Door after door, I searched for my uncle and used meager touches to keep C’adon calm. He never tired of it. He craved each bit of contact, no matter how brief, and he alternated between ramblings about it not being real and how I smelled like the sun.
I began to understand how hopeless my task might be by the time my stomach started demanding food. There were so many rooms that I hadn’t yet reached the door I’d marked. And I had no idea how many floors were in this tower or how many towers there were. The chances of surviving Hell long enough to find my uncle grew slimmer with each room I inspected. Especially with the halls now lit.
Frustrated, I only half-listened at the next door while C’adon got into place. My stomach gave a small growl, and I hoped the room would be empty so he could magic me something to eat.
I set my forehead against C’adon and reached for the latch. When I turned my head to press my cheek to his skin, I saw it.
A creature stalked down the hall. It didn’t walk heavily like the other creatures but moved with quiet grace despite its bulk, which made it even more terrifying.
My hand trembled on the latch, making the metal rattle slightly. Its thin, grey legs stopped moving when the tattered cloth that covered its hips came into view. It was dangerously close.
“She trembles,” C’adon said. His hand came up to gently cradle the back of my head, and his fingers toyed with my hair.
If we had been alone, I would have hurried to check the room and end our contact. There was no way I could retreat now, though. Trapped, I waited, hoping C’adon would notice the thing watching us.
“I help?”
The sound of its voice was more of a hiss than a rumble, and I struggled not to shudder. C’adon, however, didn’t try to hide his reaction.
He jerked underneath me, and his fingers firmed against my head while his other hand whipped out toward the creature.
“Go. Now. I will keep her as long as I’m able.”
The creature pivoted and ran away without another word.
Keep me? C’adon’s words and the creature’s reactions didn’t make a lick of sense. They were acting like I was the monster here, which was laughable.
C’adon’s hold eased on my head, and he returned to stroking my hair.
“This needs to be real. I never want this to end.”
My stomach growled audibly, and he chuckled.
“I like this game.”
His free hand slid around my waist and settled firmly against the middle of my back, drawing my front flush with his. He moaned at the contact and rubbed his cheek against my hair.
Eyes wide and heart hammering, I tried not to acknowledge how good his hold felt.Just part of his lure,I told myself.Figure out how to get him to let go.
I didn’t need to. He released me and slid out from his pinned position against the wall. His fingers brushed mine from the latch, and he let himself into the room.
Stunned, I glanced up at the broad expanse of his muscled back in confusion. He’d hugged me and let me go without a fuss. No bemoaning some imagined rejection. Why?
I struggled to understand the change. He thought everything was a game, but when it came to being touched, he craved that above all else. His awkward as hell reaction when I’d licked the bowl along with the way he’d yelled at me to love him and how he’d ranted about letting him provide for me…well, it had all pointed to a very unhealthy obsession with me.
Why did I feel a little disappointed that he turned away so easily now?
Keep it together, Ashlyn,I warned myself. I’d already allowed him to get under my skin. And, I blamed his erratic behavior that I kept trying to make sense of. Sometimes his anger seemed to simply erupt from nothing. Maybe it was all premeditated. An act to manipulate me into behaving the way he wanted me to behave. Or an act to incite pity.
It was working. Even as I identified it for what it was, there was still a little part of me that wondered if he simply wanted someone to care for him. Or maybe someone he could care for in return.
I thought of the dead woman in the room where I’d found him. My gut told me she was the last person he’d cared for. That thought cut through any remaining pity and fed my fear.
C’adon was a creature. Creatures used humans and sometimes other creatures. End of story. I could feel nothing for C’adon but extreme caution.
Wary, I peeked into the room.
The table was set with a simple wooden bowl and clay cup. Two slices of bread waited for me, but no trident type utensil. He knelt in front of the offering with his head bowed in subjugation.
