Kai

He can show some emotions. Yes, emotions. He is not an emotionless zombie. I can see amazement on his face and then sadness.

“We are boring,” I say as my fingers brush against the back of his hand. Fuck. I jerk my hand up to my chest. “I mean, we don’t travel, just stay here all the time.”

“It’s nice here. I like it here.” There is a delicate softness in his voice I’ve never heard before.

I don’t know what has come over me, but I burst into laughter. Then he starts laughing. Yes, laughing. It’s a very alluring male laughter, a bit raspy. A bit disturbing because I notice that he’s a man. Not a scary elf. A man.

I notice the perfect muscles of his arms, his broad chest, and his interesting profile. His facial hair that gives him a sexy appearance.

Stop it. He will sense you and may want to kill you.

“Do you miss your people?” I ask.

“Sometimes.”

“I can take you to the gate of the past. You could watch them for a moment.”

There is silence. Then my familiar fear creeps inside of me. He will make me run away from him as always. In three two one zero...

Nothing happens.

An elf staring at the sky happens.

“Maybe one day,” he says.

“On Friday?”

“On Friday.”

Holy shit.

Ettrian hands me the plate with the almost untouched piece of cake. “Take it. I really hate it.”

Right. It’s time for me to run away. I don’t hesitate.

Ettrian

The creature wants to make friends with me.

Strange. She is not scared of me anymore. I hate this realisation as much as I want to hurt her.

I want to run after her and do horrible things to her.

I’d hook the back of her neck and I’d push her on her knees. I’d drive my hard dick into her mouth and she’d gag. I’d push my cock deeper and deeper and she’d gag again. Pearly tears would shine on her freckled cheeks, but she’d moan and plead for more.

I’d put her on all fours.

I’d drive my dick into her little cunt and fuck her raw from behind then I’d drive my cock into her tight hole. She’d whimper, she’d cry then she’d shatter in ecstasy.

I see Zarall moving towards me with a bottle of vodka swinging in his hand. He shoots me a strange grin then passes the bottle on to me.

“What?” I growl.

“A necklace?”

“None of your fucking business.” I tip the bottle to my lips and take a sip. The alcohol burns my throat. “She’s come of age and I thought—“

“Kai loves it.”

I don’t fucking care. “You want to go to the casino tonight?”

“The party is over so we could sneak out, earn some money, and meet some attractive human women.” He rubs his hand against his crotch and growls.

“Get drunk.”

“Not a bad plan.”

Kai

All the people disperse to their rooms as Adva and I lean back in the sofa and cover ourselves with the blanket. Steam rises from two mugs on the coffee table.

“A book?” I ask.

“A book,” Adva says and kisses the top of my head. She sighs. “My pretty little girl.” Her knuckles touch my cheek. “A steamy romance book?”

I chuckle. Books are my favourite entertainment. I’m an outlaw’s daughter. I have no friends, no freedom, and no real life.

When I go shopping, one of my uncles must supervise me.

I’m not allowed to go clubbing.

I’m not allowed to drink alcohol.

I’m not allowed to have a boyfriend.

Adva is my tutor. She teaches me maths, languages and science.

I open my book and start reading. It’s a horror story about ghosts. Boring. Talia tells me much better stories. They’re really scary—about serial killers and tormented lost souls.

Adva yawns, as her eyes turn glassy.

I nod at her and go to have a shower. I brush my teeth and rub some coconut oil on my damp hair. With my satin pyjama set on, I walk down the stairs to grab my book from the bar. The antique floor lamp gives a dim aura to the interior as the wall clock shows 2.15 am. Adva is sleeping on the sofa.

I walk on my tiptoes and cover her with the blanket.

A loud noise makes me turn around as two staggering figures tumble into the bar. My eyes flick over Zarall and Ettrian.

“Be quiet, you two,” I warn. “People want to sleep here.”

It looks like they haven’t had enough and want to ruin themselves in the bar.

Zarall flashes me a drunken smile as he pushes Ettrian towards me, and I sweep my eyes over the elf’s face—I see drunken eyes and three bruises around them. His nose is bleeding.

I look at Zarall. He has two bruises on his face.

“What happened?” Adva rasps from behind me.

“A crazy elf happened,” Zarall says and his eyes bore through me. He looks sober now. “Deal with him. I’m going to bed.” He shakes his head.

“Did you have a fight?” I ask.

“A few fights,” Zarall says. “He never involves himself in a fight, but this time he called some Russian Mafioso’s mistress a fat pig and his bulls almost chopped our fingers off. Then he called another woman an ugly witch. And she was a fucking witch. A black witch. She cast a spell on us and threw us at the wall.” He raises his hands. “Deal with him. I’m fucking fed up with him.” He backs up and leaves the clubhouse.

I look over my shoulder, seeking help from Adva.

She pinches her nose. “Vodka, whiskey, beer and God knows what else. Deal with him.” She rushes upstairs and disappears in the dark layering the stairwell.

I’m alone with a drunken elf.

“You should go to bed,” I say.

Ettrian sways and flashes me a really naughty grin. “Your bed?”

“No, yours.” I step forward and grab his wrist. “Come on, you can barely stand on your feet.”

I pull him and we struggle towards the stairs.

He is really drunk. I’ve never seen him that drunk. We climb the stairs and move along the dark corridor. His bedroom is in the attic so I drag him up the spiral metal staircase. His feet produce so much noise I want to kill him. He trips over the last step and emits three swear words. With my back covered in sweat, I help him rise. I push the door of his bedroom open and shove him inside. I follow him and push him towards his bed.

“Go to bed,” I say and turn around with the intention to leave the room.

His arms shoot towards me, wrapping around my chest from behind. He crushes me in his embrace, knocking the air out of my lungs.

“Get off me,” I gasp.

“You naughty little mermaid,” he rasps into my ear, his breath heavy with the fumes of alcohol.

We sway and lose balance, falling down. My ass seizes with pain.

“Ettrian,” I hiss. “Let me go.”

“No.”

“No?”

It’s bad. I’m here, sitting in this scary room with metal pillars, metal arches and candles burning in the niches. I’m sitting here with the scary elf crushing me in his embrace.

“You’re drunk,” I say.

“I am drunk.” He buries his face into my hair and breathes me in.

It’s fucking unnerving.

His arms squeeze me as the body of an anaconda would.

“Ettrian,” I gasp and see white flashes in front of my eyes.

“I want to hurt you, Kai. I want to hurt you so badly.”

Fuck. I knew it. He is going to kill me. Every atom of my body stirs in dread.

“Ettrian, baby, we’ll go to bed now, okay?” I lace my voice with as much of mermaid sweetness as possible.

“Together?”

“Together, baby.”

“Okay.” He scrambles to his feet and pulls me up as his arm crushes my chest.

We move towards his bed as he clumsily removes his cut and t-shirt. Then we collapse onto the mattress and it creaks under our weight.

Ettrian is holding me in a tight grip whilst he shakes off his boots and moves towards the head of the bed and then covers us with a satin duvet. We lie on our sides and my back rests against his muscular chest. I squirm in his embrace, petrified by the hardness of his muscles and the menace radiating from his tall frame. He is so powerful, and I’m so tiny.

“Don’t move, or I’ll have to hurt you,” he growls into my ear.

He buries his face into my neck and growls like a wolf that has just devoured a tasty mermaid. I stiffen then shiver. He nuzzles his nose against my neck, his breath hot against my skin.

I feel him pushing his elven energy into me. My mind gets blurry. The last thought my brain manages to produce before I drift into oblivion is that I’ll fucking kill this elven bastard.

I wake up as the sun’s rays touch my cheek. My breath stops in my throat. I sit up and my eyes travel to Ettrian. He’s standing by the bed. A towel is wrapped around his hips. His hair is damp as droplets of water shine on his naked chest.

“You didn’t touch me or something,” I explode as my eyes roam over the perfection of his muscles.

He looks like a warrior. No, like a god.

He tilts his head. “No.”

He rubs his palms against his cheeks then sweeps his hair down his back. There is no emotion on his face like a fucking piece of glacier is staring at me.

“My dad will chop your dick off,” I say.

No reaction like I’m talking to the wall.