Page 59 of Heart of the Hunted
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Natalia
As much as Natalia didn't like the look of the sloppy food in the bowl, it didn't taste too bad. It reminded her of the fish she had eaten earlier that day, it smelt awful but tasted delicious.
The drink Taredd had ordered for her on the other hand, was absolutely heavenly. Natalia didn't have a clue what it was, and she didn't care either. It gave her a nice warm tingly feeling in her stomach, and a slightly fuzzy feeling to her head.
"See? I told you it wasn't poisoned," Taredd said, pointing towards her nearly empty bowl.
"Hey, it still could be poisonous, it might just take time to kick in,” she told him. "I've had that happen before."
Taredd shook his head at her, but he had that cute smile back on his face again.
How can I find anything about him cute? He's a Demon for fuck sake!
It was really starting to confuse Natalia. She was supposed to fear his kind, and had done for all her life, but now she was finding it difficult not to be attracted to a Demon. Not just any Demon though, it was all for Taredd.
Looking around the room at all the other monsters, she didn't know if any of them were Demons like Taredd, but she knew for sure that none of them were anywhere near as attractive as he was. Which was a good thing, because being sexually attracted to one Demon was bad enough, especially since she should be as scared of him as she was with the rest of them.
Natalia mentally kicked herself. She needed to pull herself together if she was ever going to find a way to escape from him, because that was still her plan. She needed to get back to the others as quickly as possible. Her heart ached because she missed Amberly and Donovan so much.
Natalia didn't even know if they had made it through the pass alive. For all she knew, they could have frozen to death in one of the caves, or worse, they could be out looking for her. That was the last thing she wanted. It was too dangerous, especially if they found her tracks and followed them here.
Natalia got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of them following her here. They would have to sneak past an untold number of monsters just to reach the tavern. If they made it that far unseen, then they would definitely be seen as soon as they stepped foot inside the building.
She could imagine her friends being surround by a sea of monsters before they'd even had a chance to do so much as blink.
She wasn't only worried about the other monsters in the room though. As much as Taredd had promised that she wouldn't die by his hand, he had made no such promise to her friends.
Admittedly, Taredd didn't know anything about her friends, but that was for their safety. Until she knew for sure that they were going to be safe around Taredd as she was, she couldn't say a word about them to him.
Natalia couldn't shake the worry from niggling away at the back of her mind that they have managed to get themselves caught by the monsters since she left them. She prayed that nothing bad had happened to them. It would hurt worse than it already did knowing that she wasn’t around to help them.
Natalia lost her appetite. The thought of something bad happening to the rest of her group… to Amberly and Donovan in particular… twisted her stomach into knots.
Placing her spoon in the bowl, Natalia picked up her drink and downed the last of it. The tingly feeling spread deliciously through her body again. Surprisingly, it helped to ease the feelings that swirled around inside her, trying to consume her with thoughts of helplessness and grief.
"Have you finished?" Taredd asked, making her jump.
"Urm..,” she said, looking between him and the half-eaten bowl. "... yeah... I've had enough... thank you."
"You're welcome," Taredd said. "I'll be finished in just a minute, then we can go up to our room if you're ready?"
"That's okay, you can take your time,” she told him, but he didn't listen.
Putting his spoon down on the table, Taredd then picked up the bowl and drank the last of its contents before doing the same with his drink.
"Come on, let’s go,” he said, putting the cup back on the table when he was finished.
"You didn't have to do that you know, I was quite happy to wait for you to finish,” she told him honestly.
"I know,” he said. "But I don't know about you, but I could do with some rest."
Natalia would have believed he was tired if he hadn't already told her he could stay awake for days on end. Natalia on the other hand, was drained physically and emotionally.
It amazed her how much it had tired her out just worrying about her friends… her family… so she was happy to let him keep his lie. She was happy for him to lead her to a bed where she could sleep and forget all about her worries, if only for a short while.
"I'm ready when you are,” she told him.
