Page 28 of All the Devils are Here

“Yes,” he said, lowering himself back into the water.

I wanted to see those tentacles again. They were fascinating and beautiful. Part of me felt like I should be revolted by them, but I wasn’t. There was nothing about any of these men, Laurent included, that disgusted me. Why would I be disgusted simply because they weren’t human? And in spite of everything, the way he was looking at me was definitely not disgusting.

Once you learned the world was so much bigger than your small view of it, everything was more interesting.

“Waitvenoms, plural?”

Smirking, he nodded. “I have a couple.” He leaned on the edge of the pool, crossing his arms. “As for your first question, that’s a bit complicated, and not exactly a fun story.”

I’d asked him what Prospero had on all of them. Shifting, and the chains clinked together, reminding me exactly where I was and why. “You said you wouldn’t have brought me here. Would you take me home? Or… just the coast? Somewhere with people?”

“I would if I could.”

My heart sank. “He ordered you not to?”

“No, actually. But that magic in you isn’t going to let you leave. Not until Prospero is ready for you to do so, or you get rid of it.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.”

He smiled, but it was regretful. “Probably not, no.”

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them and let my chin rest. “What’s your name?”

“Call me Trin.”

“Is that not your name?”

“It is now. I’m told I used to have another one, but I don’t remember it.”

His voice was soothing. A tenor that sounded like he would have an excellent singing voice, and the way he spoke was both calm and rhythmic, like the sea. It made me feel better.

“Why not?”

“It’s just… been a long time.”

Clearly there was more to the story, but I’d just accused Ariel of being too familiar. It would be hypocritical of me to do the same thing. I nodded, pressing my chin further into my knee. “Okay, Trin.”

The silence that stretched between us wasn’t uncomfortable, and there were too many thoughts in my brain that I didn’t want to face. “Is it rude to ask you what you are?”

“My species?”

Trin smirked. “I’ve heard it called Cecalia. As far as I know, there aren’t many of my kind. I may be the only one currently alive.”

Ban had said the same thing. Interesting.

“And you are human.”

“Boring old human,” I said. “Nothing special.”

Water splashed, startling me. Trin was pushed up on his arms and staring at me with fire in his eyes. “Never say that.”

“It’s true.” I unfolded my legs and stood, crossing to him. I felt safe with Trin. I felt safe with Ban, and as furious as I was with him, I felt safe with Ariel, too. The remorse he felt seemed real, and I desperately wanted to believe him.

Trin backed up across the small pool, tentacles flowing smoothly to push him in that direction. I sat on the edge of the rock, dipping my feet into the water. It felt warmer than earlier. “It’s true,” I said again. “I shouldn’t tell the truth?”

I wasn’t sure what had made me come closer to him, but now that I was, I couldn’t stop staring. All that bare skin which flowed down into his many arms. He was strangely alien and so fucking beautiful. This was the last thing I should be thinking about right now, which was exactly why my mind was clinging to it so tightly.

Maybe I wanted this monster to make me think about something other than the awful situation I found myself in.

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