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Hands with sharp nails, his observational skills supplied oh-so-helpfully.

“Don’t bother lying to me.” Melchom raised a hand. “Just follow me to my chambers. We’ll sort it all out there.”

“Why would I follow you?”

He might not be the smartest, but he’d seen horror movies. He was not going to be the stereotypical twink who got himself killed way too early because he was thirsty for the bad guy.

Hell, no.

CHAPTER 2

MELCHOM

Melchom regarded the human before him. He looked fascinating, inside and out, even though he still would like to know who had decided to send him his way. If he didn’t know any better—and sometimes he thought he didn’t—he’d think it was a prank by one of the Princes, or maybe one of the neighboring kings.

It had been a long day, though, long enough that he was willing to let it slide and consider all of that another day.

“Cat got your tongue?”

Melchom scoffed. The tiny human had more bravado than he’d first thought, then. “You can follow me, or I can make you follow me,” he stated.

The whiff of fear emanating from the human filled his lungs and traveled through his body, leaving the most tantalizing sensation behind.

It had been a long time since he’d found a human to play with—one he could keep all to himself.

This one had a plus, too; he wouldn’t be boring. Between his looks and the imbalanced maze of his brain, Melchom could only fantasize about all the ways he could feed off him.

“So you did that? It wasn’t in my head.”

“Nothing is in your head,” he said, knowing exactly what confusion the statement would cause. “Nothing and everything, I suppose.”

“W-what does that mean?”

But Melchom had turned around already. They could talk more later, once they were in his chambers where no one would be eavesdropping.

He was pleased to notice that the human was shuffling behind him. After millennia playing with all kinds of humans, their reactions, their fear, became predictable. Boring, almost.

This human already looked promising. Refreshing.

The thought made him salivate.

“It means whatever you want it to mean. Now stick close. You don’t want to be snatched up by some of the other low-lives lurking around here.”

’Here’ meant the cells they placed all new arrivals in until they were sorted, but the human didn’t need all the details.

No, he’d rather have him cowering with fear, not knowing which way was up.

“Uh, sir… Melchom… How am I supposed to walk through there?”

Melchom paused. He might’ve enjoyed it a bit too much when the human stumbled upon him. He’d already noticed his size, but he really felt like little more than a feather against him, his soft skin the main thing warning him he might be worth a second look.

“Walk through what?”

“All t-those flames?” The human gulped audibly.

Right.

The hallway. The minions loved filling it with flames to scare their arrivals. It had gotten old after the first couple centuries, but none of the higher-ups ever thought to say anything. It kept the minions distracted and happy, and that gave everyone else some respite.