Unwittingly, I reach out, running my fingertips over the cool satin. Unlike the last time I saw it, the dress has been cleaned, and some parts even appear to have been patched. Hundreds of carefully placed stitches holding the frayed edges together, shimmering with a magical quality that makes the dress even more beautiful than it was before.
“Did you do this?” I ask, my voice strained.
“I did.” Dravik doesn’t explain further, just stands there, watching my expression with an intensity that takes my breath away.
I turn my attention back to the gown, taking in the hand-beaded crystals and intricate stitching. The dress is useless here, and no part of me ever wants to put this back on my body, but the sentiment brings tears to my eyes. The fact that Dravik, a stranger, would do something like this for me… it tugs at my heartstrings.
“Thank you.” I blink away a wave of tears. “This means a lot to me, Dravik. You’re very kind.”
Carefully, I fold the dress as small as I can and tuck it under a hide in the corner of the room—where I won’t be tempted to look at it. Though I don’t want to see it, I can’t exactly get rid of it right after Dravik was so sweet to fix it for me. I don’t know if he’ll understand my complicated emotions about the subject, and I don’t have the energy to explain them to him right now. Eventually, I’ll figure out something to do with it, but for now, I just want to focus on surviving this place and my growing attraction to these demons.
When I don’t say anything else, Dravik clears his throat, pushing a massive clawed hand through his unruly hair. “I imagine this all must be… strange to you.”
I nod, unsure what to say. I don’t want to offend him by saying something negative about his world, but… “This place… it’s so…cold.Barren.”
“It is how The Far Place has always been,” Dravik says.
The Far Place. I guess that’s the official title for this world.“Pretty depressing, if you ask me.”
“Depressing?”
I breathe a laugh. “Yes. It’s so… drab. Moody. There’s no plants, no flowers, no color. At least, none that I saw in my brief time above ground. I don’t see how anything could live here, considering how cold it is.”
He gazes at me for a while, deep in thought. “It is true, there is not much plant life here. But your world… I have been there many times. I have seen theseflowersyou speak of. All they do is make me sneeze. I do not see how having them makes a place lessdrab.”
I chuckle under my breath. “They’re beautiful. That’s all.”
Dravik tilts his head. “Youare beautiful. Plants are just… plants.”
I turn my face downward to hide the heat creeping into my cheeks. “We’ll have to agree to disagree, Dravik.”
A low rumbling builds in his chest, powerful enough to vibrate the very air around us. “So we will, little lamb. So we will.”
We sit in silence for a few more minutes before I’m brave enough to speak again. “Do you… Has Rhune told you why he took me? Did he give you a reason?”
Dravik sighs, his expression darkening as he drags a hand over his face. “Rhune tends to make… questionable and impulsive decisions. I fear he is so enamored with you that he’slost his mind. This business of stealing you from your home and bringing you here… it is not how we do things.”
“Whatdoyou do?”
His lips press together in a deep frown. “We leave your kind alone. We ignore the call to feed on your souls. We survive here, alone, where we cannot bring harm to other living creatures. Rhune has broken that pact by bringing you here, which is why I am so determined to bring you back. And Iwillbe successful.”
I let out a deep breath. Part of me is relieved by his sentiment, while the other half is screaming out that this is wrong. That I need to stay.
I shake those treacherous thoughts away. “Thank you so much, Dravik. For everything.”
He holds up a hand. “You don’t need to thank me. I am simply righting a wrong.”
I nod, biting my lip as the conversation grinds to a halt once more. “So… Whereisthe demon that brought me here?”
“He’s just outside the room. Sleeping.” His eyes twinkle with a rare flash of amusement. “I don’t think he’s gotten much rest since he found you.”
My chest clenches with a pang of guilt, and then I remember that I’m only here becausehemade it so, and it fades. My hunger, however, decides then is the perfect moment to make itself known.
I cringe as my stomach lets out a loud gurgle. Dravik, though… he loses his mind.
“Who is there?” His eyes are wild as they swing around the room, searching for threats. Before I can explain, Dravik lunges, covering me with his massive body.
“Do not move,” he whispers, his breath hot against my ear. “There is a predator amok. I do not know how it got inside, but I will protect you with my life.”
