Page 19 of Her Demon Daddy
My heart drops. What if she’s not kidding? Could Oltyx have sent a human spy for me? No, he wouldn’t. That would be stupid. She could not get information back to the other humans anyway.
“Are you serious?” I ask nervously.
“No, Asmodeus!” She laughs. “Really? You think I have all my gadgets stored away somewhere?”
I laugh and wipe my mouth quickly. “You probably have them locked away in the dungeon.”
“Ugh,” she sighs and throws up her hands with a grin. “How did you know?”
I laugh again. “King’s instinct, I guess.”
What the fuck am I doing? I’m laughing with her. I can’t be doing this. she shouldn’t be here. It was a terrible idea to ask her to dinner.The thoughts make me shut off my smile. She can’t see it, so she keeps eating.
I can’t keep doing this. There are too many secrets about me that she can’t know. If she ever found out, she would certainly not want me anymore, and she could ruin my reputation by revealing my identity to my servants. The deception I’ve been putting her through is extensive and unfair to either of us.
After a while of me not speaking and slowly eating my food, I hear her sigh and look up to see a dissatisfied look.
“What’s the matter?” I ask slowly.
“Asmodeus,” she begins as she puts her napkin in her lap. I can tell that whatever she says will not be good. “This dinner was lovely. I appreciate the dress and everything you’ve done for me…” She pauses as she leans forward on the table. “But your moodiness is a bit concerning. I never know which side of you I’m going to get. You’re either happy and excited, silent, or brooding. It feels like whiplash.”
I scoff and lean back in my chair, appalled at her audacity. “Are you questioning my behavior?”
“I am,” she replies firmly.
I stand and place my hands on the table, fuming. “Know your place, human.”
She stands and mimics my stance. “And what is that exactly, Asmodeus? Because I’ve been given a bedroom, training lessons, and the freedom to write. The other girls are locked in the dungeons, so I doubt I’m just a human to you.”
“Enough!” I shout as my hand hits the table.
She shakes her head, and I see the disappointment in her eyes. The look makes my chest tighten. I hear her exhale quickly through her nose.
“What’s it all for then?” she asks calmly. “The training, the walks in the garden, what’s your end goal here?”
To spend time with you, bond with you, and show you that I’m feeling things for you that I didn’t know possible.I can’t say that out loud, but I have no other excuses. I didn’t think of a cover story for this conversation because I never thought it would happen.
“Drar'ran,” I call out to my servant, who walks over from outside the dining room and bows to me. “Take her away to her room. I’m done with her for the night.
He tries to take her arm, and she jerks it away. “You know what, Asmodeus?” she shouts. “If you’re going to keep me as a prisoner, act like it. Don’t treat me like I’m something different just to make yourself feel better about keeping me captive in your sad, lonely kingdom!”
I sit down and pretend not to watch her as Drar'ran retakes her arm. This time, she pulls it away again and looks at him fiercely.
“Don’t worry, Drar'ran. I’m going.” She looks me up and down. “There’s no reason for me to stay.”
Her words cut into me like a knife, and I sink into my chair as she exits the room. I didn’t think she would stand up to me like that, much less that my treatment of her would anger her. I thought I was being kind and gracious, which is already very outside of my nature. I’m disappointed she doesn’t see it that way.
11
SIARA
There are four things I could easily break in my new bedroom. A small glass ball on the bookshelf, the mirror on the wall, and the heels of the stilettos I wore last night. I’m sure there are more creative things I could come up with if I wanted to, but my mind is too scattered to focus that much.
Fury has clouded my thinking. I was barely able to sleep last night after my confrontation with Asmodeus. He’s treating me like I’m important to him but telling me to remember my place as a captive. I’ve started to question my reality, wondering if I’ve been making up a connection with him in my head these past few weeks.
I’m not crazy. I have to remind myself of that. Things aren’t adding up, and it’s beginning to make my head spin. Why would he buy me a dress and invite me to dinner in the grand dining hall if he wasn’t thinking of me as more than a captive? Why do I have my own bedroom?
I’ve started to feel a bond between us, and I thought he was feeling it, too. Hearing him laugh and loosen up made me sure last night, and I knew I needed to confront him. I can’t live in this weird limbo with him anymore, but after how last night went, I might have to.