A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1)(46)

I stepped into the pants and worked them up over my thighs and to my hips. That was where they stopped.

“These aren’t going to work. Younger you didn’t have any shape.”

He glanced back, his gaze catching the slip of lacy fabric posing as underwear. There wasn’t much to them, and apparently that was what Leala liked about them. They could be torn off easily. For such a polite girl, she did like roughness. She’d given me this pair because she hadn’t worn them yet.

Hunger burned brightly in his gaze. He tensed, every muscle going taut. With stiff movements, he bent to the chest of drawers.

“Your beast doesn’t want any other men using me? Is that all women are good for, our vaginas?”

“Women are good for nothing,” he snarled, but he didn’t even remotely sell it. He was trying to deflect his arousal—his arousal, not his animal’s. I could tell because my animal hadn’t risen to the occasion. This was all him, and that knowledge took the sting out of his words. I had power over him. He wasn’t untouchable.

“And yet you keep coming around,” I said.

“After tonight, that’s a situation I hope to rectify.”

“Hmm.”

He tossed me another pair of leathers. Did he have any other types of pants in there? “How often does this happen with you? Your animal wanting something you don’t?”

He turned, gave me a hard scowl, and crossed the room. “Hurry up. The night is wasting.” Then he gave me his back and stepped into the hall.

I’d struck a nerve. Interesting. Was there a lost love at one time that had rejected him? Something had certainly happened to make him this way.

These pants ended at my shins but mostly fit everywhere else, except for the extra room in the dick department. After putting on shoes and remembering to slip my pocketknife into one of the large pockets, I tied up my hair and met him in the hall. The demon had changed from a very handsome man to a hideous humanoid form covered in slick green scales. It had a serpentine face, twisted horns, and hands ending in claws.

“The glamor washes away when they die,” Nyfain said, his lip curling in disgust.

“The glamor… You mean he doesn’t actually change into a man? He’s always like that, we just can’t see it?”

“Yes.” He took me by the upper arm and steered me away from it. “If a person is in their right mind, they’ll feel the difference.” He walked us down the stairs. “The demons that feed off lust and pain have barbed penises or barbs in their vaginas. They coerce their victims and feed off the result.”

I touched my hand to my chest, revolted. I hadn’t heard of demons like that. I was glad I hadn’t. It would’ve given me nightmares.

I guess it already had.

“There are a lot of different types of demons,” he went on when we hit the next set of stairs, “but the demon king has taken most of the warring kinds away to defend his kingdom. They’ve done their job of thinning us out, making us vulnerable to attack. If we ever managed to escape this curse, he could take us over without a problem. We wouldn’t be able to fight him off. We’re done for; we’re just waiting for the funeral march.”

I ripped out of his grip when we hit the second-floor landing. He reached for me again but stopped when he realized I didn’t plan on running. I looked up and met his turbulent eyes, anger, frustration, regret, and most of all sadness swimming in their depths.

I kept my voice a whisper, for his ears alone. “Don’t you dare give up hope on this place. I will not watch as my family and everyone I know dies because you gave up. You’re the only hope we have left. I don’t care if you fly or run—you’re powerful. You need to keep faith and be patient. There is a way through this. I think you’re a fuckface, and I’d rather punch you instead of talk to you, but I will fight by your side to the bitter end to pry this place out of the demons’ hands. Do your job and lead your people. You’re their rock. You cannot lose hope, do you understand?”

His body tensed as he stared at me, emotions flickering in his eyes so fast that I couldn’t get a clear picture of what he was thinking. Energy crackled between us, and his power slithered across my skin, desperately sexy. I held my ground, though. I would not be deterred from delivering this message.

He leaned forward just a bit but then braced himself, and I didn’t know if he wanted to kiss me or hit me. I prepared to dodge either.

Instead, I heard a silky voice say, “Well, hello, Nyfain.”

Nyfain exploded into action, sweeping me behind him as he turned, pushing me to his back. I very nearly stepped out from behind him—I didn’t need a shield—but thought better of it. I was supposed to be weak, or at least mediocre. A dead shifter walking. It wouldn’t do to assert my independence and get killed for my courage.

“What do you want?” Nyfain snarled.

The faintest whisper of movement was the only sound as the demon circled us. Nyfain turned as it moved, keeping himself in front of me. Still, I caught a glimpse. Sleek and handsome, much like the man upstairs. Dark, long, flowing hair cascaded over his shoulders. His pointed nose ended close to large lips, like pillows affixed to a face, no real shape to them. His long fingers ended in manicured nails, and a silk robe adorned his lean body.

His magic tickled me, a dirty sort of sexy, slipping under my clothing and across my bare skin. I sucked in a breath and clutched Nyfain’s shirt. His body went fluid, like a fighter preparing for battle.