Page 11 of The Hollow King

I wanted to scream no, but this time my bravery might have cost me the few days that I had left. I closed my eyes and listened to the retreating footsteps.

Chapter 6

Varga

How dare she question me? Not only question me, but look at me whilst doing so with those stormy grey eyes. Her scarred face and full lips tempted me in a manner that I could not comprehend.

I needed a taste of her blood.

What made the alchemy different?

I stared at the iron cage in the centre of my bedchamber. The one I had placed there earlier. It would keep her safe from my need to drain her dry.

Where was Borin?

She would fear me before first light struck the sky and she would die as a human should on the final day of the tenth month.

Long ago, I demanded my sacrifice after the harvest festival. They rejoiced at what the earth produced for them and I was entitled to take my share from them.

The pact and sorcery came from the gods, but it was granted through an intermediary. Humans called them demons, but in the past they were named spirits, shape-shifters and sometimes even revered as gods.

I traded my humanity for monstrosity.

Why I took such a step lay buried behind a locked door. The years blurred together until I grew comfortable leaving it there.

So why did this wretched female cause me such discomfort?

The heavy oak door groaned behind me, and a long rasp of rusted iron sharpened into a piercing, metallic shriek that bled into the darkness of my chamber.

For a brief moment, it transported me back to a time of chaos, but before the memory could fully form the sound of her chains dragging against the floor pulled me to the present.

“Leave us, Borin,” I said, my voice echoing with a hollow, mechanical finality.

When I turned to face her, she was too busy looking around my chamber. Her eyes settled on my weapons.

I walked toward her, licking my lips at the thought of her blood running down my tongue. A little taste before I put her in the cage for the night. She saw me approach and began to shuffle backwards.

“There is nowhere to hide.”

Borin closed the door behind him, making her jump.

I circled her and that familiar anger rose once more. The villagers had cheated me with such a small sacrifice. I held her braid and tilted her neck to one side.

She did not scream or protest. She stood there, mute. Without a thought, I swiped my claw over her flesh. Beneath the dim glow of the light, her blood looked almost black against her pale skin. It began to drip down her neck and I swooped down to taste her. One lick to catch the excess before I sucked on the cut.

The coppery tang hit my tongue before the heated blood coated my throat. Hot and thick. I drank hungrily, ignoring her moan as her legs collapsed beneath her. I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her close enough to smell the dying flowers in her hair.

I growled when the flow lessened. It was not enough, I needed to drain every last drop. My tongue traced over the slit I created in her neck. Her body slumped and I released her hair. Her head dangled down and I dragged her to my bed, licking the last of her blood from my lips.

I raised her body high and tossed her on the bed. When she did not awaken, I moved over her and gripped the neckline of her dress, curling my claws before I slit the fabric open. I tore the dress from her neck to her feet.

Food did not necessarily need to be skinned, but since this one did not fear me it was an additional cruelty.

I inhaled the scent of her sweet tangy blood and went back to her neck, licking away the excess. Soft warm flesh beneath my palm caused me to glance down. I held her breast and where my claws pricked her skin, more blood trickled out. I left her neck and licked her breast clean.

It was perfectly formed.

I held it again, glancing to see that her eyes were still closed. This time I did not pierce the flesh. My gaze wandered to her belly and beyond. My own blood began to warm at the sight of her.