Page 17 of Unleashing Mayhem
Belated embarrassment caught up to him, and Matty choked on a cough, turning on his heel. “Okay, bye, then!”
He ran into the bathroom, not sure if he imagined the low, raspy chuckle that followed him.
Matty had thoughthe was prepared for Nightmare’s human form.
He’d seen Kai go back and forth plenty of times between demon and human. As a human, Kai became a little shorter (relatively speaking) and a little less blue, and he lost the horns and the sharp teeth. He looked different but not shocking.
Nightmare’s human form was…kind of shocking.
It was almost like the negative of a photograph, a darkroom opposite to his demon appearance. Nightmare’s dark-gray skin became strikingly pale, and his white hair turned jet black, his irises dark enough to match. Without the shadows, his cheekbones were…startling. And maybe he was shorter, but it was hard to tell—he was still absurdly tall and slender.
In short, he looked like some kind of fae prince, even if his ears were no longer pointed.
A fae prince with intricate black tattoos running along both forearms, stark against his pale skin, presumably continuing under his clothes.
They were standing at the front door, and Nightmare’s head was cocked as he studied Matty in turn, although the only thing Matty had changed was his clothes. “You’re displeased?” Nightmare asked softly.
Matty’s face must have been doing something weird.
“People are going to be all over you,” Matty told him, maybe nonsensically. He couldn’t stop looking at all the changes. Had Nightmare’s clothes gotten tighter too? They looked more…modern somehow.
“They won’t,” Nightmare said. “My very essence is repellant to humans.”
Matty frowned. “I don’t find you repellent.”
Nightmare gave Matty a look that would have been almost gentle, if sharp, otherworldly beauty could look gentle. “You’ve lived with fear and pain a long time, Matteo.”
Ah. So Mattywasbroken, and he’d just had it confirmed.Thatwas why he kind of wanted to climb his nightmare demon like a tree.
It seemed okay, though, if it meant Matty could appreciate Nightmare without running in the other direction.
It also seemed right to grab Nightmare’s hand as they headed out the door. Matty belatedly tugged his hood up, then led Nightmare into town at a brisk pace. It was true that—while people definitely stared—no one approached them. No one tried to get Nightmare’s number or offered him a modeling contract or anything like that. Everyone kept their distance, like there was an invisible force field around Matty and Nightmare. That part was pretty nice.
Still…
Dummies. Dummies, the lot of them.
Matty smiled up at Nightmare when they reached their destination.
“This is not a market,” Nightmare noted mildly.
“No. It’s a bakery.” Matty pointed at the Bakeshop window, which had a view of the pastry case. “But the pastries have fruit. I’ve even seen a vegetable or two in the savory croissants.”
Not that Matty everboughta savory croissant, but still. He’d seen them.
He opened the door, leading Nightmare inside.
“Helloo— Oh, holy fuck.”
“Hi, Seth. This is Night—” Matty broke off. It wasn’t exactly normal for people to go by names likeNightmare, was it? “This is Night. Sarkaron Night, but he, um, goes by Night. Right?”
Matty looked up to Nightmare for approval, and Nightmare inclined his head slowly, although his eyes were on Seth.
Matty followed his gaze to where Seth was still staring wide-eyed at them. What was Nightmare looking for? Did he think Seth was pretty? Matty did. Seth had soft round cheeks and equally soft curls, and he usually had a bit of something sparkly on his face. Matty had always liked that about Seth, but now suddenly he wasn’t so sure.
Matty tugged Nightmare’s hand, grabbing his demon’s attention. “Do you like coffee? Kai likes coffee.”
Nightmare shook his head. “No, sweet.”
