Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)(16)
My pulse thundered in my ears. I realized I was leaning forward where I sat, straining to get a closer look without actually moving.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
Those husky, swirling tones. Seeing his mouth move and hearing the sounds falling from his lips … how could I have imagined that winged monster speaking in his voice?
If I’d heard his remark from out of the darkness, I would’ve detected only a flat question, but now, watching his face, the angle of his head, the slight narrowing of his crimson eyes—dry sarcasm, irritation, and perhaps a hint of displeasure at my ogling him.
“I—I—” I couldn’t speak. I was too stunned. “Try the cake.”
His gaze dropped to the angel food cake. He sat forward, movements smooth and swift, and pinched the napkin sticking into the circle. He dragged the slice across the inlay, then scooped it onto one palm.
As he lifted it, his gleaming crimson eyes turned to mine. “Payilas mailēshta. Stop staring.”
My mouth fell open. I forced it closed. “Sorry.”
He waited a moment. “Still staring.”
I forced my gaze to the floor. For about ten seconds, I resisted looking, then like a magnet drawn to steel, my eyes rose again—in time to catch him stuffing the final bite of cake into his mouth.
“You ate it already?” I gasped.
He swallowed, then licked a dollop of whipped cream off his thumb. Had he even chewed it?
I scanned his alien face, trying to read his expression. “Did … did you like it?”
He ignored my question and slid the cookies—classic chocolate chip—into the circle. He snapped one in half and shoved both pieces into his mouth. Swallowed. Picked up the next cookie.
“You should chew,” I said faintly. “It’s … better …”
He shot me an annoyed look, then rammed the next cookie into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.
Which, I realized, he hadn’t. Aside from the few cookies I’d given him, I’d never seen anyone bring food down here. Did he need food? He was obviously capable of eating.
I unabashedly watched him devour the cookies in record time, my gaze darting from detail to fascinating detail. I hadn’t noticed anything about the other demon’s clothing, but now I studied this one’s garments.
The most familiar shape was his dark fabric shorts, topped with a thick leather belt. Worn leather straps crisscrossed his right shoulder and side, holding a metal armor plate over the left side of his chest. Two overlapping plates shielded his left shoulder, and a shining armguard covered his left forearm, strapped over a fitted sleeve that ran up to his bicep. Matching greaves protected his shins atop … leggings? I didn’t know what else to call the tight black fabric that ran from his ankles up over his knees. Strips of fabric wrapped around the arches of his feet, leaving the rest of his soles bare.
Aside from the shorts, the other fabric he wore seemed only for the purpose of protecting his skin from the metal armor and its leather straps. That left … a lot of bare skin.
He swallowed his final mouthful, then pinched the napkins between two fingers and his thumb. Red glowed over his fingertips. The paper smoldered, then erupted into flame. I jolted backward, but the fire consumed the flammable napkins in seconds. Ash fluttered to the hardwood, and I gulped.
His eyes, glowing as brightly as the other demon’s had, turned back to me. His lips curved into a wolfish smile that exposed a hint of white teeth—a smile that mocked me, taunted me. A savage, hungry smile.
Then darkness swept over the circle and it was an impenetrable black dome once more.
Chapter Eight
I flipped the lights on. “All right!”
A yellow glow swept across the library. Balancing a plate on one hand, I crossed to the dark dome and dropped down to sit crossed-legged.
Last night, after giving the demon his slice of cake, I’d spent three hours on the sofa reading The Summoner’s Handbook. Determined to gain a proper understanding of Demonica, I’d returned to Chapter Three and slogged through endless pages about summoning rituals. Even with my college-level fluency in Latin and Ancient Greek, the technical instructions were over my head.
While reading, I’d felt the demon’s gaze on me. He hadn’t spoken again and I hadn’t tried to engage him, but hidden in that darkness, he’d watched me read. It’d been … weird.
“Are you paying attention?” I asked. “Tonight, I brought you the entire cake—minus the piece you ate yesterday.”
I set the plate on the floor. Four thick white slices were buried beneath whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate drizzle. Technically, it wasn’t the rest of the cake—I’d eaten a piece too—but I saw no need to mention that.
A quiet snort from within the circle. “Should I be flattered, payilas?”
My cheeks heated with embarrassment. “If you don’t want it, I’ll just take my cake and leave.”
Like smoke caught in a breeze, the darkness in the circle swirled away. The demon cast me a sideways look, his lava-red eyes glowing dimly. He lay on his back in the middle of the circle, one leg bent at the knee, the other ankle propped on it, foot in the air. With an arm tucked behind his head like a pillow, he looked surprisingly comfortable lying on the hard, cold floor.