Page 19 of Taken to the Shadow Realm

“Worried your master might poison you? It’s lesser demon meat. Totally safe for humans.” Yien’s drawl shouldn’t have ignited a flame inside me.

Neither should the use of the word master. And yet, I’m burning.

“I was afraid it’d taste horrible,” I admitted, plopping another bit into my mouth. I guessed demons weren’t much for utensils because of their claws. But it didn’t bother me much, and Yien wasn’t judging.

Or at least I hoped she wasn’t.

She was watching intently as I shoveled food into my mouth, as if she’d never seen someone eat before.

Then it hit me.

“You’ve never had a companion before, have you?” I asked.

I expected her to get flustered by my questions, but instead she just blinked.

“No,” she admitted. “I didn’t need one before.”

“And you do now?” I asked, raising a brow.

“Yes.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her one-worded answer.

“It’s okay to be lonely,” I said. “I felt the same at home, though I couldn’t just buy myself someone.”

Her aura reached out to me, wrapping around my ankle.

“Are you mad that I purchased you?” she asked. “Because I don’t want to return you.”

Her words caused my face to heat, and I couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes zeroed in on me every time it did. As if she likes it when I blush.

“Not mad,” I muttered. “Grateful. I could be in a much worse situation.”

“You could,” she admitted. Silence, as if she were considering my words, then, “I don’t treat humans like the other demons do. I want you to live here freely and enjoy my realm. Nothing will be asked or forced from you.”

I didn’t think I was worried, but her admission caused my shoulders to sink and a weight to be lifted from my chest.

“That’s new,” I said with a laugh. It was meant to be a joke, but the way her eyes narrowed on me caused my heart to stop in my chest.

“Have you come across a demon before that forced you?” she asked, her tone deadly. Her aura spread out around her, darkening the space.

It was almost… endearing.

“In the form of a human,” I supplied, though I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t intend to talk about my past, but it just came spilling out. “Let’s just say my family had… a use for me, and if I wasn’t doing my duty, they would see fit to punish me.”

“They hurt you?” She growled. Three more tendrils wrapped around me possessively, and I ate it up.

Never once had anyone cared about what my family was doing to me. It was always swept under the rug. All throughout my life, and once I became an adult, there was no need for counselors or teachers to even pretend to be concerned.

I was stuck with no one to fight for me.

But this random demon who bought me at an auction was growling and upset at something someone in a completely different world did to me.

It was sweet and maybe it made me sick that I was enjoying it.

“They did,” I said. “But you don’t need to worry anymore. They can’t hurt me now.”

I thought that would placate her, but she was still angry.