Page 206 of Dark Souls

’I’m pushing you back.’ I told Heathen, because the last thing I wanted to do was scare this girl or make her feel threatened.

‘The fuck you are.’

Pulling on all the internal strength that I had gained from feeding from Ilaria so much, I shoved him further back into my mind, which forced him to give up his control. He was weaker than me because he hadn’t eaten an organ for a few days. I was thankful for it at that moment.

‘You just don’t want me to outshine you, huh?’

‘Something like that.’

Neve gasped when my horns retreated into my head and my eyes returned to their violent red. I stared around the room, looking for the nearest exit.

“Amazing!” she breathed. “So, can you?”

I thought meeting the men of Ilaria’s family would be the most intimidating ordeal, but I was wrong. It was this bubbly woman who spoke a million miles a minute with a smile so bright it reached her hazel eyes that hadn’t left my face.

“Huh?”

“Can you fly?”

“Yeah.” Though I hadn’t done it in so long. It was the thing I was most looking forward to doing now that Heathen and I could share powers again.

“That’s so fucking cool. I don’t think I would ever walk again if I had that ability. Like I’d just get up and fly to the kitchen just because, why not, right?” She suddenly stood up and waltzed into the small kitchen, opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne.

My eyes flicked to the bedroom door, silently begging Ilaria to come back and save me. Not that I didn’t like Neve. I had just never been around anyone like her before. The only people I ever had positive interactions with in private that hadn’t cowered in my presence were Ilaria and my family. And being alone with this much bounciness and happy vibes made me fucking uncomfortable because I didn’t know how to speak to this girl. Or how to act. She was clearly the type of person whose presence just brightens a room. Someone whose soul is so full of light that it radiates inner peace. The complete opposite to me. And to add to my anxiety, she was someone who meant a lot to Ilaria and I didn’t want her to think I was an asshole or rude, but I’d never be a ray of fucking sunshine.

“Champers?” she asked from across the room, holding the bottle she’d just popped open towards me. “We need to celebrate.”

“Sure.” I swallowed. I glanced back at the door.

’Stop being a fucking pussy. What are you so scared of? That you might actually smile?’ Heathen cackled in my head.‘I know it’s been a hot minute but relax, dude.’

‘Dude? When the fuck did you start talking like a bellend?’

‘When I didn’t have you to rein me in, dude. If you are so scared of her, let me take full control. I am way more fun than you, anyway.’

“Here.” She rocked a glass from side to side in front of my face and I took it. She fell back on to the sofa next to me, too close for my comfort levels, because I hated being fucking touched by anyone that wasn’t Ilaria, especially when I was only wearing a towel. I shuffled down on the sofa before throwing back the entire glass in one gulp. I could feel her staring at my side profile again and when I turned to meet her gaze, I found her smirking.

“You don’t have to worry. I am a taken woman and even if I wasn’t, Ilaria is my girl. I’m not about to pounce on you or anything.”

“I… I wasn’t—”

She raised her hands up in surrender. “I get it. You like your space, and I have a tendency to take up a lot of it with my winning personality. I struggle to control my excitement and, honestly, as soon as I arrived in this realm a few hours ago and Ruby filled me in on everything, I have been so excited to meet you. I just couldn’t wait.” She giggled, sipping her champagne as I stayed silent and watched her. “It’s so weird. You are exactly how I imagined you’d be. Maybe except for the demon part, because that was an awesome surprise. Did you know Ilaria and I kept a scrapbook when we were kids, and we wrote down everything we wanted our soulmates to be? I had to force it out of her, but clearly, she got what she wanted.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mysterious. Broody. Handsome but not in the conventional way. Alternative. Bad boy. A little standoffish. A little murdery. You know.” She waved her hand towards me. “All this. You’re perfect for her.”

“A little murdery?” My lips twitched at the sides as I fought my amusement at her summary of me. It was pretty accurate.

“Yeah, well, because you eat hearts and stuff. No judgment. You do you, boo.” She leaned in closer to me. “What do they taste like, though? I imagine they’re pretty tough to chew.”

I raised my eyebrow, forcing myself to speak more than a few words. “You’d be surprised by how tender they are. Rich and velvety in flavour. Succulent. When they are really fresh, they actually melt in your mouth a little.”

She blinked at me and licked her lips. “Fuck. You should be a narrator for a food commercial. You just made my mouth water for a heart. People would eat anything you were selling with that voice.”

A rare laugh rumbled through my chest and surprised us both. She jumped up and down on her bent legs, spilling her champagne carelessly on the sofa as she shouted, “Gotcha! I knew I would make you laugh.”

“Well done. That is quite an achievement.” I smirked, leaning forward and placing the flute on the coffee table. Now the ice seemed to have broken, I felt my posture relaxing in her presence. “Are you just here for a visit?”