“Do you know that man, miss?” the demon asked, holding up a candle to light her way through the dark hallway. Keys jangled in her hands.
“No. Yes… Sort of,” Faye replied quietly.
“He’s an odd fellow. Creepy, even.”
Raxx rolled his eyes. If he had a silver piece for every time he had heard that one. He held his breath, curious to listen in on what Faye had to say.
“Agreed.”
Raxx scowled.
The woman stopped outside a door and the innkeeper’s wife searched the bunch in her hands for the correct key. Raxx watched Faye intently. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, glancing over her shoulder in his direction. Raxx narrowed his eyes with suspicion, wondering if that was coincidence or if the princess was aware of his presence. That shouldn’t be possible, no one could sense him when he was incorporeal – besides owls, apparently.
“Ah ha.” The key clicked in the lock and the door swung open. The demoness stood to the side, allowing Faye to pass her.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this,” Faye sighed.
“Nonsense. Thank you for ensuring my husband and I will be able to eat and clothe ourselves for the rest of the year.” The woman chuckled but her face grew gradually serious. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”
“Yes, I’m exhausted. I just need to rest.” Faye nodded.
“Alright. We’ll be downstairs if you need us.”
Raxx slipped past the demoness into Faye’s room. It was cold and dark – just how he liked things. Faye said her farewells to the woman and closed the door behind herself. Raxx watched from a dark corner as the faerie hurried to the fireplace. He shut his eyes against a bright flash and when he reopened them, the room was illuminated by a roaring fire. He slunk back, deeper into the shadows.
Faye sighed, dropping her and Lori’s satchel from her shoulder. She flicked her hood down and unclasped the heavy velvet cloak from around her neck, draping it over the bedpost.
Raxx watched in fascination as Faye’s beautiful wings were unveiled to him. They were unusual, not like any faerie wings he had seen before. Faye’s were almost translucent, glowing and sparkling in that same curious fashion as the faerie herself did. His own wings shifted at his back. So far, he hadn’t seen anything of Faye hedidn’tlike. That was concerning.
The princess rubbed her shoulder, pressing the muscles at the base of her neck with a small groan. Her wings trembled in response.
Raxx stared with a dry mouth as Faye began to unlace her thick leather tunic. It was tightly corseted around her slender frame. The faerie’s nimble fingers loosened the laces until she was able to shrug out of it. The leather she wore was impressive. It was thick and lined with soft fur – more than enough to keep her warm even in the bitterly cold snow storms that had battered Hestaesia over the last few days. Beneath it, Faye wore a simple, thin silk undershirt. Raxx forced himself to drag his eyes away from her nipples as they stiffened against the cold air.
Faye shivered and hastily rid herself of her matching leather riding breeches before diving beneath the covers of the bed. The princess was impossibly slender now her thick winter layers had been shed. It wasn’t just her face that glowed. Faye’s entire body glimmered, and what a body it was. Raxx sunk his fang into his tongue.
It was by no means the first time the demon had observed a person of interest without their knowledge, but it was definitely the first time he had been so painfully interested in doing so. Raxx frowned, his enjoyment made him feel a little guilty and uncomfortable.
Faye sighed, plumping the pillows beneath her head as she tugged the blankets up, tucking them underneath her chin. She lay still for long moments, lost in her thoughts. Raxx was sure it had been a tough day for her. The princess was undoubtedly exhausted, confused and frightened. He watched Faye close her eyes and proceed to toss and turn in her bed. Raxx was curious as to what was keeping her from sleep.
Eventually, Faye growled with frustration and sat up. She pushed the covers off herself and slid from the bed, tip toeing over to her satchel. After a few moments of digging around, the princess pulled an old, battered book from the bottom. Clutching the book to her chest, she scurried back to the bed and settled herself down to read. She flipped forward a few pages, hunting for her place. Raxx tilted his head to read the title.
Determination of Desire by J.M. Feather.
The shadow demon cocked his brow with a smirk. A romance novel? The cover was as cringeworthy as was to be expected. An illustration of a shirtless man clasping a scantily clad woman to his chest – both of them faerie, naturally. The book looked like it had seen better days; the edges were frayed and torn and the spine curved out of shape. It was well-read, that was for certain.
Raxx watched Faye curiously. Her eyes flickered back and forth as she read. Her page turns were loud in the quiet room. Raxx glanced out of the small window into the steadily lightening forest. At this rate the faerie wouldn’t be getting much sleep at all.
The shadow demon’s attention snapped back to Faye as he heard her sigh softly. She pressed her lips together, a small smile curving at the corners of her mouth as she flipped a page. A faint blush had tinted her high cheekbones. Raxx gathered by her expression that this romance book must have some steamy moments in it. Just as he was about to turn his gaze back out of the window, Faye kicked her blankets off.
The shadow demon froze, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene that was rapidly unfolding before him. She was still grasping the book, but Raxx followed Faye’s free hand with his eyes as she trailed it down her body.
The princess brought her knees up slightly and parted them. She pulled her underwear to the side and Raxx shot to his feet, spinning to turn his back on the private show he was in no way entitled to watch. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Raxx ran a shaking hand through his hair. On more occasions that he could count he had inadvertently walked in on people doing private, shameful things when they thought they were alone. It was one of the hazards of the job. Mostly, Raxx was forced to endure things he really didn’t want to see, but this?Thishe wanted to see.
But he shouldn’t. Raxx had felt uncomfortable watching the faerie undress – this was most certainly a step too far. He should leave. He should just wait outside in the hallway untilthishad finished… Heshould.
Raxx turned his head to glance over his shoulder. With a soft cry, the book fell from Faye’s grip. It hit the floor with a loudthunkand Raxx startled, whipping his head back around immediately. Curiosity scalded him and Raxx held out his hand behind him. The book flew across the room into his outstretched palm. He caught it and eagerly flipped it open to the page Faye had dog-eared.
“We shouldn’t, Robbyn. Not here,” Mariun gasped as the knight peppered her throat with hot kisses.
