Page 21 of Sinful Curses
Elsa released a happy little shout from above before racing out of the bathroom. She bounced on her feet while clapping her hands. “The water works! There’s hot water!”
Before any of them could respond, she ran back into the bathroom. Sahira smiled before starting to laugh until her shoulders shook.
She hunched forward in her chair and wiped tears from her eyes before lifting her head to grin at them. “There’s a shower!”
Without thinking, Orin rested his hand over hers as her joy made him smile. “There is.”
Her hand relaxed beneath his for a second, and her laughter faded as they stared at each other. Then she stiffened and pulled her hand away.
She finished her drink before rising. “I’m going to see what the bedrooms are like.”
Orin watched her glide across the floor and up the stairs. He felt the demon’s eyes on him but didn’t look at him as he leaned back in his chair and studied the open door.
“We should secure this place for tonight,” he stated.
“We’ll have to explore the rest of the town tomorrow.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to find exactly what we found here… nothing. During your time in this realm, have you ever heard of anyone coming across something like this while in the Barren Lands?”
“No. If someone did, they didn’t return to Belda’s town to tell us about it. They either perished out here or broke free.”
“No one’s broken free of this realm. I’m certain of that.”
When Zeth didn’t argue with him, it only confirmed the demon felt the same way. Orin remained determined to leave this place, but sometimes it felt hopeless.
Rising, Orin strolled over to the front door and closed it as Sahira emerged from the bedroom that was hers in Belda’s town. He wondered if the room here also had a secret trapdoor that led to a small room and a hidden door in the back of the pub.
“There are beds, too,” she announced.
Orin bolted the door shut. “At least there’s two good things about this place.”
CHAPTERTWENTY
Orin didn’t knowwhat time it was when he woke in a dark room. They’d closed all the shutters before retiring for the night, and unlike Belda’s town, there wasn’t a clock on the wall downstairs to answer the mystery.
Swinging his legs out of bed, he tried again to open a portal but failed like every other day since arriving in this forsaken realm. He glanced around the room similar to the one he’d resided in before leaving to explore the Barren Lands.
He’d redecorated that room, moved in a different bed, draped some red gauze across its poles, and turned it into his own. This room was boring and devoid of any character or furniture outside the bed.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands squeezed on the mattress as a wave of hunger rocked him. He closed his eyes against the dizziness as his entire body cramped and stabbing knives twisted through his belly. His breath whistled in and out through his teeth as he worked through the pain gripping him.
Finally, his body relaxed a little as the cramps made their way out of his muscles, and his stomach stopped twisting. When he rose, his muscles protested the movement, but they had no choice as he shuffled forward before being able to walk normally again.
He had to feed soon, or things were going to get ugly. He might be able to sweet talk or romance Sahira into his bed, but he’d never been good at either of those things, and there wasn’t anything romantic about this realm.
As he walked around the room, loosening his muscles and joints more, he enjoyed not having sand stuck in his ass and to his balls. He would take at least three more showers before they moved on from this place.
Stopping to stretch, he surveyed the shutters before removing the pole keeping the window bolted shut. He set it down and pulled open the shutters.
The sun had poked its head over a distant mountain peak. An array of colors spread across the sky, streaking out toward them as the sun rose higher.
He searched the rocky land for any hint of what caused the shadow he saw yesterday, but nothing stirred. So far, this town had been quiet, but he didn’t trust it.
Something lurked here, and it would make its presence known. When it did, he’d be prepared for it.
He closed and barred the shutters again before turning away to get dressed. Before leaving the room, he secured his sword onto his back.
He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and washed his face before emerging again. When he stopped at the balcony railing running along the second floor, he spotted Sahira sitting at one of the tables with a piece of bread and a glass of water beside her.
