Page 13 of A Cursed Heart

Malacoda

Over the course of the night, I had plenty of time to dwell on the growing feelings I had for my newest owner.

Filling my well of magic so quickly with little contact should have been impossible, yet here we were.

I had more magic than I could have thought possible given the circumstances.

It was more than just being a convenient food source, though I tried not to dwell on the emotions he wrought.

I liked him as a person, which was highly unusual for me.

Before Ryan, there were very few people I actually liked. Tolerated, plenty. Liked? None.

Over and over I kept coming back to the same thought; it was stuck in my brain like a burr.

It was practically unheard of for a demon to refill their magic without releasing their full demon form first. What did it mean?

I was so disconnected from my world that I couldn’t hope to return there.

Not that there was anything to return to.

My family was long since gone, and besides, even if any of my descendants remained, I had slipped from memory before I’d even left my realm.

Had I somehow evolved from my last stint on the outside to somehow absorb magic faster?

Some sort of adaptation to survive, stuck as I was in the human realm?

From experience, I had learned that this world did not have the same level of ambient magic that my world did, so it made very little sense for me to refill my well as quickly as I had.

The only difference this time was Ryan and how I felt around him.

Was he the reason things were different this time?

Was it because of our bond and how much I liked him? Having caring thoughts towards an owner was completely abnormal for me. Could it just be that we were compatible and because I had affection for this human, it made the transfer of energy work?

Ryan was not harmed by my feeding this way. He could not use the magic in the air. It went into him and was concentrated. Then, mostly during sexual contact, a demon would take that energy, leaving their food source happy and sated.

My human had initiated the contact between us, allowing for a much faster transfer of energy than just waiting for it to slowly leak into me from the air.

I had lain awake for some time just enjoying the feel of Ryan’s body against me.

My horns and tail were desperate to come out, but I did not want to move and lose contact with my sleeping partner.

He was so solid and warm, it was grounding.

It reminded me that this was truly happening.

After years stuck in the ruby, I was out and experiencing life once more.

Eventually, I had to risk moving to relieve the growing pressure of my tail inside me.

It was a difficult to describe phenomenon.

It was not physically inside me, though it felt like it.

The pressure of holding this form while replenishing my magic was immense.

Almost like trying to hold your breath and still breathe at the same time.

Twisting my body, I stayed encircled in Ryan’s arms. He pulled me closer subconsciously, so that my head was tucked under his chin. When I let my horns out, I was careful they would not touch him. My tail, once released, flicked back and forth before finally settling by wrapping around Ryan’s leg.

The position was so comfortable, I was so warm, that I fell back asleep, perfectly content to enjoy being with Ryan.

We were given a rude awakening.

There was a high-pitched squeal. A sort of aborted scream, and a loudly stated, “What the fuck? Ryan! Get away from it!”

Excuse me? It? Lydia lost my approval then and there. She was clearly more highly strung than her brother was, and rude with it.

I opened bleary eyes to see Ryan coming awake. I felt him stiffen at the position we were in. His cheeks reddened, and he tried to withdraw before noticing I was in my full demon form.

“Your—”

“It’s too late. Lydia has seen me,” I whispered, holding onto him while Lydia hyperventilated beside the bed. She did some breathing exercises and visibly calmed, likely so she wouldn’t wake Ryan’s daughter and half the building.

“Ryan! What the actual fuck? Are you pranking me? Is this some weird thing for clicks?”

“Mal, back up a bit and maybe put the tail away, okay?”

The mere idea made me pout. “No, it was uncomfortable,” I protested.

He relented immediately. He truly was soft-hearted when it was useful for me. “Okay, just back up and let me explain to Lydia, alright?” When I refused to move, he tried more firmly. “Please, Mal. I can’t explain shit with you all wrapped around me.”

We unwound ourselves from each other. It was quite gratifying to see the blush on Ryan’s cheeks deepen, spreading down his face to his bare chest. He sat against the headboard and sighed. My irritation at the interruption rose at seeing how stressed Ryan was.

“Liddy, he’s real. There are no cameras. Like I’d let anyone film me while I was sleeping—”

“You could have been faking it.”

Ryan fixed his sister with a deadpan expression. “Really? You believe that?”

Lydia wilted. “Well, no. Just… what the fuck, Ry? Who is this guy? I’ve never heard you mention a Mal before.”

“I am Malacoda, and I met Ryan just yesterday.”

“Mal—that’s not helping—” Ryan interrupted.

“Seriously, what the hell is going on? You come home with this weird dude pretending he’s your best friend. Then I find you all snuggled in bed with him! Since when do you like guys? Is this some sort of tail kink?”

Sensing this was about to break into a full-blown argument between the siblings, I opened my mouth to speak.

“No,” Ryan cut in. “We’re not doing this in here. Meet me in the kitchen, Liddy. Put some coffee on, and we’ll be right out.”

His sister left the room with nothing further said.

She didn’t look all that happy about it, though.

When the door closed, Ryan turned my way.

“Mal, I need you to put all that…” he gestured at my horns and tail, “away for now. I know you don’t want to, and I’m sorry if it hurts, but Freya could wake up at any moment, and I don’t want to scare her. ”

Well, if it was between scaring the child and my comfort, it was a simple thing to whisk my horns and tail away. “I’m sorry, I did not think of the child.”

“Look, you’re going to have to be really careful around Freya.

” He shook his head regretfully. “She—her mom’s boyfriend hurt her, okay?

It’s why—nevermind. Just keep your voice soft when talking to her.

Don’t move too fast or get visibly angry around her.

It’ll take her a while to get used to having you around.

I know she can do it, though. She just needs time. ”

Ryan sighed, then scrubbed a hand over his face.

“I swear I will do anything to ensure Freya is comfortable with me. “Would you prefer if I used some magic to soothe her? It takes very little magic—“

“No! Fuck—” He clenched his jaw, the muscle ticked. “Don’t use anything on her. Just be calm around her.” He shook off whatever he was thinking. “It’s fine. Let’s just go speak to Lydia. Get this over with.”

Barely half an hour later, I was sitting with my second cup of coffee in front of me, my hands wrapped around the mug, enjoying its warmth.

I found I enjoyed the beverage, and it hid my need to reach out and touch Ryan to soothe him.

He was growing increasingly agitated with Lydia’s refusal to believe either of us about what I was.

“Shall I just show her some magic?”

“Weren’t you low?” His concern was touching.

“A good night’s sleep cures all, apparently.” I didn’t want to say anything further, though we would discuss it when we were alone. It was a good thing my magic had returned. We had no idea what Salvatore would do if he found out Ryan had stolen from him.

“Yeah, show her. I think it’s the only way she’s going to believe it.”

In a blink, I vanished from my seat and appeared beside her. I tapped her shoulder, eliciting a screech, before I vanished, returning to my seat once more.

“Holy shit!” Lydia gasped.

Not done with my display, I took Ryan with me and reappeared in another room. I waited for Lydia to splutter something before I returned us to our seats. It was gratifying to see Ryan grin and not look green. He had adapted to vanishing quickly.

“Fine, I believe you,” Lydia said into the silence. I sipped my cooling coffee. With a tendril of magic, I heated mine until it was steaming once more. Ryan tipped his cup my way for me to do the same to his. “So, Mal is a demon who was trapped in a gem—”

“The heart ruby,” I added.

“And Ryan picked it up because you influenced him to? What’s stopping you from making him do stuff now?”

“Now that Ryan has created a blood bond with the ruby, I am unable to influence him. We need each other. He is the reason I am out here enjoying this fine beverage instead of watching the world from inside the gem.”

“Right. And we are supposed to trust you? We don’t know you.” Lydia’s voice was bitter. “This could all be a trap to make Ryan work for that scumbag forever.”

The very thought that I would harm Ryan had anger flooding my system. I stood, my tail and horns escaping in my agitation. “I would never harm Ryan! He is keeping me out of that maniac’s hands. When I saw your brother, I saw his pure soul and chose him. I would not risk his safety!”

Lydia had cringed back. Ryan though, he was not cowed by my behavior. He laid a hand on my arm. “Mal, you’re hurt!”

It was true. In a fit of rage, I had pulverized the mug in my hand. The shards had cut into my flesh, and blood dripped onto the surface of the table.

Lydia grimaced, then reached out with careful hands and pulled the shards out.

She wrapped it in a towel. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.

” She led me into the bathroom, closing the lid on the toilet, she pushed me to sit down.

Lydia reached into a cabinet and pulled out a rectangular box.

“I made sure Ryan had a first aid kit when he moved in here. Kids are always getting hurt.”

“Is he okay?” Ryan hovered in the doorway, observing us. His concern, while touching, was a sign that the bond between us wasn’t just a one way thing. Ryan had feelings for me too. They might not be the same as the ones I was developing for him, yet it was something.

“He’ll be fine once I clean it and get the rest of the pieces out.”

“Daddy!” a small voice called.

“Go,” Lydia urged him. “See to Freya. I’ll look after Mal.”

After sparing us a glance, Ryan nodded and turned away. Lydia took some tweezers to my palm, pulling out the broken crockery. “You care about my brother, right?”

“I do. We have not been together long, but he has been kind to me.” Maybe it wasn’t an attraction. Perhaps I was just grateful to Ryan for treating me like a person instead of a tool. That had to be it.

“Be careful with him. Ryan’s a complicated guy. I don’t know how he’s going to take your feelings about him. He’s never shown an interest in a guy, so seeing you two this morning was a shock, y’know?”

Lydia began cleaning the wounds. I could heal them with magic once all remains of the mug were gone. It was unpleasant to heal around debris in a wound.

“Yes.” I frowned, unwilling to talk about it with Lydia after how she had doubted me.

Petty, yet it had hurt to be doubted. “I will protect Ryan not only because it is my duty, but because I want to. It’s been such a long time since I could act as I wanted.

Ryan… is not only my master, he is my… friend.

” It was the closest word to explain the bond we shared.

Though it had only been a few hours, maybe half a day since we had met, I knew he was important to me. “I will not risk that.”

She nodded, covering the clean wound with a dressing and fixing it in place. “Okay then. I’m going to make breakfast before I say bye to Ryan and Freya, then head to class.”

“Thank you,” I said, keeping my eyes on the bandage on my hand instead of Lydia.

“Sorry for doubting you.” Lydia squeezed my shoulder and left the bathroom.

I sat there for a long moment, wondering what to do until Ryan appeared at my feet. He was kneeling, inspecting my face.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Cool, put the demon stuff away and come meet Freya.”

Ryan had to trust me if he was willing to let me meet his precious little girl. The idea of having his faith lifted my spirits. I had to ensure their safety—both of them—and freedom from Salvatore, no matter what it cost me.