7. Willow
Willow
I follow the turquoise-colored demon out of Rhune’s room, mesmerized by the way the faint blue light of the roots bounces off his long hair.
It flows down past his shoulders, colored the shade of the Caribbean sea in the summertime.
The contrast of his dark horns against that serene green-blue is stark, and something deep inside me longs to reach out and grab onto them, to see what the ridges would feel like beneath my fingertips, my tongue…
Heat climbs up my neck as I drop my gaze, my eyes unwittingly landing on the strange tail flicking at his back. The sight of the two-tipped tail makes my mind travel, and soon I’m wondering whether other parts of his body are doubled, too.
Bad Willow. I refuse to fall prey to Stockholm syndrome. It’s not going to be me.
That’s what this strange feeling is in my chest, right? It has to be. There’s no way I’m actually physically attracted to a demon. Certainly not so soon after I’ve had my heart ripped out of my chest.
At the thought of Nathan and his betrayal, pain thrums through my body, and I stumble forward. I brace myself for the crash that never comes. Instead, a pair of powerful arms wrap around my body, holding me aloft and saving me from tumbling to the ground.
“Thank you.” Heat fills my cheeks at the feel of his clawed hands pressing into my sides. “Um… You can let go now.”
“But you feel so good. So tempting...” His hand curls around my stomach, fingertips digging into the soft flesh.
A shiver runs the length of my spine, and I find myself leaning into his touch, craving more.
A purr rumbles in his throat as his other hand snaps up, wrapping around my neck.
His claws gently scrape against my pulse points, thrilling me and filling me with a sense of impending danger.
“W-what are you doing?”
In response, Nyx lowers his head, burying his face in my hair as he takes a deep inhale. “It’s not fair that Rhune found you first. Something so rare and beautiful… maybe I should hide you away and keep you for myself.”
His body shivers, and I feel two distinct objects press into my upper back.
Sweet Lord! He does have two cocks.
So shaken by this revelation, I don’t realize Nyx’s hand creeping lower—not until it dips beneath my makeshift dress.
“Hey! Keep those paws to yourself.” I slap his hand away, ignoring the stab of disappointment that hits me when he pulls away.
“What?” His smile holds an air of mischief. “I was just exploring. You’re so soft.”
Her face heats in mortification. Her mind trails to the hundreds of times Nathan commented on her weight, how he would make her feel so small and ugly when he would reach out and pinch her sides, his lip curled in a disapproving sneer.
You should come to the gym with me, he would say. You’d be so pretty if you lost just fifteen pounds.
I start to spiral, and Nyx seems to sense this. He turns me around in his arms, his clawed hand curling around my chin, gently easing me up to meet his eyes.
“What’s wrong? What did I say?”
“Nothing.” I drop my eyes and try to pull away, but Nyx won’t let me. “I just don’t like comments about me being soft. It makes me feel… ugly.”
His expression changes—horror twisting his mouth and widening his eyes. “I… you are the most beautiful, wondrous creature I have ever seen. I would never—” He shakes his head, angry with himself. “I am sorry my words caused you pain. I will make sure not to comment on your splendid softness—fuck!”
He places his head in his clawed hands, his shoulders slumping inward. “I am making a mess of this…”
I giggle, the coil wrapped around my heart loosening as I witness the remorse tattooed across the demon’s expression. “It’s okay. I understand you didn’t mean anything negative by it now.”
He snaps his head up, his eyes holding a sheen of hope. “You forgive me?”
I nod, a tiny smile tipping my lips. “I do.”
He scoops me off my feet, twirling me around in the air before placing me safely back on my feet. “Beautiful and gracious. Rhune really knew what he was doing when he stole you away.”
At the reminder of my situation, my expression shutters, and I pull back from a very confused-looking Nyx. “So… we going to continue with the tour?”
Nyx inspects my expression for another few moments before nodding. “Of course. Follow me.”
He leads me down a long icy tunnel, the walls made of the same dark blue ice-rock as Rhune’s bedroom. As we walk, I see several darkened doorways—some bare, others covered with the same tan-colored hide Rhune had in front of his entryway.
I look forward and notice a speck of light at the end of the tunnel, growing larger with each passing minute. An exit.
My heart soars, and I begin formulating an escape plan. If I can distract Nyx somehow, I can make a break for it. Then I just have to find one of those weird portal things, and I can go home. Easy.
I try to keep my excitement under wraps as we near the exit of the tunnel. I take a deep breath, squinting in anticipation of the sun. Except, there is none.
What I believed to be an exit is simply another large chamber deep in the ground. The space is larger than twelve of Rhune’s bedrooms, and the walls are a far lighter blue color. It’s much brighter in this space, which is why I thought it was the exit.
I turn in a slow circle, taking in the towering walls, the sloped ceiling. My eyes catch on a dark tunnel at the opposite end of the room, and dread hardens in my gut. That can’t be the exit…
Slowly, I walk over to the tunnel, feeling Nyx’s watchful eyes on me the entire time. Crouching down, I poke my head inside, turning so I can see where it leads. There’s a tiny speck of light at the far end—the actual sun—and the sight makes my dread turn to despair.
“How far down are we?” I ask.
“I never thought to measure. Twelve lengths of my cocks?”
I pull myself out of the mouth of the tunnel to glare at him. “More like a million, I bet.”
He chuckles. “You wound me. Would you like to put your theory to the test?”
“I’d rather not.” My cheeks heat as I remember the long, hard lengths of his cocks pressing into my back earlier. “So… hypothetically speaking… there’s no way for a human to get out of here?”
His smile grows. “Now that you mention it… no. There’s not.” He leans in, whispering, “It seems you’re trapped here with me.”
I shiver, desire coiling low in my stomach. I’m confused, and don’t know why I’m reacting to him this way—but I’m powerless to do anything about it. It’s like my soul is reaching out to him, desperate to touch and taste and be one with his.
But that’s insane.
Just then, a loud yowl breaks out over my shoulder, startling me out of my lust-filled haze. I jerk away from Nyx, putting some much-needed space between us. Ignoring how my heart clenches in protest, I turn my attention past Nyx’s shoulder.
A large panther sits at the edge of the shadows, its glowing feline eyes glued to my frame. Its fur is a beautiful turquoise shade—thick, shiny and soft. Just like Rhune’s capybara, there is a distinct symbol glowing from beneath the hide on its chest, but it’s not anything I recognize from earth.
I yearn to reach out, to run my fingers through its pelt to see if it’s really as soft as it looks. But then I remember it’s a dangerous feline that could rip my throat out with one swipe, and I think better of it.
“Um… Nyx?”
He turns his head, and his eyes seem to glow brighter the moment he notices the panther. “There you are. I was wondering when you’d come and greet our guest.”
The panther steps forward, its massive clawed paws silent on the icy floor. It slinks right up to Nyx, pushing its head against his leg as a deep purr rumbles through the air.
“Easy, girl.” He reaches down, scratching behind the massive cat’s blue-green ears.
“She’s yours?”
“My familiar. Her name is Circe.”
“She’s beautiful.” I watch in awe as Circe begins licking at Nyx’s palm.
“She’s cunning and fickle. This is merely a tactic to entice me to give her some of the welwig sap I keep in my room.”
Her brows rise. “Sap…?”
“A drink. A psychedelic of sorts.”
“Isn’t that bad for her?”
He shakes his head. “Circe is a magical spirit. It won’t hurt her. She can enjoy it just like any other creature of The Far Place.” His eyes squint down at his familiar. “And enjoy it she does. I’ve caught you twice in the last cycle alone trying to break into my stores, haven’t I?”
Circe lets out a chirp, nudging her forehead aggressively into Nyx’s thigh as if to say you bet your ass I did, and I’ll do it again.
“You said she’s your familiar? What does that mean?”
“Remember the hide-wrapped rock in my story? She was the soul—the cloth—that was bound to mine. I am here in part because of her.”
I watch the way the two of them interact, and I realize that there’s a lot of love between them. It’s sweet to see.
“I saw a pink capybara right before Rhune took me. Was that…”
“His familiar? Yes. His name is Sasu, and he is a rather odd creature. Gods only know how or why the two of them were bound, but Rhune seems happy with the pairing, so that’s all that matters.” He shrugs. “I, myself, am glad to have been bound to Circe.”
Circe changes her attention to me, her cunning eyes trained on my unused hands.
“You can pet her,” Nyx says. “She’s extremely gentle when she wants to be, and she appears to be in a good mood right now. You’ll be safe.”
Cautiously, I reach out to the large cat. Soft fur greets my fingertips, and my lips tilt in a smile as Circe nudges her forehead into my palm. If possible, her purr grows louder, a physical sign of how much she’s enjoying my touch.
“I think she likes you.” Nyx grins down at us. “She has good taste.”
“Does she?” Circe licks my palm, the scratchy pad of her tongue tickling my skin and causing me to giggle. “I love her already.”