She jumped when he finally spoke, his voice piercing through the chilled room.
“You have no need to be nervous, darling. Tonight will be fun.”
Fun? What in the Veil was he talking about?
“What do you want from me?” she asked, standing as far away as possible, trying to stop her voice from trembling.
Jean-Phillipe hummed, his eyes narrowing as they roved up and down her form.
“WhatdoI want from you?” he considered, his tongue flicking over his lips.
His gaze was penetrating, spearing Isabelle straight through the chest and holding her in place. She awaited his response, every nerve on edge, words refusing to form on her tongue.
Finally, he answered.
“We shall see, my dear. For now, I’m going to enjoy my time with you. Shall we go to your bedroom? Unless you’d like to do it right here?”
Isabelle furrowed her brows, her mouth dry and her arms glued to her sides.
“Dowhatright here?”
Jean-Phillipe’s dark laughter filled the space, putting her even more on edge.
“Oh, darling, don’t play innocent. I know all of your secrets, the way you love spreading your legs for the men of this town. And you’ll do the same for me.”
She gasped in a breath, nausea bubbling at her throat even as a flicker of arousal pooled in her core. Here he was, telling her exactly what he was going to do to her, her pulse quickening as the words settled. There was no repulsion, no loathing, just base fear and longing, intertwining together until she couldn’t separate them.
This man knew too much about her. It had been many weeks since she last was intimate with Henri, even longer since Pierre. Was he just guessing?
As her thoughts raced, his smile widened until it was impossibly large, too large for his face.
“Whatareyou?” she breathed, horror breaking in her voice.
“It’s not what am I, but what am I going to do to you.”
Jean-Phillipe cocked his head, his eyes suddenly milky white like the glow of the moon. No pupils, no irises, just radiant energy piercing through her chest, making her stomach flutter. It was beautiful and it was terrible, unlike anything she’d ever seen. With another blink, they returned to normal, though the smile never left his face.
“Now, do I really need to ask you again…”
“What?” Isabelle asked, her mind blank as terror gripped her.
“Your bedroom? Must I drag you there?”
She shook her head, trying to focus, trying to understand what was happening.
“It’s that way,” she said, pointing to a closed door.
“Then, come along.”
Jean-Phillipe stood, striding over and entering her bedroom without looking back.
She tensed, wondering if she should run, try to escape, but somewhere deep in her heart, she knew it was useless.
This wasn’t a mere man, it was a monster, and there was no telling how he’d hurt her if she disobeyed. There were myths of such beasts, of course, but Isabelle had never taken much stock in them. Demons who ruled the Veil.
But what was this one doing here? She’d thought they were no more than stories told by the priestessesto scare Celeste’s followers into behaving, but now she had the unmistakable surety that there was one in her home at this very moment.
Anticipation electrified her nerves as she took one step after another, pushing open the jarred door to her bedroom.
