Page 67 of Knox

A soft gasp escaped Daniel’s lips.

Caelen’s eyes darkened with satisfaction—and fuck, he looked even hotter that way.

Daniel cursed himself for the thought. He should be hating this, but instead, he was growing hard.

"So delicious," Caelen whispered, leaning close to speak into Daniel’s ear. "You’ll give me all of you, won’t you?"

Daniel’s mind raced, trying to hold onto some semblance of control. But how could he when his body reacted so readily, when the very essence of him seemed to crave Caelen’s touch?

He gritted his teeth. "My friends will come for me," he said, praying that he was right.

Caelen’s smile remained as he drew back. "Yes, I’m quite hoping they will," he replied, his hand finally releasing Daniel’s hair. "But that doesn’t mean I’ll give you up."

Chapter

Sixteen

Adrian parked the rental car at the edge of Lancefield with a growing sense of dread. Smoke was rising in the distance and police cars were speeding past him, sirens blaring.

What the hell was happening here?

Adrian knew, of course. Trolls and orcs were happening here, but that was still hard to believe.

"Do you think the rental car’s insurance covers monster attacks?" he asked Knox, his joke falling flat to his own ears.

"How often do the people of Lancefield have to deal with monster attacks?"

"Probably never."

"How fortunate." Knox sounded genuinely surprised.

"It also means they are completely unprepared for this." Adrian gestured toward the town. He knew how to deal with internet trolls, but he knew nothing about real-life ones. There weren’t supposed to be any real life ones.

"I’ll take care of it," Knox promised. "Let’s just find your friend."

"Yes, thank you." Adrian glanced at his phone. Still no response from Leon. How were they supposed to get him to safety like this?

"Let’s go and see what we’re dealing with."

Before Adrian could even respond, Knox headed down the street as if he didn’t even know what fear was. Of course not. He was an incubus, a demon, and unlike Adrian, he was the hero of his story, whether he resided in Veridia or this world.

Adrian gazed after him for a moment, once again reminded of how different they were.

"Are you coming?" Knox called.

"Yeah." Adrian made himself move. This was not the time to be falling behind.

He’d never been to Lancefield before, but he’d always pictured it as a sort of quiet town when Leon talked about it. Not so now.

He and Knox passed overturned cars and shattered shop windows and there were always sirens going off somewhere. Adrian’s eyes darted around, searching for any sign of Leon or, worse, one of the monstrous creatures wreaking havoc.

"Stay close," Knox instructed. "You’re an easy target for an orc."

Adrian shuddered at the thought. The image of a green, hulking beast dragging him away played vividly in his mind. "What do they do to the people they catch?"

"They use them for entertainment or labor," Knox replied, his gaze scanning their surroundings. "But don’t worry, they won’t get the chance with you."

"That’s… reassuring," Adrian muttered, trying to keep his voice steady.