Page 96 of Demon Monster's Little Human

“Aren’t I?” Amara tilts her head. “Or is it that you don’t want me to be?”

Her voice is kind. Gentle. Nothing like the monster Dain described.

But she ruined him, didn’t she? She betrayed him.

“Dain hates you,” I whisper.

Amara’s expression doesn’t change. She nods as if she already knew that. “He did. He still does.”

I swallow hard, my pulse roaring in my ears. “What did you do to him?”

Her eyes darken just slightly, but the sorrow in them remains. “I did what I had to.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Amara reaches for me. I can’t move. I should step back, but my feet won’t obey.

Her fingers brush against my cheek. She’s warm. Real.

“You will understand soon,” she murmurs, her lips curling into a faint, wistful smile. “You don’t have much time.”

I jolt.

The forest flickers and she’s gone.

Vanished like smoke.

I stand there, trembling, my breathing uneven.

What the hell is happening to me?

I stumble back into the cave, feeling as if I’ve just walked out of a nightmare. My limbs shake, my mind spinning.

Dain’s gaze snaps to me the moment I enter. His expression darkens, his eyes flickering with suspicion. “What happened?”

I hesitate.

I don’t tell him.

I can’t.

If I do, he’ll look at me even worse than now.

41

DAIN

The cave is silent.

Liora sits near the fire, her back turned to me, her body tense. She hasn't spoken since she returned. Her breathing is too slow, too measured, as if she’s trying to convince herself she’s in control. But I can feel it, something is wrong.

The bond between us thrums with agitation, a pulse of energy coursing in my veins that isn’t my own. It’s hers. Or at least, it should be hers.

I watch her from the shadows, my claws flexing against the rock. “What did you see out there?”

She doesn’t turn.

A slow exhale escapes me, sharp with impatience. “Liora.”

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