom. There was no door. No entrance, no exit, no way for her to get back to her home.

The screams were real now. She went from shouting in hopes that someone would hear her, to screams of madness as delirium set in. What if he had done the worst thing possible? What if she wasn’t ever going to get out of here? What if, in the end of all this, she really had been kidnapped by a madman who only wanted her for himself?

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