Page 22 of Huntress

They walked into her room, and Elsie immediately started sorting his things, finding places for them to stay. “Why bother? This is temporary,” he said.

“There’s no guarantee of that,” Elsie told him. “Roz might not agree to help, so you may as well get comfortable for now. Hope for the best, but expect the worst.”

He grumbled, then perched on his cot and watched her put his things away, taking note of where each item was placed.

“Why give me all that? I will not be hunting demons with you, half-breed. This bedroll and the canteen are enough to accompany you and witness your murders from a distance.”

Elsie chewed the inside of her lip. She wasn’t sure how to answer that. “You don’t need to hunt,” she said finally. “But for your own safety, you do have to come with me. They won’t allow you to stay in this room while I’m not here. There’s only so much I can control, and ironically, the closer you stay to me, the more freedom I can grant you.”

“Explain,” he growled.

He was doing an awful lot of growling, but behaving civilly under that much stress wasn’t a simple task. Elsie paused and studied his expression, trying to match the anger on his face to the deep grief in the emotions he was throwing at her. He was hurting, and that made him angry.

“The stall is one example,” she told him. “If you stay at the compound instead of staying with me, they’ll keep you in there, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them. It’s a reasonable request from their viewpoint, nobody will want to babysit. Another example…” She thought for a second. “Do you like those pretty curls on your head?”

He stared at her, saying and revealing nothing.

“They’d cut them off. Sometimes they’ll shave a man completely bald, just because they can. No facial hair, no deviations from the norm at all. That means wearing the complete uniform at all times. With me, you can keep your hair, and I can make you some comfortable clothes you might actually enjoy wearing.”

“Such paltry incentives will not make this life tolerable.” His mouth pressed into a thin line. “My hair grows swiftly. Clothing is unimportant.”

“Those were examples,” Elsie said patiently. “Eventually, when the others get used to having you around, you’ll be able to roam the compound. Take your meals when you want them, get some fresh air, even go for a swim without me. But for any of that to happen, Mordane needs to believe you’re loyal to me. Even if it isn’t true on the inside, it’s what they must see. It’s a game of perception. We have to convince them that you’re here because you want to be.”

“Not interested. I have no desire to be here, nor pretend to enjoy your company.”

“Do you think I wanted my life disrupted? That I want to share my tiny space, or spend my time defending you? I’m going to have to explain myself for threatening Callum of all people. If anyone in this compound could use a good scare now and again, it’s him,” she complained.

“My apologies. I was unaware that my kidnapping, torture, and enslavement was so inconvenient to you,” he seethed. Elsie pinched the bridge of her nose and sat heavily on her bed, facing the demon.

“I’m not explaining things well. What I’m trying to say is, I’m on your side, and there’s no point in blaming each other for our circumstances. If I could, I’d return you to wherever you came from, and then we’ll both live our lives the way we want to,” she said.

“Then why don’t you?” he demanded.

“They’ll find you and drag you back. You’ll be punished severely, and if they don’t force me to watch, it’ll be because they’ll force me to be the one to hurt you. I don’t want that,” she explained. A panicked hopelessness overcame her, and Elsie gritted her teeth, fighting through his fear. “We’ll have to work together to get out of this. Which means playing the long game, but the end result is figuring out a way to get you home.”

“I don’t trust you,” the demon said honestly. Elsie nodded.

“If you give it time, I’ll prove my words with my actions,” she swore. “I have nothing to gain by lying to you.”

“You have everything to gain by lying to me. A placid, trusting slave is far greater than one who is unwilling, is it not?” he questioned.

“That might be true for some people, but I have no desire to own you or anyone else. Besides, you’re as capable of sniffing out a lie as I am. Come to your own conclusions. If you never trust me and we part ways as enemies, I’ll understand, and there will be no hard feelings on my part.” She gave him a minute to process that.

“It won’t change how I feel, or stop me from fulfilling my promise. You can hate me all you want, but I’ll find a way to send you back to your own home. It’s the least I can do, since I’m the reason they brought you here.” She looked away, unable to face the accusations in his eyes. “They treat your kind terribly, and I can’t turn a blind eye to it anymore.”

“How quickly your mind changes from one ideal to the next. You had no qualms about attempting to kill me today. For fun.” He glanced up at her from under those lashes, brushing the curls out of his eyes to see her more clearly.

Elsie twined her fingers together as her chest panged with guilt. They’d wanted him afraid of her, and what better way to do that than showing him how deadly she was? She’d played right into their hands. “That wasn’t– You misunderstood–”

“What did I misunderstand? Don’t pretend you had no murderous intent.”

“I was sleeping when they dragged me in there. I was unprepared and had no idea what I was about to fight, and when I felt your magic–”

“Magic I cannot use.”

“I didn’t know that! It was you or me, and if I didn’t make the kill, they’d take you back to the barn and give you to Clairemont.”

“You made me fight for my life until I couldn’t fight anymore.” The hound yanked at his collar. “Just like all the others languishing in that disgusting place they call a barn.”