Page 38 of Grabbed By the Guard

Glaine sucks in a breath, lowering the sword as if realizing that I have major concerns about this. “My horns are different. It’s not like losing one in a challenge. These are my second horns. Every few times I turn to my shadows and back, they reappear and I must get rid of them.”

“Why?”

He doesn’t answer me. Because he wants me to see for myself in his essence?

Too bad.

I try another tactic. “Does it hurt?”

“I’ve grown used to it over the centuries.”

That’s not a no. “Why would you hurt yourself? I don’t get it. And,” I add, jabbing my pointer finger at him when he opens his mouth, “I don’t want you to say that I could tell from your essence. That’s not the point. I’m asking you.”

Glaine sighs. “There are… expectations of two-horns. Expectations that I’d rather not deal with.”

“Like?”

Before he can answer me, we’re interrupted by a loud knock at the door, so strong it reaches us upstairs.

“Someone is at the door,” Glaine announces.

No shit.

“Would it be rude to ignore them?” I ask.

I already know the answer before he nods. “Yes.”

Fine. “Okay. Let’s go see who it is. But don’t think this topic of conversation is over, Glaine. I don’t know why you think it’s okay to mutilate yourself, but if Loki can walk around with two pairs of horns, you should, too.”

“Loki is a mage.”

And? “So? You’re a guard. You’d think that having an extra pair of points to threaten the duke’s enemies with would be a plus.”

He frowns. “It’s not that?—”

Knock, knock, knock.

The banging has taken a little more of an urgent edge.

I throw Glaine another look that says we’re still not done, mourn the fact that I didn’t get the chance to try out the wash basin to clean the ash off my feet just yet, then start for the stairs as soon as I make sure he disappears that sword of his.

The heavy footfalls behind me and the oversized shadow falling in front of me let me know that Glaine is joining me.

Once we reach the door, I step aside, letting him open. After all, this is his home. I’m just being nosy, seeing who could be out there since there are no windows for me to peek through.

Glaine pulls in the door, revealing a Sombra demon male standing there.

From my angle beside my demon, I see that the newcomer is about a half-head shorter than Glaine. Like Glaine, he is in his solid demon form. Unlike Glaine, he’s wearing a tan-colored linen shirt, dark brown pants, and black foot coverings.

Glaine’s house wasn’t too far from where we met Loki, but during our quick walk over, I noticed that the village is different from the palace in so many ways. Mavro is a blue-tinged oasis, unlike the reddish rest of the realm, and the heat and humidity is a bitch. The demons here seem to prefer their solid form instead of the inky black shadows of the mages and guards in the duke’s palace, and while some of them wear the same shadow coverings as Glaine—like Loki—others are in real clothes.

This demon has gold eyes instead of Glaine’s eyes,

“Apollyon. After you weren’t there to meet us at the border of the village, I would’ve thought you’d wait until we’d settled in from our travels before you’d come to see me. We had to go on foot, and it took longer than we expect.”

Smooth, Glaine. No mention that we broke out of jail, though I’m sure all of Nuit knows by now, and he just about asks the clan leader to give us until tomorrow to figure out our next step before he pulls rank.

No dice.

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