“How—how is any of this real? I didn’t know it was real, not…really,” I say with a shaky breath. Suddenly I perk up. “Does this mean other creatures are real?” I gasp. “Like unicorns!” I smile brightly, unable to help myself.
“What is wrong with you? I’m literally threatening you and—” he stops, inhales, and his pupil grow bigger. “Mm. Hello.”
Suddenly the demon that’s pinning my curvy body to the wall is leaning his head down toward my neck.
I put my hands on his chest, and feel that it’s strong, but flatter than I’d have expected.
There’s a little bit of facial hair along his jawline that scratches against my neck as he leans down.
“What are you doing?” I ask him. “Stop it.”
I try to push him away but he doesn’t move. He’s so strong.
“You smell so good,” he whispers. “No wonder your spell went wrong.”
I blink. “What are you talking about?” I ask him, voice laced with irritation. “Just get away from me!”
The demon inhales while sliding his nose up my throat to my jawline and then presses his mouth to my cheek. “Holy fuck, I’ve never smelled anyone so…delicious. There must be something very special about you.”
I stop moving. “Special?” I ask.
“You don’t know?” he nips at my cheek and I yelp softly.
He leans back and looks into my eyes. I swear that the black of his pupil makes up more of his eyes than the purple of his iris now.
“What?” I whisper. I feel captivated by his gaze.
“Why did you do the spell again?” he asks me, not really answering my question. His tongue darts out along his lips.
“I n-need to know what’s wrong with me,” I explain. “Every friend I try to make, I scare off. I always say the wrong thing. I hate being out in the sunlight at the beach like most people I know. I hate not being able to sleep during the day with my day job… Plus, I have these dreams that feel real, I just… it’s too much to just list and tell you. I just don’t feel right in my skin. Like something is seriously wrong with me. I just wanted to find out what.”
He stares at me. “I see,” he says low and quiet. “I think I can help you figure that out, little one.”
My eyes go wide. “You can?” My heart is pounding in my chest for a different reason now.
“Oh, definitely. There has to be a reason why you smell the way you do. There’s one person who can tell you, but…if you want me to take you to them, you’re going to have to make a deal,” he says with a smile. A crooked smile.
I eye him from head to toe, feeling a bit unnerved. “What kind of deal?”
“Let me taste you, your blood,” he asks of me. His tongue darts out again and I can see it better now. It’s forked at the end. I shiver as he leans in and presses his mouth against my jawline again.
I close my eyes. There’s a part of me that wants to say yes.
“O-Only afterward,” I tell him.
He grunts and presses his body against mine. I melt against him for some reason. He’s not incredibly hot like I’d expect, no, he’s colder than me, and it feels so nice.
“After I take you to her, you’ll let me taste you?” he asks, his head dipping down to my neck. He traces down my throat with his tongue and a soft moan escapes from my lips.
“Y-Yes,” I tell him. “I promise.”
He leans back with a grin. “A deal is a deal.” A long red tail with black feathers at the end comes out of nowhere from behind him and wraps around my arm.
It hurts at first, a searing burning pain throughout my body and I gasp and squeeze my eyes closed. Then it’s gone.
“What did you do?” I ask him breathlessly.
“I marked you with the deal.” He unwraps his tail from my arm. I look down at my arm and see the golden light emanating down from my elbow to my wrist, as it slowly dissipates.