“Enter,” I called out.
Bale pulled back the flap and ducked to come inside. Her gaze slid over River before glancing at me. Over her shoulder, I could see the lengthening shadows of the day; I hadn’t realized how much time had passed. River’s feet hit the floor, and I followed the direction of her gaze to a plate I hadn’t noticed in Bale’s hands. I kicked myself for not realizing River was probably hungry.
“I assumed she might like some food,” Bale said. “The other humans have all returned and are eating.”
“Yes, please,” River said. Bale strode forward and placed the plate before her. River stretched out her finger and poked it into the chunk of meat on the plate. “Steak?”
“Yes,” Bale said.
River smiled at her. “Thank you.”
Bale shot me an incredulous look before focusing on River’s bent head. It wasn’t often the humans thanked us for anything.
River grabbed her fork and knife and happily cut into the piece of meat on her plate. After shoving a chunk into her mouth, she let out a low groan. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the bite. “Delicious.”
I waved toward the flap. Bale had been right to bring her food, but I wanted more time alone with her. “I will escort her back shortly.” Bale’s eyebrows shot up, but she bowed her head in deference to me and left the tent. I watched River eat with an enthusiasm I’d never seen before. “Do you not have such food where you are?”
“No,” she answered after swallowing. “It’s been years since I’ve had any beef. Some chicken, yes, but as a fishing community, seafood has been our main supply since the war started. I’d forgotten how delicious it is. Is that woman your girlfriend?”
I hadn’t expected the abrupt change in subject or the absurd notion she believed I would have a steady relationship with a woman. “Bale? No.”
“You sound surprised I would ask. She’s stunning.”
This little human was the most enthralling and unexpected creature I’d ever encountered, and I’d encountered thousands over my lifespan. She found Bale stunning when many of the human women avoided her, either because of their uneasiness around her or because of how much she outshone them. I’d watched some of the human men trip over themselves to get closer to her.
“We do not havegirlfriends.”
She paused in the middle of cutting her food. “I see. Well, are you two together in whatever way demons are together?”
“No. Bale is one of my commanders and that is all.”
“Oh.”
Finishing off the meat, she turned to the potatoes and vegetables still on her plate. “The fliers only started circulating around my town four years ago,” she said when she placed her fork and knife on the empty plate. “Why?”
“It took a couple of years after the gateway was torn open to regroup and to assure the humans we weren’tallhere to kill them. That was one of our main obstacles, but after the first two years, we managed to convince them we were on their side by helping them to fight back the Craetons who were trying to spread further out. Mac had a big hand in getting them to accept us after I encountered him twelve years ago. Over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time building the wall, training and educating the humans on what they need to know about us, and fighting back the waves of Craetons trying to spread further across the land.”
Her mouth parted on a breath as she lifted her foot onto the chair again and draped her arm over her knee. My eyes tracked the way the movement caused her shirt to pull tighter over her breasts. What I wouldn’t give to take those breasts in my hands and knead them before bending my head to suck on one of her nipples. To hear her moans—
“The volunteering started eleven years ago,” she said.
I tore my gaze away from her breasts and compelled myself to focus on what she said. Getting involved with a possibility would be the worst decision I could possibly make; it could never happen. I told myself this, but it did nothing to ease the raging hard-on I had right now. Shifting uncomfortably in my chair, I lifted the goblet and took a drink of wine.
“Yes,” I said when I was finished swallowing. “And four years ago, we learned there was a hope out there for us, we only had to find it.”
“How did you find out about this…hope?”
“Bale can also sometimes see things.”
“And what did she see?”
“That is not for you to know, human.”
She placed her chin on her knee. “Can’t blame me for trying.”
“Not at all. We have made much progress over the years with the humans, but there are still a large number who are distrustful of us.”
“I can understand that. It’s not every day you learn of a whole other plane of existence and that the plane is actually Hell. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
