Page 3 of Taken to the Shadow Realm

“I don’t see anything good about it,” I commented and sat down on the same bench as Allura.

Something about the way Xira’s eyes narrowed at me made me want to disappear. Allura moved closer to me, her arm brushing across mine.

“I was just telling Xira that there has been an influx of humans coming to the realms!” Allura said, her excitement plain as day on her face.

“She’s trespassing onto royal grounds,” Xira accused, her voice dropping. “She’s going to get killed one of these days.”

“Just the outskirts!” Allura complained with a pout. “They don’t even have guards there! Plus, I saw the humans, several of them, and guess what they were doing?”

“I don’t care,” I admitted, taking a piece of demon meat between my claws before popping it into my mouth.

It was tasty but hard, not as soft or satisfying as human flesh was rumored to be. It had been years since I had my first and only taste. So long that I barely remembered it.

But the consequent killing of the poor thing combined with their soul floating out of their body to join the fog was something that stuck with me.

“They were pleasuring Beau! The prince! All three of them!”

Her words caused me to pause.

“They were what?” I asked. Someone in the royal family? Doing that with a human? Multiple? It was unheard of.

“They call them companions, Allura,” Xira said on a huff. “Instead of eating them, they occupy themselves in… other ways.”

“Keep that to yourself, Allura,” I spat, my eyes washing over her. “We don’t need you disappearing because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

Her smile didn’t waver. She had no sense of danger. Just like Uldria.

“You should get one!” Allura said, sending the table into silence.

Me?

Xira burst out laughing.

“Yien can’t even stand our presence! What would make you think she’ll want a human companion?”

“You’ve seen how the souls chose her!” Allura reasoned. “Maybe she needs to be around more humans instead of being forced into the presence of other demons!”

Rationally, I didn’t agree with her. I didn’t see the need. But something inside me liked the idea of bringing a human here. More out of curiosity than anything else.

I had seen them in their wraith forms, in the in-between phase where they joined the fog, but I had never had the pleasure to just watch as one lived around me.

An image of women pleasuring the demon named Beau flashed across my mind, even though I hadn’t seen it myself.

Would the human need that? Would she want it? Would I want it?

Yes. The answer was immediate. Or at least I would like to try.

“Oh no,” Xira said with a groan. “You’ve gone and done it. She’s interested.”

“I’m not,” I lied and plucked another piece of meat before standing. I turned on my feet, ignoring their calls as they tried to pull me back.

It was too late; my mind had already started to think about having a human here. Imagining her as she walked through the halls. Imagining that maybe she would be able to see my shadows and understand me in a way no one else could.

Yes, I need one.

But if I wanted it to happen, I needed to do some research. After all, there was only one place I could acquire a human.

Iris

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