10. Willow #2
“Depressing?”
I breathe a laugh. “Yes. It’s so… drab. Moody. There’s no plants, no flowers, no color. At least, none that I saw in my brief time above ground. I don’t see how anything could live here, considering how cold it is.”
He gazes at me for a while, deep in thought. “It is true, there is not much plant life here. But your world… I have been there many times. I have seen these flowers you speak of. All they do is make me sneeze. I do not see how having them makes a place less drab.”
I chuckle under my breath. “They’re beautiful. That’s all.”
Dravik tilts his head. “You are beautiful. Plants are just… plants.”
I turn my face downward to hide the heat creeping into my cheeks. “We’ll have to agree to disagree, Dravik.”
A low rumbling builds in his chest, powerful enough to vibrate the very air around us. “So we will, little lamb. So we will.”
We sit in silence for a few more minutes before I’m brave enough to speak again. “Do you… Has Rhune told you why he took me? Did he give you a reason?”
Dravik sighs, his expression darkening as he drags a hand over his face. “Rhune tends to make… questionable and impulsive decisions. I fear he is so enamored with you that he’s lost his mind. This business of stealing you from your home and bringing you here… it is not how we do things.”
“What do you do?”
His lips press together in a deep frown.
“We leave your kind alone. We ignore the call to feed on your souls. We survive here, alone, where we cannot bring harm to other living creatures. Rhune has broken that pact by bringing you here, which is why I am so determined to bring you back. And I will be successful.”
I let out a deep breath. Part of me is relieved by his sentiment, while the other half is screaming out that this is wrong. That I need to stay.
I shake those treacherous thoughts away. “Thank you so much, Dravik. For everything.”
He holds up a hand. “You don’t need to thank me. I am simply righting a wrong.”
I nod, biting my lip as the conversation grinds to a halt once more. “So… Where is the demon that brought me here?”
“He’s just outside the room. Sleeping.” His eyes twinkle with a rare flash of amusement. “I don’t think he’s gotten much rest since he found you.”
My chest clenches with a pang of guilt, and then I remember that I’m only here because he made it so, and it fades. My hunger, however, decides then is the perfect moment to make itself known.
I cringe as my stomach lets out a loud gurgle. Dravik, though… he loses his mind.
“Who is there?” His eyes are wild as they swing around the room, searching for threats. Before I can explain, Dravik lunges, covering me with his massive body.
“Do not move,” he whispers, his breath hot against my ear. “There is a predator amok. I do not know how it got inside, but I will protect you with my life.”
I can’t help it. I burst out laughing.
Dravik gazes down at me, his expression twisting in confusion. “Are you… what is happening?”
I continue laughing, clutching at my aching stomach. The sounds peeling from my open mouth eventually alert Rhune, who rushes into the room with messy hair and bleary, sleep-filled eyes.
“Willow?” He rubs his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Dravik rears back, gazing down at me with wide, frightened eyes. “I think she is broken…”
I howl, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. “I’m… okay… just… funny…”
Rhune pushes Dravik away from me, pulling my quivering body into his arms. He leans down, nuzzling my neck with his nose. It tickles, and only serves to make me laugh harder—which causes the demons to grow even more alarmed.
Rhune whips his head toward Dravik with an accusatory glare. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing!” he shouts. “I was trying to protect her!”
“Clearly you did something! Put her back to how she was!”
Dravik sputters. “I… I can do no such thing! I don’t even know what happened!”
Rhune places me gently onto the bed of furs, a deep whine echoing in his throat as he nuzzles my cheek. “Willow… my willow… what did that monster do to you?”
Rhune holds me, stroking my hair and holding me to his chest like I might pass away right there and then. Eventually, my laughter subsides, and I become aware of the fact that I’m sitting in Rhune’s lap—and there’s something large and hard poking me in the back.
That sobers me right up.
“Um… you can let me go now,” I murmur, heat creeping up my neck.
Rhune lets out a relieved breath. “Thank goodness. Are you okay, pet?”
“I’m fine,” I say, my voice strained. “Just peachy.”
Rhune flips me around to face him, and I can breathe now that his massive cock isn’t pressing into my spine.
“Your eyes were leaking again.” He wipes his thumb beneath my eyes, a deep frown creasing his handsome face. “You are sad?”
I shake my head. “No, not sad. It was funny. I was laughing so hard I cried.”
Both demons tilt their heads, brows furrowed. It makes me laugh again.
“I fail to see what is humorous about me protecting you from potential threats,” Dravik grumbles.