Chapter 5 #2
She glanced down at her manicured nails and the expensive material of the cushion underneath her fingertips. The bracelet that her mother had bought her to congratulate her on her engagement. To silence her complaints about being arranged to someone so horrible.
This was not freedom.
She tore the bracelet off, and set the cushion down. Rising, she called out for a servant.
A manservant rushed in, looking at her in concern. “What is it, Lady Elizabeth?”
“Ready my horse.”
The manservant blinked in confusion but inclined his head and departed.
Elizabeth found a quill and spare bit of parchment and scrawled a quick note to her mother. She set the note down on the table in the entrance hall and pushed the doors open wide. A rush of cool air brushed her face, and she inhaled deeply, briefly closing her eyes.
Already, she felt better.
Elizabeth waited in the drive, twisting her hands together, until a servant came out, leading her chestnut coloured mare by the reins and looking at her with a bewildered expression.
She accepted the reins and mounted up, sitting sidesaddle. She shifted her seat to get more comfortable, and settled the reins in her hands, smiling at the thought of doing something delightfully rebellious.
“Lady Elizabeth, don’t you think—”
The servant’s words were lost on the wind as she took off before anyone could stop her. Her horse kicked up dust behind her as they thundered down the road. Her heart pounded and adrenaline coursed through her veins, as she was about to do the most reckless thing she had ever done.
She was about to go hunting for a demon.
Caspian.
The answer to all her problems. She would never have to marry the duke. She would run far away, duty to her family be damned.
It was not worth the price of her happiness.
Elizabeth rode into Briarton, passing a cluster of quaint stone houses and shops with diamond latticed windows.
Dismounting, she landed with a soft thud on the cobblestones and led her mare to the city stables.
Her mother would flay her for leaving without an escort or a guard, but she no longer cared.
Briarton was her home city, after all. She knew every shopkeeper, every cross street. She was not in danger here.
She handed the reins to a stablehand, tossing him a copper in thanks. Feeling giddy and reckless, she strode into the heart of the city, wondering where she might find him.
He wasn’t in the market, and wasn’t wandering near the bistro district. She walked through all the main streets of Briarton, twice, but was unable to see a dark head of hair.
After a couple hours of searching she still hadn’t found him. Her face fell with the realization that Caspian was not there, and had likely left Briarton for good.
She wandered the city for a while to clear her head, and slowly began to accept that she must have just missed him. The demon was gone, and with him, her only chance of escaping her engagement.
Her shoulders drooped.
As she wandered the streets and time passed, she began to question her wisdom in coming here. It might be for the best that she couldn’t find him. Offering herself up to a demon on a silver platter suddenly sounded like the stupidest idea she had ever had.
Maybe she didn’t need him. Maybe she could run away on her own.
Though she had never left the kingdom before, and hadn’t the foggiest idea where she would go or what she would do.
What did commoners even do with their spare time?
Would she have to find work? She had no skills and no trades to offer.
She flushed, realizing that if she ran away and stripped herself of her family name, she would be no one of importance and have no way to make gold.
She would be destitute—if she wasn’t murdered within the first few weeks. Rhodea was not safe for a woman travelling alone.
And then there were her parents. She chewed her lip. They would never forgive her.
Elizabeth considered the problem from every angle, but there was no clear-cut solution. She was either a traitor to her family, facing a difficult and unstable future, or she would be miserable every day of her life.
Neither sounded appealing.
Perhaps if she tried not to think about it for a few days a solution would present itself, a way for her to appease her family but also get out of her engagement. Then she wouldn’t have to run away at all.
Sighing, she accepted it was probably for the best that she hadn’t found the demon today. She still wasn’t sure if she should ask for his help.
Resolving to put the decision out of her mind for a while, she ventured to one of her favourite bookstores and spent a long time poring over the titles, searching for a couple of new books to add to her collection.
She made her purchases and stepped out into the sun, catching sight of her reflection in the shop window.
The tension had left her shoulders now that she was without her mother, and her smile looked genuine instead of forced.
She looked a little sleep deprived but appeared more like her usual self than she had in days.
A tall figure joined her in her reflection. “Hello, Elizabeth.”
Gasping, she spun towards the demon. His unsettling eyes bored into hers, making her feel uneasy, like a rabbit caught in the eyes of a fox.
“Caspian,” she breathed, hardly daring to believe she had actually found him.
“What are you doing away from home? One might think you’re in search of … adventure.” His voice was low, dangerous.
“Not quite,” she said, looking around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. She murmured, “Have you moved to Briarton permanently, then?”
“I am back for a few days, but I will leave at the end of the week.”
“Oh.”
“Unless you need me to stay?” he asked, his silver eyes piercing her.
He knew.
Somehow, he knew that she had been searching for him. She swallowed. She had forgotten how frightening his eyes were up close.
“Don’t be silly,” she said dismissively. She would be a fool to make a deal with a creature whose very presence made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She would resolutely deny it if he asked what had brought her to town today.
Silence stretched between them.
The demon raised his brows and said, “My carriage will leave here in seven days. There would be room for one more, if that interests you.”
She lifted her chin stubbornly. “And why would I want that?”
“Because I’m a demon, and I make deals with mortals.” He frowned down at her.
She tightened her grip around her new book, clutching it to her chest. “Could you tell me more about demons?” she whispered. “I only know what I’ve heard, and not much of it’s good.”
He smirked, a cruel twist of his lips. “What do you want to know?”
She hesitated. “Have you ever made a deal with a human?”
“Yes.”
“And,” she asked, cringing. “What did they ask for?”
“Power. They almost always ask me for power. And gold.” His eyes stared into her soul, a predator assessing its prey.
She looked away. “And? Were they happy with the result?”
“They became rich and powerful, but whether they were happy is up for discussion.”
Horror grew in her gut.
“Did you bless them in one way only to secretly curse them in another?” She had heard tales where demons made deals with mortals, and the deal would often have horrible, unforeseen consequences.
“Demons are not the monsters you think we are.” His voice was gravelly and sent a shiver down her spine. His evasion wasn’t convincing.
Elizabeth’s face fell.
She broke their eye contact, turning back to the shop window.
“In any case, it doesn't matter,” she muttered. “My mother and father will come around. They must,” she added, the words sounding hollow and ringing false, even to her own ears.
“As you wish.” He quirked an eyebrow and turned to leave.
He made it all of two steps before she caught up with him. “Do you—?”
He looked unsurprised. “Ask it.”
“Do you eat humans? I have—I have heard stories.”
“We need blood to survive. It is not dissimilar to you eating venison or chicken. We would not survive here, in your world, without it.”
“So, it’s true?!” she exclaimed, disgusted.
“Our power requires sustenance for us to stay in this world. The blood of mortals is the most potent.” Caspian shrugged.
His nonchalance bewildered her. How could this demon not see how abhorrent his words were? A monster. He spoke of killing people, ending their lives as if it was nothing.
He said, “But there are ways to drink blood without killing a person.”
“I do not understand. You mean to strike up a friendship with me. But you tell me your kind drinks the blood of mine?”
“You are mistaken.” Caspian shook his head. “Demons do not have friends. That is a mortal interest. Oaths and favours are the only thing we take interest in, and any oaths we make, we must keep.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?” she asked, dreading the answer.
“I tire of your questions. They are many, and I grow weary,” he said sharply.
Dread coiled in her gut.
“And, Elizabeth?”
She looked up at him in alarm.
“I will be gone for a few days. Try not to get into trouble while I am gone.”
“And? If I get into trouble? How would a demon be of any help to me?” She lifted her chin in the air, the picture of highborn stubbornness.
He offered her his hand.
Confused, she hesitantly extended her fingers towards him. His hand closed around hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. She tried to pull her fingers back, but he held firm. Was he going to trap her and try to drink her blood right here? Mere feet from people in the streets?
She glanced around, wondering if she should scream for help. She was frozen in place while he brought her hand to his lips.
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he kissed her knuckles, as if he knew that he frightened her, and he enjoyed it. “If you find yourself in trouble, let us hope I am nearby and in a benevolent mood. Until we meet again, Elizabeth.”