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“Well,” he drawled, “what do we have here?” A furred hand with sharp claws lifted my chin, guiding my gaze to meet fiery orange eyes. A gasp passed my lips. I’d never seen eyes like that before. Rings of fire surrounded by a field of pitch-black.

He was no mortal man.

Of all the demons that magical creatures on Earth told tale of, this one was unlike anything else.

I knelt before a beast—grey-black fur like charcoal, dark horns, black hair gleaming like raven’s feathers spilled past his shoulders, and sharp, narrow tusks protruded from the corners of his mouth.

A tail swished behind him, betraying agitation beneath his composed exterior.

So large, his existence seemed to occupy all the space in the room.

Despite his unsettling appearance, his human-like clothing intrigued me.

A kernel of curiosity dampened my churning fear. My breathing slowed and my shoulders sagged.

A charged silence wavered between us. His hand was warm on my chin, and the cold penetrating my bones almost begged me to lean into him.

I tilted my head, studying him with the same intensity he directed at me.

His eyes widened and an unreadable flicker cut across his features as he realized I was assessing him with the same level of curious scrutiny.

“A mortal woman. Interesting,” he mused. “You’ve chosen an interesting place to travel to.”

“I don’t even know where I am,” I admitted, surprised by the honesty in my voice. “This must be part of the magic. None of this is real. I’m simply going insane before death claims me.”

He frowned, a low growl of frustration rumbling in his chest. “Who are you? I demand to know your name.” He rose to his full height, and I scrambled to my feet. His gaze swept over me, taking in my bare state.

His pupils dilated and his breath hitched.

“My name?” I echoed, bewildered. “I’ve never had one.” I had only ever been an elemental spirit—names were for mortals, not for beings like me. “Who are you to demand anything of me?”

All the air whooshed from my lungs when the wide, imposing demon-beast surged over me. A heated presence provoking a chill down my spine and a churning in my stomach.

“I am a fathomless appetite with no limit. You are fair and available flesh. My hunger knows no bounds and I find myself ravenous.” He revealed sharp teeth behind a malicious grin. A threat and a promise.

Mortal bodies were born to die and that was the curse Aradia placed upon my fate. Until this body withered, until the dirt claimed my bones, I would continue surviving as I had since the dawn of time.

“You’re vile!” I waved my hands to shoo him away. “Begone foul demon. You’ll get nothing from me! What kind of pitiful prey do you take me for!” Fur smacked against my hand as I got a strike in.

His growl shuddered through the room. I felt it in my skin, speeding along with my racing heart. A warm, panting breath brushed my cheeks and lifted strands of hair framing my face. Pain on my cheeks and chin stunned me, and an iron grip held me in place.

Eyes like fire. It flickered and flared in his iris, barely subdued by the black of his sclera. Burning coals on a pyre. So hot and volatile it would burn me alive.

“Be still you difficult creature!” the beast roared. He released me and I stumbled back from his grip. Leather met the back of my legs as a chair stopped me from tumbling to the ground.

“Are you going to eat me then?” I screamed. “Are you going to chase me like the other beasties in this horrid place? Or will you simply tear me apart and devour me?”

“I could. Easily and rather eagerly, I think.” Fire-eyes narrowed. His whipping tail slowed to a leisurely swish over the floor. Harrowing seconds ticked by as his eyes roamed over my body, and the tension in his wide shoulders lessened. “But I think not.”

“What do you want from me then?”

The question halted him. Likely because I sounded so pitiful. So tired.

He swiped a clawed hand over his face, masking his incredulity. He turned toward a desk littered with papers and books. Leaning forward, he braced his knuckles on the edge of the surface and huffed.

I released a shaky exhale.

A black wrought iron candelabra on the desk rattled, and before my eyes, it transformed into a fluffy black cat. Lit candles flickered atop its head, mirroring its eyes like tiny flames. It smiled with a sinister cunning as it padded across the desk, tail flicking.

“Stealing from the master,” the cat tsked, “a punishable offense.”

“Hm, indeed it is.” The beast stroked his chin.

The cat continued, “Put her in the dungeon, my lord.”

“A dungeon?” I gasped, surging to my feet. “I’d rather you eat me!”

The beast rounded on me, towering over me in an attempt to intimidate. Undeterred, I stood firm, my chest heaving, refusing to cower before him. I knew the dance of predator and prey well enough.

“You were stealing from my garden. I can see it on your mouth.” He swiped a thumb across my lip and my breath stuttered.

His thumb lingered at the corner of my lips, claw barely resting on the tender flesh.

“That’s cause for punishment enough. Though I can’t help but wonder, what has a pretty little woman stealing from my garden?

” he asked, his breath warm against my face.

“What does it matter, master? She has committed a grave offense—” the cat began.

“Silence, Domovoy,” the beast snarled, cutting off the shadow cat. He blinked and removed his clawed hand from my face. “The first human in Infernus in a hundred years. A little thief with no name. How odd. What am I to do?”

“Who are you to do decide my fate, demon? If you knew anything you would let me go,” I blurted, desperation tinging my voice.

He arched a brow, a reluctant amusement altering his expression. “I am Mavros Karsian, the prince and master of this castle.”

I kept my face neutral, unimpressed by his titles. It provoked a disbelieving chuckle from the beast prince. He shook his head, glancing at the shadowy cat pacing across his desk.

“I think you’re in trouble,” he grumbled, low voice slithering under my skin and hooking around my bones.

I hesitated, the truth threatening to spill forth. But what if he knew of the Crimson Mage? I couldn’t risk it. I offered a half-truth, hoping it would suffice.

“I was attacked in the woods. I have nothing and nowhere to go. The fruit... I only took some because I haven’t eaten in days.” Another shiver wracked my body, and I wrapped my arms around myself in a futile attempt to ward off the chill.

“See, she admits to her thievery!” the cat hissed, claws digging into the wood of the desk.

“Silence!” Mavros growled, venting a sigh before unclasping his cloak.

I tensed as he approached, but he dropped the heavy fabric over my shoulders.

His lingering heat enveloped me, and the soft material was a balm to my frozen bones.

Urged by the earthy, musky scent in the cloak, I buried my nose in it and inhaled.

A low growl vibrated through Mavros, but he stifled it with a deep breath. He adjusted his shirt and cuffs, his tail swishing with an agitation I couldn’t quite understand.

I blinked owlishly at him. In this world, I was alone and tired, balancing on the brink of death. This beast could kill me as easily as save me.

He glared in my general direction as if as unsure as I was.

“For your... impudence,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully, “you will stay here. As a guest.” It was a command, not a suggestion. His hardened mask slammed into place as he strode toward the door. “Follow me.”

“You cannot make decisions for me!”

I choked as his hand collared my throat. My heart thumped and a pulse rippled through me. Backed into the chair, breathing hard, trapped in place by a single hand. He hung over me, baring his teeth in a vicious sneer. My muscles tensed and I failed to swallow over the pressure on my neck .

“I can and I will,” he dipped his head to my level, speaking into my lips until I could taste the command on his tongue, “because you’re caught in my web now, little thief. You’re mine. All mine.”

Red flared at the edges of my vision. No one owned me. Even as a human I wasn’t some possession to claim. I jerked my chin from his grasp and shoved at his chest. The beast prince hardly budged, but it allowed me the space to slam my fists into him again and again.

“You can’t treat me this way!” I hit him while screaming. I hit him until my knuckles were raw. He snatched my wrists from the air when the first sob vaulted from my lips. But adrenaline and anger fueled me. I lashed out with the only thing I had left.

My teeth sank into the side of his hand.

“That’s enough!” the beast roared, a terrible, echoing sound. Powerful enough to freeze me in place. “I have had it with the distractions and interruptions. No more. You have stolen from me and stumbled blindly into my home. You rightfully belong to me now, and you will behave yourself!”

I sucked in a gasp as he scooped me off my feet and slung me over his shoulder. The world swayed perilously from my new vantage point and my head spun from the dizzying motion. The fruit in my stomach complained and I clamped my lips shut to keep it in.

The beast prince carried me through the winding corridors of the castle.

He held me tight, and with the cloak enveloping me I remained securely captured.

Silence hung between us, but I felt his awareness of me as a constant presence at the edge of my senses.

It was an unfamiliar game, and one I didn’t know how to play.

After what felt like ages, we arrived at a tower. He opened the door to a large, dusty room. The wood groaned in protest at the intrusion. A puff of dust lifted under his feet.

He dropped me unceremoniously to my feet. After a few wobbles I regained my balance. He pressed an insistent hand to my back, and I stepped inside, taking in the aged beauty of the space. Long ago it might have been a grand room, now faded with time.

The shadow cat that followed behind us wove between the beast’s feet. “If she is a guest, then you must invite her to dinner, master,” he chortled.

My stomach lurched at the mockery in its tone.

“Yes,” Mavros agreed, turning to face me. “You will be an obedient little thief and join me.” It was not a request, and I had no energy left to refuse. The door slammed behind me, rattling on its hinges with a chilling finality.

Alone again, I surveyed my surroundings.

Dust motes danced in the strange nightly luminescence of the world streaming through the window, casting a glow over the room.

The bed, though large and inviting, was draped in cobwebs, the sheets yellowed with age.

A cold hearth yawned in the corner, long since abandoned .

I wrapped Mavros’s cloak tighter around me.

The warmth was a paltry comfort to the desolation spreading like a disease in my blood.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on my limbs. As I sank onto the edge of the bed, the wooden frame groaned in protest. I curled up on the dusty sheets and the scent of the beast prince’s cloak enveloped me, mingling with the lingering aroma of old wood and forgotten memories.

My eyelids grew heavy, and I allowed them to close, seeking solace in the embrace of sleep.

I drifted into slumber, thoughts plagued by the past and the unknown future.

The memory of Aradia’s transformation spell lingered, the bitter taste of betrayal tainting my dreams. I was no longer the creature of magic and grace I had been, but a mere mortal, vulnerable and fragile. Trapped with demons and monsters.

Despite the forlorn state of the room, there was a peculiar sense of peace here that reached the charred edges of my spirit.

It was as if the walls, once witnesses to grandeur and life, now whispered forgotten stories in the silence.

I wondered about the castle’s history, the lives it had sheltered, and the secrets it hid within its barely beating stone heart.

Was this once a land of man? Or had it always belonged to beasts?