Page 62 of Once Upon a Demon's Heart
Kalel wraps his hand around my jaw and guides my head until I’m looking at him again. “Tell me how much you loathe me. Tell me I’m nothing more than demon scum to you. A monster.”
My mouth firms. Is that what he thinks?
I set my hand on his cheek gently. The motion makes his eyes widen with anguish. “Kalel, I’ve never loathed you. You werenever a monster. It was me all along. Not you,” I whisper, and for some reason, my eyes linger on his mouth. My tongue swipes over my lower lip, remembering the taste of his kiss.
Kalel jerks from my touch and focuses back on the banquet. He flexes his jaw a few times as he gulps down the remainder of his wine.
Tessa leans in from behind us and whispers, “The ball is set to begin in an hour. King Achill will see you both now—he will be waiting for you in the library.” Kalel grunts and dismisses her. She gives me a concerned look about his drunken state, and all I can muster is an appreciative nod for her notifying us.
“Let’s go then.” Kalel stands on uneven legs, wrapping his hand around my wrist and dragging me behind him as we exit the banquet hall. The sound of all the chatter and music fades out as he takes me down a few corridors.
My eyes travel along the walls and ceilings. Beautiful white stone pillars and arched ceiling frames lined with ivy and old paintings.
The dream-like walk is abruptly stopped when Kalel pulls me off into a dark hall. He pushes my chest up against a wall, gliding his hands up both my wrists and pinning them above my head. He grips them beneath one hand and uses the other to move my hair to the side, exposing my neck.
I inhale and try to move my hips forward so that my ass isn’t jutted out into his crotch, but he holds me firmly in place. Kalel’s cold lips coast across my skin, sending heat straight to my core.Gods, I hate that he does this to me.I hate how badly I want him when I shouldn’t. But he’s my husband now, so is it so wrong to want him inside me? I want him to scent my womb with his come again so everyone knows I’m his.
He opens his mouth and lingers as if he’s about to sink his fangs into me. I brace for the pierce of his teeth, but it doesn’t come. Instead, his hold on my wrists loosens, and he sways alittle before setting his forehead on my shoulder. The weight of his thoughts are so heavy.
“Are you… okay?” I whisper, but it feels like my voice carries through the ceiling.
Kalel shifts, leaning more of his weight onto me and rests his cheek against my bare shoulder. A half-sigh escapes his lips, and he threads his fingers through my hair once more. “No. I suppose I’m not, little godling.”
I’m not sure what to say, but my heart weeps alongside his.
“Me neither.” I let my hand slide down his arm until my palm smooths over his face. I slowly turn so my back is against the wall and I’m facing him.
Kalel’s eyes are hooded by his lashes, reluctant to look at me. It’s strange how soft and vulnerable he truly is when no one is around to see. I like him most in these fragile moments. When he really lets me see him without his safeguards. I can’t imagine the pressures that come with having a household name belonging to a duke. The things he’s witnessed in war. The cruelty he’s experienced at a young age.
The vengeance that festers inside him like a cancer.
“I’m sorry it had to be me, Kalel. If I could go back in time and change it…” My voice breaks. Why did the time loop lead to this? Wouldn’t it have been better if it ended with him slaying me?
“I looked for you.” His voice is broken and wavers. His amber eyes search mine. “I came back to Florum because I was looking for you,” he chokes out the words, and they hit my heart like an arrow.
My lower lip trembles. “You what?” I whisper.
He gives me a sad smile, one that could ground me into dust. “I never stopped thinking about you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
KALEL
thirty years ago
My feet are blisteredfrom walking for hours in circles. I swear I’ve walked in one direction, but the trees are tricking me. Seeming to move almost, always bringing me back to the same location.
Exhausted, I finally sit down and lean against the largest pine. The bark is covered in moss and glowing toadstools.
I know magic is less common in the holy lands, but I can’t help but feel like the Florum forest spirits are trying to tell me that this is where I should be. Why else would I keep ending up here? My mom always said that it’s good to listen to the spirits when they are loud. It could be a god playing a trick or an important slight of fate.
Perhaps they are helping my uncles find me.
Hours pass, and my hope starts to dwindle.My uncles will find me soon,I tell myself. It’s going to be fine. It has to be.
A branch snaps, drawing my attention up. I’m expecting to see Dakre or Collik, but instead, there is only a small demigodgirl. Her hair is long and kissed with moonlight. Lavender eyes that seem to glow just as the toadstools in this grim forest do.
I’m stricken with her ethereal appearance. She looks only a few years younger than I am. Yet there are eons of time locked within her gaze.
