Chapter 10
The anger had surprised both of them. Cullen had woken in that soft bed, surrounded by that scent that belonged to that stupid demon prince, and he’d rolled over only to find the bastard standing right over him with a thoughtful gaze.
He’d sprung up with a cry of shock, shoving Leviathan back, and something had snapped inside him at the violent contact.
He’d thrown the lamp from the bedside table at his head, had shrieked at him to get out and to stop being a creepy, stalker bastard, and then…
Leviathan had left. With little more than a scowl.
Cullen had calmed a bit…and then decided that if it worked, he might as well act like this every time the prick came near him. Even if it only delayed the inevitable.
Days.
It had been days.
He had gone back to Cullen’s room over and over again and each time Cullen had attacked him.
Had screamed and thrown things at him until Leviathan left again.
He could have pushed it, could have put him to sleep again–but he didn’t.
He left him alone, only giving the servants orders to bring him food three times a day–and sealing his balcony doors with magic to make sure he couldn’t do anything stupid.
Now it was a goddamn waiting game again.
He hated waiting games, eternity or no eternity.
And his patience had been wearing very thin even before the servant stumbled into his dining room to tell him about Cullen’s new bout of idiocy.
“He’s not eating?!” Leviathan demanded, his fist coming down sharply on his dining room table. The dragonglass shuddered under his hand.
The servant–a thin girl with white hair and big eyes–slid back a step, her body trembling. “Yes, sire. He’s been throwing his food into the fire.”
“And why was I not informed of this sooner?” His voice was much quieter, the violent threat in it obvious.
The girl swallowed loudly. Too loudly. Irritating. “I just realized, my lord. He’s been waiting for me to leave everyday before he does it but today…he looked thinner. And I heard the flames crack when I left the room.”
“Stupid girl.” He breathed, rising slowly. She shrank back, stumbling towards the door before she caught herself.
He grimaced at the weakness, at the mistakes, and gave a quick slice of his fingertip.
The girl’s body split apart, her torso falling from her hips, landing with a heavy, wet thud on the floor.
She hadn’t even had time to scream. Leviathan glared down at the body with disgust–and then bent to grab her arm.
He gave a hard yank, severing it with ease, and then turned for the hallway.
All this time he’d stayed away. Given the brat his space.
Been patient and understanding. Even thought to seal off the windows and the balcony so he couldn’t jump to get away from him through more dramatic measures.
But if the little prick was going to try to starve himself to death, all bets were off.
His shadows had him outside the bedroom door in moments. And he wasted no time before raising his leg and kicking it in. It splintered apart under his foot and Cullen shot up out of bed with a cry of shock and fear, his eyes going wide at the sight of Leviathan hovering in the doorway.
“Why haven’t you been eating?” He demanded as he strode into the room.
Cullen gaped at him for what felt like a very long time, his dark eyes wide with shock and confusion.
And then he finally raised his chin and spoke in that broken, painful voice. “I am not…a monster.”
Leviathan scowled, reminded unpleasantly of the night he’d first brought him here. Of that little bastard Walker calling him a monster. Of Cullen’s broken, shocked look.
“Whether you like it or not, Cullen, you are a monster. And even monsters need to eat.” He moved forward, bringing the severed hand up between them. “So eat.”
Cullen cringed. “I won’t.”
Leviathan snarled and scales pulsed on his arms, his true form threatening to break through this human one in his rage.
“If you’re trying to kill yourself by starvation, you’ll soon find out that’s not possible for us.
You’ll only get hungrier and hungrier until you begin to become a savage.
You’ll only end up attacking a servant or hurting yourself.
Eat now or suffer later.” He snapped the hand off the arm he was holding, then slammed the appendage into his chest and dropped the arm. “Eat it.”
Cullen shoved it away with a glare, his face twisting with disgust. “I’m not going to eat human flesh! I don’t care if I’m a demon, I won’t do that! I’d rather starve!”
A vicious snarl tore from Leviathan's throat and his body moved on its own, jerking forward and grabbing Cullen by the throat. He shoved him down to the bed and straddled him, holding him there while he ignored the cries of shock and fear, the hands clawing at his chest and stomach. He snapped off two of the fingers and tossed the hand to the side, his eyes meeting Cullen’s defensive ones.
His mouth clamped closed as Leviathan leaned over him, but Leviathan wasted no time, grabbing him by the jaw and prying his mouth open.
There was a brief flicker of fear in the brat’s eyes–and then the fingers were stuffed into his mouth and Leviathan was holding them there, his hand cupped tightly over his mouth to keep it closed.
Cullen gagged and choked, panic spreading across his face, and Leviathan scowled again, holding him more firmly in place, his legs coming down on his arms to hold them down while Cullen struggled under him.
“You won’t choke.” He assured him quietly. “Just swallow.”
Cullen’s face went red and tears flooded his eyes, spilling down his cheeks.
Leviathan shuddered at the sight, ignoring the little twinge in his gut as he held him still.
Cullen’s face contorted suddenly, his eyes widening.
And then a deep red pulsed from beneath his black eyes and his body went slack.
His throat moved, swallowing hard, and Leviathan’s grip tightened at the bulge he saw move in his neck.
Not now. Not now. Not now…
Cullen moaned softly, his eyelids fluttering shut, and Leviathan instantly felt himself grow hard, heat flooding him and making him feel hot and impatient.
Slowly, he removed his hand from Cullen’s mouth, resting it beside his head instead.
A tiny, relieved smile flickered on his lips before he could stop it, and he leaned closer, inhaling that darkness that he could see in Cullen’s eyes now.
The shadows taking over his body and making him want things he normally wouldn’t have.
Or at least that he would have lied about wanting.
“Cullen.” He whispered against his lips.
Darkness had taken over his soul. The moment he’d swallowed, the moment the blood had registered on his taste buds…
something had grown and twisted inside him.
Something that felt like desire but…not quite.
It was that same terrible darkness that had made him attack Walker the night he’d been Changed.
It was taking over again now, making him feel hot and tingly and needy…
and Leviathan’s light touch on his lips, the warm brush of his breath… it was all too much.
He shoved against his stomach, some small patch of his brain telling him he hated this man. Hated him and wanted him dead. That this wasn’t him wanting it. This was that darkness and he didn’t want anything to do with it–
Leviathan kissed him and Cullen gasped, his head tilting up to meet him. Leviathan made a soft, weak sound and Cullen arched up against him, shifting his hips until he felt the hard press of his erection against his.
No.
No.
I hate you.
Leviathan shifted, freeing his arms, and Cullen’s hands slid into his hair, his legs coming up to hug his hips. His teeth grazed his lip and Cullen moaned, his body beginning to tremble with the alien need.
Wait.
There was…somebody. A man. With chocolate hair and big blue eyes and–
Cullen bit down hard and Leviathan yanked back in surprise, his eyes going wide as blood began to drip down his chin. Cullen gaped up at him in shock and confusion, fighting back against the darkness in his body even as it screamed at him to pull Leviathan back down to him.
“Get…get the fuck off me!” He gasped, outraged. At Leviathan. At himself. At those fucked up shadows that had taken control of his body.
Leviathan gaped down at him as if he’d said the sky was brown. He didn’t move, and Cullen instantly began to tremble in terror.
“Get off me!” He choked out again, tears flooding his eyes as the disbelief and guilt tore through him. How could he possibly have kissed Leviathan like that? And so soon after he and Walker had…
“You don’t mean that.” Leviathan hissed, distracting him from the terrible thoughts. “You were kissing me back.”
“No!” He cried, mortified. The darkness surged again, making him shiver, and then quickly ebbed away once more. “I didn’t want to! My body just…the shadows, I didn’t…” The tears spilled over, a thousand memories of kissing Walker flashing into his mind. “I didn’t want to…”
Slowly, Leviathan moved away from him, standing as he watched Cullen roll quickly off the bed and wipe his mouth.
The darkness was retreating into the far corner of his mind again, where it seemed to always be resting and waiting to take control of him again.
The strange dimness was half the reason he refused to eat any of the food–any of the body parts–the servants brought him; it was brought on by the scent and taste of blood. He felt like a damn shark.
"You feel better now, don't you?" Leviathan said smugly.
Cullen dropped his gaze, saying nothing. But the hunger had died down and even the burning in his throat felt better, as if the blood had helped to heal it. He tried very hard to not think about what he’d just swallowed.
Leviathan moved towards him, touching his cheek with the back of his fingers.
He winced, realizing his time to 'get over' Walker must be up.
He must have pushed his luck too far. "Let's make this easier on both of us," Leviathan said quietly.
"Just eat it next time. Don't make me be the bad guy, Cullen.
" He dropped his hand, moving towards the door.
Cullen froze in surprise. "Make sure you finish–"
"Isn't there any other way?" He asked, his voice strained.
If Leviathan wasn't getting violent, wasn't forcing him to do anything, maybe he was in a decent enough mood for Cullen to ask a favor.
"I can't… I can't do it this way…" He'd realized that the first day they’d brought him a thigh.
It was human, he was human. Or had been.
Despite the hunger that had gripped him, he hadn't been able to do it, to eat like all demons ate.
But the pain in his stomach was only growing more unbearable by the hour…
Leviathan turned back with a thoughtful expression. "Are you saying if I found a less…gruesome way…you would eat without complaint?"
Cullen hesitated, clutching his aching belly, and then he nodded. "I just…need to be able to pretend it's not…what it is." And pretend that he wasn’t also driven half mad by the sight of severed limbs and the scent of blood.
Leviathan frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure I can work that out." He said finally. "But in exchange," He continued, smirking. "You start eating with me in the dining hall."
After a long moment, Cullen nodded. "Fine." He was already getting sick of this room anyway. And he couldn’t very well escape in whatever type of way without knowing more about where he was. Freaking out and locking himself in his room had been a mistake in the first place.
A small smile tugged at Leviathan’s lips, but Cullen ignored it, looking towards the window.
He had the view memorized by now; a dark sky lit by a red sun that rose and fell each day, casting the sky into complete blackness at night.
Small mountains rose in the distance, the land scorched and black, and fires always seemed to be burning in the hills, filling the air with ash.
He had seen no living thing outside of the servants that came into his room, cleaned his clothes and bedsheets, and left again.
He had barely spoken to anyone and contemplated throwing himself out the window many times, hoping the fall would end him and this hellish existence, but scared it wouldn't. That he would merely end up crippled and completely at Leviathan’s mercy with no way to defend himself.
"Have you left your room?" Leviathan asked quietly.
Cullen shook his head, humoring the question, though he knew Leviathan knew he hadn’t left.
The demon held out his hand. "Let me show you around."
Cullen hesitated.
"You're immortal now, you know. Do you really plan on remaining in this room for the rest of your existence?"
He winced and moved towards the door slowly. When Leviathan tried to take his hand, he yanked it away with a glare. Leviathan glared right back; Cullen couldn't help the shudder that ran down his spine as those black, inhuman eyes raked down his body. Revulsion, he told himself. Not desire.
"You asked me to find a way for you to eat,” Leviathan’s voice was soft and tense. “I agreed to do so. But you have to let me in a little first."
Cullen tensed, his teeth slamming together.
It's just holding hands. He told himself.
It wasn't like Leviathan was forcing him down to the bed again. Still, his hand trembled violently as he reached for Leviathan’s.
The moment they touched, Leviathan intertwined their fingers, pulling Cullen closer.
He stilled, but Leviathan only offered a small smile before pulling him from the room.