The First Book of Demons

His lips kissed a hot trail down her collarbone as she shivered in anticipation. The cold marble beneath her stung her over heated flesh. Her eyelids slid closed as the ecstasy of his touch drifted through her. “Balthazar,” she moaned, her voice a breathy mixture of arousal and uncertainty.

  Pain flooded Alexandra’s body as soon as her eyes snapped opened to the fabric roof of Tavi’s tent. Memories flooded back from the night before and Alex let out a heavy sigh, trying to shake off the exhaustion that had suddenly overcome her.

  “What ails you girl?” Tavi asked from across the tent where he sat on a thick cushion, his nose planted in her book.

  “Nothing,” Alex replied, trying to push away the memories of her dream. There was absolutely no way she was going to tell him what had just been in her mind. Especially when the subject of her dream bore such a resemblance to him. “I’m just tired.”

  “Where did you learn of that name?” Tavi asked, looking up from the book and leveling a stare at her.

  Alex blushed, her cheeks heating as she thought of the man in her dreams. She hadn't realized she had actually said the name out loud. She wondered what else from the dream had escaped her lips.

  “I just heard it somewhere,” she lied, shrugging her shoulders innocently as she looked up at him from under her brows.

  Tavi stared at her for a long moment, making her shift uncomfortably on the bed, before he turned his attention back to the book in his hand.

  “Tell me, girl, why do your people write such strange tales of blooddrinkers?”

  “Blooddrinkers?” Alex asked, her brows scrunched together. “You mean vampires?”

  “Yes,” Tavi said, as he flipped the page. “It's very strange.”

  “It’s just a story,” Alex said, “ya know, for entertainment.”

  “I don't believe I've ever met a blooddrinker that was entertaining,” he said, his brows raised in disbelief. “Much less one falling in love with anything. Is that really what you humans like?”

  “Like I said, it's just—“ Alex paused, “Wait, you mean vampires actually exist here?”

  “Blooddrinkers? Of course, they do,” Tavi said, “although nothing like they’re described in your world.”

  “They aren’t real in my world,” Alex replied, getting a baffled look from Tavi.

  “It’s just kinda a thing where I’m from…I guess,” Alex stammered out, attempting to clarify. “I like them.”

  “Very strange,” Tavi said, shaking his head as he set the book down. He stood and walked over to where her things were, once again picking up the small silver box.

  “Are you going to tell me where you got this now?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.

  “Why do you want to know so badly?” Alex asked. “Why are you so concerned with that box?”

  “Girl,” Tavi said, his voice harsh and echoed with a growl. Alex heaved a sigh and looked away from him.

  “My Aunt passed it on to me after she died,” Alex said, her voice soft as all the memories of her Aunt Tammy flooded back to her. “It's the only thing that I have left from her.”

  “It's Devasi,” Tavi told her, “most likely from one of the royal workshops, judging by the quality.”

  “I don't know where she got it,” Alex said, “If that's what your after.”

  “I want to know why a human girl would have a royal dagger box,” Tavi said. “And more importantly, where's the dagger that was inside?”

  He leveled an accusatory glare at her and Alex could feel the indignation rising in her throat. Did he think she had it stashed somewhere? There really wasn't anywhere in the shreds of clothing that remained on her body that she could hide it. And if she had, she probably would have used it on him already.

  “I'd like to know the answer to that question as well,” Alex said with a huff. She crossed her arms over her chest. “It was after all part of my inheritance.”

  Tavi simply glared back at her, his jaw tensed and his lips set in a straight line. Alex sighed and uncrossed her arms. She supposed that she could give him some answers. Aside from holding her here, he hadn't actually caused her any real harm. In fact, he had saved her and healed her. Maybe if she gave him some answers, he would give her some.

  “Look, I really don't know what I'm doing here, or how I even got here,” Alex said. “The last thing I remember was going to sleep with my friends. Then I woke up here.”

  Tavi continued to stare at her for a moment longer, trying to assess whether she was being truthful or not. Finally, he set the box back down on the table and walked towards the entrance of the tent.

  “Come,” he said not unkindly, motioning for her to follow him out of the tent. “You could probably use a hot bath and a meal.”

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