Page 51 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
The smile on his face vanished in an instant, and his hands balled into fists. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Since when do you care about what I like?” She gave him a fierce glare. “Tell me, Zarathos.”
“I need to appear as though I’m in control. That I have all the power. Like I can win and…” His gaze focused on hers. “Usually, that is shown in the opening ceremony in how well we dominate our kalator.”
She blinked. Whatever he was going to say, she wasn’t expecting this. “You must dominate me?”
“Yes.”
Things certainly had changed in the five hundred years since the vampires left. “So what? As in wearing ratty clothes and chains?”
Tension tightened his jaw. “You can’t fake it. These are demons. They can smell your emotions. They leak out of your very pores.”
A foreboding twisted her stomach. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying everything has to be authentic, has tofeelauthentic. So I must know how far you will allow me to go, physically, emotionally… sexually to ensure I am seen the way I need to be seen.”
Oh gods, this was so different from what she’d expected when she made her bargain. What had happened to the Demon Trials overtime? Could she trust what he told her was the truth? But why give her this explanation if he wasn’t trying to warn her?
She chewed on her lower lip in thought. “The opening ceremony is important?”
“Yes, it sets the whole tone for what is coming. The trial council will grant each champion a rating during it based on our level of… exhibitionism. The top three who rank highest will be able to inflict a severe penalty against the other players in the first trial. And I am the arch king, so many are already looking for a way to take me down.”
This was what she’d signed up for? “Why didn’t you inform me of this sooner?”
“I shouldn’t have to tell you everything,” he responded, though she caught the hint of shame in his eyes before he looked away. “And it’s not as if we’ve had much time to discuss the future. Besides, how was I supposed to know you were so wholly ignorant?”
“You must have suspected, or you wouldn’t be explaining now,” she snapped, and she swore he flinched.
What did she expect? These were demons. They loved violence and gore and displays of power. It was why she loathed herself and her own kind so much. What can one do when one’s natural instincts included a craving for blood, fear and death?
“So,” he said, “you can either choose a debasement where I’m limited to only something physical and emotional or…” His eyes flashed. “A debasement where anything goes.”
The low blackness in his voice brought the memory of tasting Zarathos’s blood to the forefront of her mind… Her body warmed asshe recalled how aroused he’d made her, and a deep dark corner wondered if she choseanything goes, what he’d do to her.
“So you need to debase me,” she murmured.
Shit, what was wrong with her? This wasn’t the time to be indulging her darkest desires. This was the demon arch king in front of his kingdom.
Zarathos spread his hands. “Anything less would paint a giant target on our backs.”
“And then the bargain is broken.”
She watched him, the way the shadows swirled around him in waves, as if agitated, how his lips pressed in a tight line as he looked at her. An even deeper part of her was grateful that he had explained what was expected, however delayed, and let her choose.
At least as much as possible.
He reached out a hand to her. “You have a short period to think about it, but you must give me your answer when we reach the front gate. Come, Vampress.”
Time for the games to begin.She reached out and slid her palm into his.
His clawed fingers closed around her pale skin. “Let us go face the monsters.”
And with that, the shadows descended upon them, and he whisked her away into the darkness.
He took her through the secret entrance, shifting past the cave in and taking her out around the castle until the front gates came into view.
Although she’d spent the last couple of days inside, Aryana had never seen the demon castle from the outside before. The two of them stood on black stone, hiding behind a large, jagged boulder among the barren volcanic rock. The castle loomed a short distance away, carved from the same swirling obsidian as the cliff side it rose from. She drew in a sharp breath at the sight. Several towering stories jutted upward, crowned with pointed, menacing spires.
