Page 23 of Demonic Division

I wrap the blanket tight around my shoulders, attempting to hide my face. “Why didn’t you answer me?” I whisper, dropping my eyes to the ground. “Why…”I needed someone. Why is no one ever there when I need them?

The smile drops from M's face, and his mouth sets in a grim line. “I was not aware.” M rubs a clawed hand across his face, his brow set in a deep frown. “I have been down here so long without food, without light, without companionship…” The last word comes out barely above a whisper, but it shocks my heart as much as if he’d screamed it. “Sometimes, my body enters into a hibernation-like state… I cannot hear, I cannot smell, see, or think. I cannot respond to outward stimuli, and therefore, I could not hear your plea.” His eyes find mine, glowing with raw pain. “I’m sorry if I caused you pain.”

The emotion in his voice causes me to pause. This creature who doesn’t evenknowme is offering me more kindness and understanding than I’ve received in my whole life. He’s apologizing for something he has no power or control over, all because I was a little bit spooked without his presence. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous I feel, but I can’t just sit here and waste his sincerity.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I whisper, inching back toward the bars. “I was being ridiculous.Weak?—”

“There’s nothingweakabout you, wildfire,” he interrupts. “Those are lies I will not tolerate from your lips or anyone’s, for that matter. Nor should you.”

The intensity in his stare has the back of my neck heating. I clear my throat, tearing my eyes from the demon and turning my attention to the last of my food reserves. I grab the peanut butter and crackers and shove them through the bars, still unable to meet his gaze as I offer him the snacks.

“Do you want some? It’s not much, but if Kaebl hasn’t fed you, then…”

M's warm laugh fills the air, and I jerk my eyes back to his face, my mouth falling open in surprise. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re just adorable. That’s all,” he says, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “Very sweet, too.”

I slowly draw the containers back through the bars, shame heating my face. “You could have just said ‘no thank you.’”

M shakes his head, expression alight with amusement. “I’m not laughing at you, little one. It’s just that… I can’t eat that.”

“Oh.” I blink. “Whatdoyou eat?”

M doesn’t miss a beat. “Souls.”

My stomach twists. “I’m afraid I only have the one, and I kind of need it.”

M laughs, the sound rolling over my skin in a sinful caress. “That you do. Plus, there are much better ways to enjoy a soul as sweet as yours.”

I’m almost afraid to ask. “And that is?”

His smile widens, but he doesn’t answer. “You should eat. I can hear your stomach growling.”

Shrugging, I take a seat on the ground and pull out the last of my crackers. The soft sounds of chewing fill the silence while M watches me eat, a ravenous glint in his ruby-red eye.

I slowly drag my eyes across his body, a swarm of questions entering my mind. It hits me that I’ve never ever seen M with a familiar. Kaebl has a snake, and Cyprien his bunny—but I’ve yet to see the red-eyed demon’s.

“Do you have a familiar?” I ask, the question bubbling from my lips before I have time to think about it. “Like Cyprien? I’ve never seen you with one.”

He nods slowly. “Nya. She doesn’t like the dungeons very much.”

“She’s not stuck here with you?”

“She is not. Spirits born from the human realm are… harder to control.”

“And Nya… she’s from my world?”

“Her spirit is, yes,” he explains. “When my original body was sundered, the last of my loyal knights brought my pieces to your world. There, he bound each one to a spirit of the forest and gave each piece life. So each of us has a familiar.”

I nod, chewing slowly on the new information. “What does Nya look like?”

I wait for M's response, and when it doesn’t come, I search the shadows for him. He’s not paying attention to me anymore. His eyes have glossed over with a faraway look, and his lips move wordlessly, uttering a language lost to time.

He blinks, and it’s like it never happened. I would think I imagined it if it were not for the serious set of M's mouth. “Dagny, you need to listen to me very carefully.”

“Why?” I ask, my neck prickling at the urgency in his voice. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” he murmurs, blinking rapidly. “He changed his mind.”

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