Page 3 of Taken to the Deadlands (Stolen Demon Brides #1)

Chapter 3

Aris

I loathed the auctions.

I hated the smell of lingering fear and arousal. I hated having to interact with the demons that were invited. And most importantly, I hated seeing the demons tear apart humans without a second thought.

It had been almost a millennium since I stopped feasting on humans. Since the fear they exuded left a scar on my psyche. Since I had lost control.

Back then, I had been a young demon, looking to regain the power to protect what I cared about. But when that was taken from me, the pain of going through these auctions never seemed worth it.

“Aris, what the hell are you doing here?” a grating, yet familiar voice called.

I stiffened in my seat. I had made sure to get the one closest to the back and in the shadows somewhat, just so no one would come up to me.

Apparently, they didn’t get the message.

I gritted my teeth and looked at the intruder—or intruders .

Two twin girls stood off to the side. One stood tall, with her hands shoved in her suit pants. Her button-up was loose, and on top of it she wore a suit jacket with an embroidered royal coat of arms.

Her twin looped her arm around her neck, her chin on her shoulder, and looked at me with a devilish smirk. Both had a messy type of mullet that was dyed a light reddish pink. Or at least I thought it was dyed, since no member of the royal family had that monstrosity of a hair color.

Maybe it’s bloodstained. That would be more on brand for them.

Small, delicately filed horns peeked from beneath their hair. Another sign of their heritage. Demons like myself and many others didn’t have the resources or even bothered to constantly file their horns. But for royalty, it was a must.

Everything about them had to be groomed for presentation to the inner courts—from their clothes to what they ate to even the women they fucked.

How they got away with half of what they did was beyond me.

Last I saw them, they were being taken in for punishment after poisoning the royal family’s food supply. Anyone else would have been beheaded for even attempting to kill a royal. These two, however, succeeded in killing three of their relatives before being caught.

But even as demons gathered from across the realms to see their punishment… They walked out to greet us without so much as a hair out of place.

Even I had found myself a little impressed with how they managed to pull that off.

Against my inner wants, I stood and bowed my head to them.

“Eros, Oros.”

“Oh, knock it off, Aris,” Eros said. She was the one in front and usually the one that did the talking. Oros, on the other hand… Let’s just say she liked to play more than she liked to talk. If Oros was talking, trouble was expected.

I gave her a forced smile.

“I, too, am bound by the rules, Eros,” I replied. “No matter how long we’ve known each other.”

Oros turned around and motioned for the human worker to get them chairs. The man seemed to be young, maybe in his twenties, and while he looked well fed, the terror of witnessing this auction had left his cheeks hollow and eyes dead.

I sat down with them when their seats were brought over.

“Answer the question,” Oros demanded as soon as she sat down.

I took a deep breath. Answer what you need to. Give nothing else.

“I heard there was a spirit seer here,” I admitted.

Oros let out a laugh that was so loud, it caused others to turn and stare at us. I cursed her for her lack of tact.

“And what would you need with a spirit seer, hm?”

“To eat them, of course,” I quipped. “Maybe steal their power if I am able to.”

It was mostly a lie. Demons could rarely steal a human’s powers after devouring them. It was nothing more than a myth because no demon would ever actually admit to having stolen the powers for fear that they too would be eaten.

“Didn’t you stop eating humans?” Eros asked. My eyes narrowed on the darkened stage. I didn’t want to meet her calculating stare. She would see right through me.

“What about you?” I asked, deflecting.

Eros let out a hum.

“There is a human lie detector here,” she said. “You and I both know how well that would do in court.”

I nodded. Demons were notorious liars, but the royal family even more so. They were cunning, ruthless, and I did not envy Eros and Oros’s life.

“Maybe we can have a bit of fun with them as well,” Oros whispered, her excitement obvious in her tone. “According to Beau, their nectar tastes just as sweet as their blood.”

My hair stood on end, and an unrecognizable heat flared in my belly. How many years had it been since I had a chance to taste a human that way?

Memories of her body against mine. Of her sounds as she came. All of it hit me so hard, it felt as if I’d seen her yesterday as opposed to a millennium ago.

“Aris.”

Fuck. Can I just be left alone?

“Yien,” I greeted, looking off to the side. I might have banished myself to the shadows, but Yien was born from them. She could have been standing in the corner the entire time, and the darkness would have hidden her presence. I wouldn’t have put it past her. She stepped forward, the shadows melting away as soon as she stepped into the dim light.

Her inky hair fell to her waist in straight, silky strands. Her light purple horns jutted out from her head and curled backwards. Looking closely, I noticed the dark jewels embedded in them. Her all-black eyes narrowed on me, the ghost of her white pupil the only thing that let me know I was her target.

Unlike the others here, myself included, Yien didn’t dress up for the occasion. Instead, she wore a loose robe that tied around her waist and pants that hid most of her frame. They, too, were all black. I didn’t have to look down at her feet to know that she wasn’t wearing shoes.

She never did.

“I need your help.”

I bristled at her comment.

Help? Since when am I the one to ask for help?

“You want one?” I asked.

She gave me a stiff nod. It wasn’t hard to read her. She might have been just as old as me, but sometimes she acted more like a child than the terrifying demon she was supposed to be.

“I have enough money for one or two rounds, but not more.”

“Too bad they don’t take that god-awful glitter that falls out of your ass,” Oros commented.

Yien’s eyes narrowed toward the twins. I let out a sigh.

Yien and I were as close as I was with the twins. Meaning not at all. But unlike the twins’ massive pile of cash, Yien lived in the Shadow Realm, where the need for money was nonexistent. They lived off their powers and rarely came to auctions like these unless they were desperate.

“Why do you need a human all of a sudden?” I asked.

Yien’s eyes looked back down at me. I couldn’t glean any information from her expression. Maybe that was a good thing. I feared for the day that she showed actual emotion.

“I want a companion.”

Oros let out a laugh that caused a few of the demons in the room to look over at us once more.

It angered me. I didn’t like that the demon was being made fun of. I too knew what it was like to be chained up in a realm with no warmth but my own.

“If you want a companion so badly, just fetch one of those demons your estate employs. I’m sure they’d jump at the chance to get a mouth full of?—“

“Once you run out of money, let me know,” I found myself saying. My better judgment was telling me to stay out of it, but I couldn’t help but feel for the demon.

“Thank you,” Yien whispered and took a step back into the shadows. She didn’t cover herself fully, just enough for us to still be able to see her face and clawed hands. It would be enough for me to know when to take over.

Damn, between Yien and myself, just how much money am I going to drop today?

It wasn’t every day the four of us showed up in one place. To bet on humans, no less.

The crowd roared to life when lights flooded the stage. A small, winged demon with brilliant white hair and red horns took center stage.

No one knew her name. We all just called her Madam. She had been in charge of this auction house for as long as I could remember, and she specialized in bringing the tastiest humans to the Demon Realm.

“Who’s ready to purchase some humans?” she asked, a wicked smile spreading across her face, showing off all her sharp teeth.

Here we go. I will buy the human. Take her home.

And when all is said and done, I will finally be able to move on from the hellish life I have been living.