Page 8 of Love & Monsters
He stopped instantly, only a few feet away. His dark, arched brows softened, but he still looked like a predator, and I felt like prey.
“I will not hurt you.” He spoke each word slowly, dipping into a crouch until we were face level across the five feet separating us. I could see the sharp teeth in his mouth as he spoke, and he had hidden lines slashed across his cheeks that reminded me of the maid splitting her mouth open.
“I don’t believe you. Everyone here wants to eat me,” I stuttered over my sobs.
He didn’t move closer. The blue demon was massive, even crouching to be on my level. In the tense silence between us, I finally noticed the long tail swishing behind him.
“Look, I might be hungry, but I promise I will not eat you.” When his hand moved closer an inch, I flinched. He sighed and dropped his hands, now just staring at me with his head angled.
Neither of us moved, staying as still as statues for an eternity, simply staring down at one another. Eventually, my tears stopped. I calmed enough to breathe properly. After a deep inhale, my sore muscles relaxed, and I hugged my knees back to my chest.
That’s when the demon moved again. I watched warily as he dropped from his crouch, sitting on the ground and crossing his legs. His tail curled behind him. For some reason, it reminded me of a cat.
“A human,” he mused aloud while scanning me. “How fascinating.”
“Baron Knox said I was underwhelming.” My mouth pushed out what I thought without my permission. But the sound I heard from him startled me. A short bark of laughter that made my eyes grow too large.
“Knox is wrong. I’ll give him some credit. He’s rarely wrong, but this time he is.” As he talked, he leaned forward, a strange smile on his full lips. “Do you have a name?”
I nodded, but words were once again lost to me as those yellow eyes in a sea of black trapped me. Instead of answering, I shivered against the cold and swallowed over my dry throat. His eyes caught it, reading my reactions.
“Little one, I will not hurt you. You’ll be safe while you’re down here and Rykan is gone.” Then he shifted closer. If I kicked my leg out, I’d hit him.
He placed his hand on his chest, and I noted the dangerous tips of his black claws. His lips parted, and I was drawn to the sight of the fangs within his mouth. “My name is Vadric. Will you tell me yours?”
I almost didn’t. But what would it matter?
As far as I could tell right now, he was genuine. I might not fully trust myself with the unrest in my heart and mind, but this demon, Vadric, seemed as sincere as a monster could.
“I’m... I’m Mina,” I told him. Plucking at the fabric of the dress on my wrist, I tried not to focus on his smile. It made my stomach dip and I’m not sure why. Especially when I knew those lines on his cheeks meant he could split his mouth open and devour me.
“Mina,” he rumbled. I almost liked the way my name sounded in that deeply animalistic voice. “I’ve never heard a name like it. Lovely name for a lovely little human.”
I pressed my knees together, uncertain why I suddenly felt warm despite the freezing dungeon.
Six
“You promise you won’t eat me? I’ve kind of already been through a lot.” I’m not sure why I said it. Maybe I just needed someone to talk to, and fate trapped us underground together.
Vadric smiled, nodding his head. “I can imagine why many would want to, but no, I won’t.”
“You know that doesn’t make it sound any less like you will,” I argued. “You really just told me eating the human is a relatable thought.”
He pursed his lips into a thin line, leaning back while his eyes took me in from head to toe again. The black dress was feeling too tight under his searing gaze on every line of my body. When I shivered again, I didn’t know if it was from the cold air down here.
“If I were going to eat you, I would have done it already. That doesn’t mean I will. Besides, there are better ways to taste you than eating you.” There was a glimmer in his eyes as he said that. A spark of something that I would have also recognized in a human man.
Something shamelessly dark, and salaciously suggestive.
“Oh, okay. Well, don’t eat me. Bad enough the little green guys wouldn’t stop talking about it when they found me.” I swallowed and broke eye contact. My cheeks felt warm, and I didn’t think talking about him eating me was a suitable topic to remain on.
“Little green guys who found you?” Vadric sniffed and sat back. From the corner of my vision, I saw his face twist in thought. “Out in the forest?”
“There were a lot of trees, so I guess it was a forest.” My mind went back to the gargantuan monster that walked out of the mist and into the sea. It made my stomach clench uncomfortably to remember.
“Must have been scavengers, then.” Even without looking at him, I could feel him watching me. A second stretched quietly before he spoke again. “How did you get here, little one?”
“I’m not really sure.” Shrugging, I leaned my head back on the stone, watching my breath fog in the air. I had the though it grew colder down there.
