“Where are we?” he asks.
“The library. Were you looking for me?”
He hesitates for a second and then nods, holding up the stack of parchment.
“Could you look at my contract and tell me what it says?”
“Of course, Mate. Anything.”
“We’re not—” He stops himself mid sentence and bites his lip. “Thanks, Drax.”
“Anything,” I repeat. Another flutter of warmth from his end of the bond soothes me, even though the uncertainty and distance remain.
I didn’t know I had to woo my dragon mate, but if it’s what he needs, I’ll do it. I’ll show him that he picked the right demon, even if he didn’t know why. I’ll make him sure that fate got this one right.
EIGHT
MAC
I followDrax back to his room, which I reluctantly admit is comfy and much nicer than the room I was given. We sit next to each other on his couch, and he starts flipping through the contract pages.
“Is it even legal that the contract is in a language I don’t speak?”
Drax tilts his head. “Legal? If you’re referring to human laws, obviously those don’t apply here. Auri makes his own rules.”
My heart sinks. I knew that. Of course I knew. I made a hasty decision, as is my way, and now I’m in this mess. I watch Drax’s face as he flips through the pages, scanning them quickly. His nose scrunches sometimes, and other times his eyes widen briefly. A few times he nibbles his bottom lip, and more than once I would swear he smiles. Every emotion he experiences flits along our bond, vibrating in my chest, and I’m slightly soothed when nothing overly negative hits me.
He finishes reading through the stack of papers then sits back. “It’s all very standard for most demon dealings. Was there something specific you were looking for?”
“The part where my end of the deal is done and he lets me go.”
“Terms of release.” Drax flips to a specific page. “Upon successful completion of the specified tasks, to be determined, demon master—” He mumbles a word that makes no sense. “—Auri, will decide if the pet may be released or continues to be an asset.”
I blink several times as the reality sinks in. “He’s really not gonna let me go, is he?”
Drax looks at me with sympathetic eyes and the bond between us tugs. “It’s not so bad. We do have freedoms.”
“I don’t know if I can live down here. I’m a dragon. I need to fly.”
His face perks up. “You can leave whenever you want to. Just like we left today. He’ll only call you back if he needs you.”
“Then why are the other guys down here?”
Drax shrugs, but he looks nervous.
“Drax. Why are they down here if they can leave whenever they want to?”
“They don’t want to,” he says simply.
“You’re telling me they like living in the underworld? They didn’t seem like the jolliest bunch.”
He giggles, and the sound is actually delightful. “Silly dragon. We have an image to uphold. Well, they do. I don’t care much how others perceive me. While I doubt any of them would admit it, we’re a family of sorts. They all had their reasons for coming here, as you did, but perhaps what they have here is better than what they had before.”
“But what I had—” I stop myself when I slam into the reality of my life. I have nothing pressing going on up there except for family, and if what Drax is saying is true, I can visit when I want to. “I see.” I bite my bottom lip for a second. “What kind of freedoms?”
“The library is nice, as you’ve seen. You have the entire history of the world at your fingertips. And once you’ve provenyourself worthy to Auri, he’ll give you some demon magic so you can travel between realms and even make a few small deals if that pleases you.”
Hmm. That’s intriguing.
