Page 29 of Wicked Magik

For a moment, there was silence between us. And then, unexpectedly, Oryx reached out a clawed hand and gently touched my cheek. It should be a startlingly tender gesture from someone whose appearance was so fearsome, yet not from Oryx.

“Thank you,” he whispered softly, his voice laced with gratitude. “Thank you for seeing me as more than just a monster. For trusting me.”

I covered Oryx’s hand with my own, offering him a small smile. “You’re welcome. And remember, you’re not alone in this. I’m here for you, no matter what. Friends, right?”

As we sat there in the dimly lit room, an unlikely pair bound by circumstances beyond our control, I realized that maybe, just maybe, there was hope for both of us yet. Hope for friendship in the unlikeliest of places. Yet still somewhat forced.

Maybe mom was working beyond the grave for this. Giving me something else to hold onto rather than sitting in a basement full of dead bodies.

I picked up my plate to start eating again when I noticed Oryx’s head drooped. He snorted and shook his head.

It was hard to read him, I was used to seeing facial features and now I had to learn his body language.

His body leaned, closer and closer to me. Not the usual, “hey give me my head pets,” but more so leaning until his body collapsed onto mine.

I landed with a thump, the plate of pasta barely hanging onto the bed.

Oryx snorted and shook his head, his horns grazed my head and I squeaked not to alarm him too much.

“I’m sorry!” He pushed off me and patted my arms. “I’m sorry, I must have…”

“Did you fall asleep?” I sat up and grabbed him by his petrified skull. “You fell asleep. Have you not been sleeping?”

Oryx covered his eye holes and shook his head. “I sleep, when I need to,” he whined.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Oryx,” I chastised. “Am I kicking you when I sleep?”

Oryx demanded we sleep cuddle. The first night was rough for me because I had a monster holding me, nuzzling my neck the entire night. Once I realized he really meant no harm and he wanted to cuddle, I relaxed. Slightly. He made no attempts to eat me.

I don’t know why I trusted him more than anyone else but I soon fell asleep with his arms around me and the purring from his chest lulled me into the deepest of sleeps I’ve ever had.

Oryx tapped his forehead several times with his claws. “I did not want to sleep. I wanted to watch you.”

Aww, how insanely creepy.

“Friends don’t watch friends sleep. It’s kind of weird.”

Oryx tilted his head. “But why, you are pretty when you sleep. Especially when you make the growling sounds. You are like my little monster.”

Excuse me?

“What growling sounds?”

“It goes like this…” he laid his head on the pillow and made the exact same sound of a snore.

This little shit.

“That’s a snore and it isn’t cute!” I squealed and pushed him in the chest. “How dare you say that’s cute. It’s embarrassing.”

“Embarrassingly cute. I like it.” He covered his eye holes again with his hands.

“And that is why you haven’t slept? To watch me sleep and snore?”

Oryx glanced aside and absently scratched at his torso. His abdomen was a masterpiece, the plane of his abs chiseled with divine precision, as if a deity had fashioned them with meticulous care. His physique was robust and muscular, a landscape of strength embellished with a fine dusting of human hair that trailed down and merged seamlessly into his pants. The fabric of his trousers hugged his form so perfectly that they seemed custom-tailored to his impressive build.

Did he do that for me? Wearing nice clothes like that?

Even his hooves looked like they were shaved down, looked polished and the hair on his legs looked brushed.