Page 13 of Fated to the Demon Lord

My guard grabbed my elbow and yanked me forward. I stumbled beside his lengthy strides, trying to keep my chin raised, though my heart pounded in my ears and a thickness had clogged my throat, making it difficult to swallow.

We passed over the gate and into a courtyard. The manor was all dark stone and sharp angles. Thin, darkened windows held ghostly curtains that hung stark and still. The cold and uninviting building towered over us as if it were a tomb.

The enormous front doors to the mansion sat open—massive jaws waiting to swallow me whole.

Without ceremony, my guard forced me inside.

“Enjoy your last breath of peace, little human.” He emitted a sinister chuckle. “While you can.”

His laughter was cut off as he slammed the doors shut.

I stood alone in the home of Lord Vaelor, whom I had killed.

I scanned the area for a quick exit. The spacious entryway stretched out from me, and a grand staircase made of stone spiraled upward to my left. Two corridors stretched right and forward, vanishing into gloom. A few lit candles flickered on candelabra in small alcoves near the corners. Somehow their light didn’t seem to do much to brighten the space.

Ice froze in my veins when I heard a slight rustle in the blackness beneath the staircase. I swore something lingered there in the shadows.

Before I found a route of escape, a female stepped into the entryway from the hall in front of me. She was thin and stooped. She had a beak for a mouth and hard, leathery skin. A harpy. A neatly pressed servant’s dress covered her body, and she walked with a slight limp. As she came closer, I noticed that one of her wings was lying dead and unmoving at her back.

“So, you are her, are you?” she rasped, looking me over with disdain. “The master said you’d arrive, and I was to see to you.”

I stared at her. I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean.

She turned away from me and limped forward. “You may call me Erlinen. Come with me.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected when my guard left me here. Instant torture? Lord Vaelor descending on me and inflicting the maximum amount of pain?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t… this.

She paused and scowled at me. “I said, come. The master doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Run. Hide. Was there any scenario where I might stop what was to come? If so, it would only be for a brief period.

Erlinen sighed. “Feron, see that she obeys.”

The shadow near the staircase melded into the dim light. This demon had feathers on his back and arms and feathered wings pulled tight, though his front appeared human-like. A large scar slashed across his face from his forehead to his chin, cutting through one eye. He was bigger than me and stronger than Erlinen. He grunted at me and pointed ahead to a hallway on my right. I glanced into the darkness, and nausea gripped me.

“Feron doesn’t speak, but I suggest you do as he commands,” Erlinen said. I hated how her head twisted as she said it.

I stood motionless, and he reached for me. Stumbling backward, I lifted my hands. “I’ll go.” I edged around him and Erlinen toward the indicated hall.

The pair marched me between them down the long hallway. We stopped at some double doors, and Erlinen opened one and motioned. “Go inside.”

The look on her face was solemn—too solemn.

Dread washed over me. If I entered that room, I wouldn’t be coming out.

Feron clamped onto my shoulders, halting my retreat. His grip was tight, unrelenting. I tried to squirm away, but he stepped closer, forcing me across the threshold.

The door slamming shut, followed by the lock clicking, echoed in every nerve of my body.

I stood frozen inside a dining room, tremors racing uncontrolled through me. Stillness filled the air, heavy enough that each breath sounded jarring. Around me, the room gleamed with luxury I had only ever seen in paintings of dead kings and forgotten palaces.

Candlesticks resting in holders gave off a pale, silvery hue that seemed to be swallowed by darkness. Above the table, a crystal chandelier hung, fracturing the dull light into spidery webs across the wall.

Out of the corner of my eye, I swore the shadows moved. My heart leapt into my throat, but when I looked directly, everything was as still as death.

Two places were set at the enormous table.