Page 5 of Taken to the Deadlands (Stolen Demon Brides #1)

Chapter 5

Aris

T his little human is going to fucking ruin everything.

Not only had she burst out headfirst onto the stage, but even as I brought her back to my spot to sit, she fought against me.

“Let me go, you asshole!”

She tried to pull her tiny wrists from my hand, but she was too weak, like most of her kind. Still, I pulled her to me, needing her to come close. When she winced, a shot of guilt burst through me.

“Just be good,” I warned, leaning closer to whisper in her ear.

The weight of the eyes of the many demons in the room made my skin burn. It wouldn’t be good for me if they saw my weakness. It wasn’t uncommon for demons to take a human companion, but not many treated them with respect.

Nor did they let them throw a fit in the middle of an auction.

Madam’s voice sounded behind me, and the auction was resumed.

The human looked back to the stage, and I took advantage of the distraction to pull her away.

She didn’t fight me as hard this time. Maybe because we were headed straight to the twins and to the people who were already focused on bidding on the next human.

“A royal favor.” Eros’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried far, silencing anyone who so much as attempted to speak over her.

Even the human knew not to say anything as I sat her down in my chair. She attempted to make herself smaller by folding her shoulders in and putting her hands between her legs. I knew the right thing to do would be to kneel in front of her and calmly talk her through this, but I had an image to uphold.

I felt Yien come to my side before I saw or heard her. The coldness of her shadows enveloped us and caused the human to look up at me with a startled expression.

I was met with hazel eyes with long, damp lashes. Umber skin shone under the dim lighting, enough for me to catch a glimpse of the dark freckles that lined her face and neck. Her brown hair was stuck to her skin, which I now realized was slick with sweat.

The human is scared.

“Cover us more,” I ordered Yien.

“My human is next.”

“This won’t take long.”

Yien’s shadows filled the space around us. I dropped to my knees in front of the human, and she straightened suddenly, giving me a grim expression.

“I don’t taste good,” she said quickly. “I have a human blood disease that is slowly rotting me from the inside. If you’re not careful, I’m pretty sure you can catch it too.”

For the first time in years, a smile threatened to tug at my lips.

I leaned forward, close enough for my nose to brush across her chest. Her heart was beating so fast it drowned out all sounds around me.

I inhaled deeply.

Pain stabbed deep at my gut. My throat constricted. Drool pooled in my mouth. My teeth ached.

I jerked my head back, not trusting myself to get any closer.

The frenzy was already playing at the corners of my mind, reminding me of how long it had been since I feasted. Memories of my sharp teeth tearing at human flesh, of the taste of their blood bursting across my tastebuds, of their magic filling my veins hit me like a truck.

I closed my eyes.

“I won’t eat you,” I forced through clenched teeth. It had an edge to it that I hoped wouldn’t scare the human. “I have other plans for you.”

Another scent hit me. One I wasn’t too sure I had enough control to assess.

This time, I shot up to my feet and exited Yien’s shadows.

I hadn’t heard the commotion, but as soon as I was away from the human, my senses flooded back.

Demons were growling and yelling all around us. Chairs were being thrown. Bodies clashed against bodies.

“Empaths are a hot commodity, it seems,” Madam called out over the roaring crowd. “Let’s add something interesting to this bet, hm? Does anyone have another soul sphere to offer?”

Yien raised her hand. Panic burst through me.

I don’t have what she’s offering.

“Put your hand down right fucking now. You do not have a?—“

“I do,” she said, her tone not giving any indication of her lie. “A soul sphere for the human. No royal coin.”

Madam threw her head back with a loud, crazed laugh.

“Don’t kid yourself,” she spat. “Anyone else?—“

“A soul sphere… of a realm ruler.”

Silence fell across the room.

It’s not possible. Demons didn’t have a soul to capture, so how?—?

“Proof,” Madam demanded as the human on the stage shook with fear, her eyes wide as she watched us.

Yien gave her a quick nod before looking over the crowd. When her eyes fell to the already dead Demis, a slow smile spread across her face. She didn’t move from where she stood. All she did was send her shadows over.

All-black tendrils shot out from her shadows and circled Demis’s large body. With ease, they held him up, and we all watched as the shadows attacked him, moving over his skin as if searching for something. Then they started pulsing. With each pulse, the body they covered got smaller and smaller until?—

“How is that possible?” I breathed. “He was dead.”

The shadows dissipated until there was only a single, black orb with a red core floating where the body had been.

Quicker than I could have thought possible, I turned around and yanked the human out of Yien’s shadows.

Yien’s eyes cut toward me.

“That hurts me,” she deadpanned. “I thought we were friends.”

“I didn’t know you could?—“

“Sold!”

Yien’s gaze snapped back to the stage, and, in a flurry of shadows, both she and the human were gone.

I paused, looking at the twins, but the spot they had occupied was already empty.

A tug on my arm caused me to look back down at my human. Her eyes were wide, and the anger from before seemed nowhere to be found.

“Mia,” she said. “My name is Mia.”

I gave her a hard look.

“You want something… else , right?” she asked. “If so, you should at least know my name. After all, I do know yours, Aris. ”

My name falling from those lips shouldn’t have set me alight like it did. Neither should her scent.

So, what the fuck kind of human are you, Mia?