Page 46 of Fated to the Demon Lord

His lips pressed together, and he scowled. “You didn’t eat.” He motioned toward the untouched food on the table.

I sat up. “I wasn’t in the mood to eat.”

His scowl deepened. “Go get food from the bag. I’m not getting more for you again until you prove to me you’ll consume something.”

Rising, I proceeded to the bag, retrieving a large roll. I returned to the table and nibbled on the stale, day-old bread and sipped from the glass of water. “Where are we going today?”

“Nowhere.”

“We are wasting an entire day?”

“I need to find the ideal body, and when I require you, I will come for you.”

I grew quiet. With everything else going on, I hadn’t fully processed the actual task I’d be forced to do. “Are you going to make me do the killing?”

“Don’t worry about what I make you do. Whatever you do won’t be on you, but on me.”

I huffed. That made me feel better. “What do we plan to do today, then?”

He pointed toward the books. “I thought we might read. You must turn the pages.”

I raised an eyebrow.

The corners of his mouth tugged downward in annoyance. “Is there another activity you’d prefer?”

I shook my head. I kept forgetting that Vaelor, a demon, enjoyed reading. Hurrying to the bed, I slid the hedge witch book to the lowest position on the stack and picked up the one about Spiritu Malignos. I returned to the table. “Will this do?” I asked, showing him the book.

He nodded. “Yes.”

I cracked it open. “What chapter are you on?”

“Chapter six.”

I opened it to the right spot. Vaelor towered over me.

“Do you want to sit?”

“I’d prefer to stand. As a spirit, I rarely tire.”

I began reading. This chapter was fascinating. It described how, long ago, some of the most powerful Spiritu Malignos demons could accomplish a feat thought to be nearly impossible. After bonding their spirits to their chosen body, they sometimes managed to separate from that body and return to their spirit form while maintaining the bond. Even more astonishing, they possessed the ability to control both forms, acting through two bodies at once. And yet, that power seemed to have been lost with time. I wondered why that was.

As I neared the bottom of the page, Vaelor poked me in the arm with his long-nailed finger. Ignoring it, I turned the page and kept reading. When I approached the end, he poked me again.

“Ouch!” I rubbed my forearm and glared at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“You tell me. You keep poking me.”

“I’m trying to signal when to turn the pages.”

“Well, poking me isn’t working.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Is there another way you’d prefer I signal you?”

“You could just say to turn the page.”

He frowned. “I didn’t want to speak and disturb your reading.”