Page 109 of Huntress

“No more or less than anyone else,” Anne said. “We’ll take him and clean him up. Join us tomorrow for the burial? I don’t suppose a fire demon’s body can be cremated.”

“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Elsie answered for her squad mates. They’d been responsible for this. It would be good for Morgan and Perrie to experience a community with compassionate viewpoints. She stepped aside, allowing the humans to pick up the boy and carry him away into the night.

“You guys go back to the inn and get some sleep,” Elsie ordered.

“Where will you be?” Morgan asked.

“The watchtower. I need some time to think.”

“You’re taking the demon with you?”

Elsie heard his unasked question. Would he be expected to babysit?

“Only if he wants to come.” She left them behind, blindly following the narrow roads to the lower watchtower. Saint shadowed her, staying several feet behind, leaving her to her thoughts.

At the top of the tower, Elsie sat with her feet dangling over the edge, her arms resting on one of the guard boards, her chin resting on her arms. The demon sat next to her, close enough that their thighs nearly touched.

“I knew there was something off,” she said quietly, breaking an hour’s silence. “The damage done and the carefully reserved attacks didn’t make sense.”

“But you’re too used to following orders, so you didn’t think it through,” Saint supplied.

“Following orders is all I’ve done for years. I haven’t been living by my mother’s teachings since starting my training under the hunters. I’ve followed along, accepted my role, and obeyed their rules. Everyone treats me like some sort of prodigy, like I’m the best among them, but I knew better once. I had demon friends across dimensions. Stolas is part of my family, for gods’ sake. So, doesn’t that make me one of the worst among them?” She buried her face in the crook of her arm.

“I enjoyed the power that came with my position. The respect that came with my strength. I didn’t have a single negative opinion about our traditions, or start asking questions, until you came into my life.” Elsie sat up, looking Saint in the eye. “You’ve seen how Anne and the others react around us. Like we’re monsters that have to be handled with kid gloves. Everything she thinks about us, about me? She’s right.”

Elsie scowled. “That’s not who I want to be.”

“So stop. You’re better than what you’ve been taught, you’ve just got to realize that and put it into practice,” Saint urged. “I’ve already seen what you’re capable of when you disagree with some bullshit they’re trying to force on you. Even if it makes no difference, even if no one else around you is willing to change, at least you no longer have to live with the guilt of going against your morals.”

“I will try.”

Saint took her hand, threading his fingers through hers, sending Elsie’s nerves to sizzling.

“Y-you said you wouldn’t touch me again until I asked,” she stammered. He gave her hand a squeeze.

“We both know you were never going to ask. Not while we’re still stuck with the hunters. Besides,” he held up their hands, both wearing gloves, “I never touched you.”

“We can’t be like this,” she hissed, looking over her shoulder at the hole in the floor leading to the ladder, as though someone could pop out at any moment. “If we’re comfortable around each other, they’ll figure it out.”

Saint moved closer, putting a hand behind her so his shoulder curved around hers.

“You can be as vicious toward me as you need to be out there. Do whatever it takes to keep them convinced that you loathe me. I won’t hold it against you. But behind closed doors, when it’s just the two of us… Can you really deny me such a simple request?” He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, holding eye contact.

Her libido kicked in, and she mentally cursed that damned tea. It was out of her system, but it sure had played a massive part in telling her body it was okay to want him.

“Is this part of your plan to seduce me into happiness so your revenge means something more when you kill me?” she demanded.

“I plan to kill you in a hundred different ways,” he purred, his lips dangerously close to her ear. “First, I’ll kill the way you look away when I catch you staring. Then I’ll kill your desire to run from moments like this. I’ll kill your doubts about my intentions, and your insecurities, one at a time.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, shuddering as his voice unraveled the death grip she’d had on her self-control.

He reached up and cupped her cheek, guiding her chin up until their lips nearly touched. “Because the Ancient Magic doesn’t pair-bond you to someone you’re not meant to be with. I’ve been watching you closely for months now. I’ve gotten to know you better, and you’ve proven you’re not one of them.”

His thumb pressed against her lower lip, the leather as soft as a kiss. “And because now I know you want me, too.”

“But– the bond. If it gets any stronger, we won’t be able to hide it.”

“Yes, we can. You like games, so give me the rules. Boundaries. I’ll keep to them as often as I can, but you have to give me something to work with. I won’t let anyone take you away from me, Mistress. Least of all, you.”