Page 15 of A Summoned Husband

My hands cupped over my ears as the blackened petals deepened to red. A slickness covered them, scarlet and deep. With wide eyes, I watched as a realization dawned on me.

These weren’t petals. It was a heart. A heart that had just begun beating.

Boom, boom.

It pulsed in the box, making it shake as it suspended in the air.

Fear and panic filled me as I slammed the cover closed and turned the key. As soon as I pulled the key free, I held it in my fist against my chest. Maybe if I held it exactly as I did during the fall, this room would disappear and take the box with it.

I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be anywhere but in this room, with that box.

Pain seared through my chest. It dropped me to my knees as I tried to pull my hand away. The agony was too much. All too quickly, I pushed my hand to my chest, hoping I could soothe it with the pressure.

My gaze dropped and I watched the key rip into my flesh and disappear beneath. The flesh closed overtop, a brand there identical to the key before my skin was once again smooth.

“What?” I gasped.

I scraped at my skin, but it did nothing to retrieve the cursed key.

Boom, boom. Boom, boom. Boom, boom.

My eyes whipped to the box, just in time to watch it catch fire.

It burned so brightly, I had to shield my eyes from the flames. Just as quickly the fire was gone, taking the box along with it.

The room shook. The red dripped from the ceiling, pouring down in sinister thick drops that painted the dark walls. It devoured. Seeped. Pooled against the shining black floor before it trudged toward me. Fear made me cower, stepping back from the pillar with nowhere to go. I was surrounded by the impending darkness and the waves of blood that ebbed and flowed toward me.

And then I was falling.

* * *

“Jesus, Eden. Will you stop shrieking?” Sarika walked into the room, a glass of water outstretched before her as she closed her eyes and winced. “It’s a drilling noise.”

I whipped up in bed, pushed my hair out of my face and looked around my room. Sweat soaked my brow and trailed down my spine. Nothing looked out of order. It was the same room I saw every day, and yet it had never felt so different.

“Sarika?” I moaned, a hand pressed to my dampened brow.

“Mhmm, last time I checked. Christ, how much did you drink, Ede?” She sank on the edge of my bed and looked at me. “You look better than the others, that’s for sure.”

Fear filled me. “Why? What’s wrong with them?” Did the demon do something to them? Did he drink their blood like he did mine?

“Likely the same thing that’s wrong with you. They’re extremely hung over.” She rested her hand on my thigh, the humour on her face wiping away as her brow pinched. “Hey, you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“But everyone is okay?” I asked.

Her hand rubbed my leg through the blanket as she leaned slightly forward, her dark eyes taking me in, filled with concern. “You okay, babe?”

Was I?

I felt a few cards short of a playing deck as I scraped my nails lightly against my brow as though they could rip away the skin and get to all the dark thoughts that lived there after the weirdest night of my life.

“Umm…”

“This is why I keep telling y’all you should switch to edibles. You look crazy right now, Ede. From wine!” Sarika laughed, shaking her head.

I felt crazy but I doubted it was from the wine. Lifting my hand, I held it in front of my face. The tiny pinprick was there. The slightest red dot, barely noticeable. My hand folded into a fist as I let out a long sigh.

“Maybe you’re right. You look right as rain this morning.” I tried my best to push the thought of demons away. My feet kicked as I shoved out from under the duvet and got to my feet. “Breakfast… that’s what I need.”