“Is he?” There’s something almost amused in Dis’s voice. “He brought you supplies. He offered to help. He clearly believes you are worth protecting.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I focus on arranging the sage instead.
“When are you going to feed me?” Dis asks.
The question is so casual, so unexpected, that I nearly drop the sage bundle.
I turn to stare at him. “What?”
“Feed me.” He says it like he’s asking about the weather. “I am growing hungry.”
My brain stutters. “Shadow beings don’t eat food.”
“Not physical food, no.” His blue eyes are steady on mine. Calm. Reasonable. “But you know perfectly well what sustenance shadow beings need. You are friends with Hex and his human.”
Oh.
Oh no.
I did know this. Of course I knew this. Shadow beings feed on energy. Specifically, the kind of energy that comes from physical intimacy. It’s why Hex started haunting Adam, he needed to feed.
I just assumed that trapping Dis in a circle and not technically binding his magic would mean he could still draw power from the ether. The Shadow Realm. From ambient energy. From whatever mystical source shadow beings normally use when they’re not actively feeding.
But apparently not.
Apparently I’ve trapped him in a way that cuts him off from everything.
I swallow hard. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Clearly.”
“You could have mentioned it before.”
“I was busy being angry about my imprisonment.” He shifts slightly. The shadows around him ripple. “But I have had time to reflect on my situation. And I find myself in need of sustenance.”
Silence falls. Heavy and uncomfortable.
My mind is racing. Shadow beings need to feed regularly. Not constantly, but often enough that going without will weaken them. Eventually, if they’re completely cut off from all sources of energy, they fade.
They don’t die exactly. But they fade into something that’s barely conscious. Barely there.
I search my soul to see if I’m ruthless enough to do that to him. To starve him slowly until he’s nothing but whispers and mist.
He burned my flat. He tried to use me as bait. He was willing to kill me.
But this feels different. This feels like torture.
“I do not believe you are dishonourable enough to starve me until I fade, Little Witch,” Dis says quietly.
He’s right. I hate that he’s right, but he is. I’m angry. I want revenge. I want him to understand what he took from me.
But I’m not a monster.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll figure something out.”
Dis tilts his head slightly. “Will you?”
“Yes, Disney, I will.”
