Page 34 of Once Upon a Demon's Heart
Kalel laughs. It’s a blood-curdling laugh that makes chills crawl up my spine. “Little godling, I’ve been patient with you, but you’re stoking a fire you can’t put out.” He catches my ankle with his foot and sends me to the ground, not allowing any time for me to stand before he’s on top of me and pinning me to the ground.
His icy stare settles into a hostile grin. My stomach sinks as he pushes me into the grass bed and lowers to his knees over me. His hands are heavy against my wrists as he sets his thigh between mine, forcing my legs to part.
“I am a high duke, and you will not strike me again. I don’t think you understand how much I loathe you. If you keep this up—” he pauses at the hopelessness in my expression, I think.
My lips kick up in a combative, self-sabotaging grin. “What? You’ll dowhat? Kill me? I’ve dealt with worse things,high duke.” My tone is scathing.
“It seems my saving you wasn’t enough to earn your respect. As I thought, demigods are heartless things. You only learn through pain and misery.”
He brings his face to mine. His straight nose presses into my cheek, and a dark strand of his hair falls over my forehead. Kalel releases one of my wrists and runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. A starved look flickers through his eyes.
“I find it amusing that you think you’re able to disrespect me. But I’ve grown tired of it.” His thumb lifts from my lip, but his gaze lingers there. “Will you continue to disobey me?”
My heart thrums in my chest with emotions ranging from despair to fury. “I will, you devil.”
His brows pull lower, and a cruel smile reveals his sharp teeth. “Call me devil again, and you will discover how evil I can truly be.” His composure is slipping. The usual calm and smooth voice he has is growing ragged and sharp.
Drawing in a shaky breath, I smile nervously. “All of you are devils.”
His grip on my wrist tightens, making me wince at the pressure. Kalel grins maniacally, and his eyes widen with anger. Pushing a man to his wits' end is the best way to see his hidden cards.
I wish I hadn’t pushed so hard.
“You’re a stubborn,masochistof a godling.” He cackles wildly and pulls my wrist up to his lips. “I think you enjoy suffering at my hand, and who am I to deny your wishes, wife? I promised you pain, didn’t I? I’m a demon. A monster. A devil.I’m tired of pretending I’m not,” he says bitterly, but there’s an edge of hurt in his tone. I don’t look too much into it because his fangs sink deep into my wrist. I clench my teeth hard to stop the pained cry from bubbling up my throat.
He hasn’t bitten my wrist before, and it hurts worse than any other place on my body where he’s sunk those demonic teeth into. There isn’t enough flesh there, so his fangs graze against my tendons and bones. I shake my head, and a whimper slips out as I struggle beneath him.
He holds me down firmly, watching me intently as I wriggle in pain. Gilded blood spills from the corner of his lips and down my forearm. He sucks my blood savagely, letting me know just how “gentle” his prior bites have been. He allows it to be messy and is careless with his teeth.
Another cry wrenches out from my throat as I thrash to shake him off me, but he holds me securely. His body weight presses me down and his eyes are filled with anguish and loathing. He’s waiting for me to beg him to stop.
I won’t. I refuse.
I’ve been trained to resist worse torture.
His teeth burrow deeper, much further than I thought they could.
He doesn’t want to just make me suffer; he wants to break me, mentally, spiritually. The screams and tears that follow his vicious bite distill my very soul. He drinks until I’m sobbing and limp beneath him—hardly holding on to my senses. Only one thought reverberates through my mind.
He is as cruel as they say—as soulless as demons come.
Kalel slowly removes his fangs from my wrist and drops my arm. My entire body trembles with the aftershocks of the pain. Sobs stunt my breath and sound more like whimpers from a fatally wounded animal than those of a person. My head feelsheavier than it’s ever been. It’s tilted to the side, and I can’t find the will to move.
Everything is so limp. Everything is burning.
Kalel sits back on his haunches. The callousness in his eyes has faded, and the expression on his face looks more like self-loathing than anything else. The red hue that lingers around his eyes makes him appear weary. A broken man.
His lips are smeared in gold. “Why don’t you ever try to turn me into one of your flowers like you did to the men who attacked you? Why do you let me…” He grits his teeth and shakes his head, staring at the ground with a torn frown.
Because I deserve the things you’re doing to me. I deserve to be punished… because I don’t want to get rid of you.Words I can’t find the will to give voice to.
He hesitates before looking at me, swallowing his emotions and hardening his glower. “What is my name, godling?” he demands.
My chest seizes, warranting me to answer before he can inflict a bite like that again.
“K-Kalel.”
“Repeat itlouder. Kalel, what?”
