Sinister Secrets

Let's Make a Deal, Devil

The Dark Lord was everything yet nothing like I'd imagined. I knew he was older, he was a teenager well before I was even born, making him considerably older than me. But, he didn't look a day over my age of twenty-eight. I guess that was the perks of having magic. They didn't age like the rest of us if they even aged at all. Of all the moments I'd either unintentionally peeked into his day or have seen a montage of his life, they didn't do him justice. I thought he was handsome then- he was something else entirely in person. Without a doubt in my mind, he was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. His short dark hair was kept away from his forehead now and was a still stark contrast to his pale skin, a gift from the eternal night. He probably looked like a menacing ghost in the sun. His swirling silver-colored eyes captivated me to the core. Just like my memory of them, they glowed like the moon against a dark sky. The first three buttons of his black shirt were left undone giving a small glimpse of the muscular chest beneath. A trail of black ink wound its way through the opening of his shirt and stopped just shy of his collarbone. The ink continued its way down his arms and into his hands—a series of ink along his fingers, some hidden behind the cover of silver metal rings. I was embarrassed to say that I should have been more terrified than I was because I was encapsulated by how good-looking he was. Maybe that's why he took a lot of people off guard. It was difficult to avert your gaze when he was around. To be handsome was one thing, the Dark Lord was otherworldly.

A crack of a branch behind me sent me looking for the source, sliding along the forgotten dead leaves on the ground to search the dark. The sound of chaotic laughter erupted from somewhere nearby. I turned back to the Dark Lord, the question in my eyes as his impassive face stared at me like he was bored. 

Slowly, he raised a brow in questioning at me.

"What was that?" I asked him.

His eyes lingered on me for a moment before sliding away to gaze at the forest around us. "Probably, a vampire. Maybe a wolf of some sort. A were-something. A warlock is possible. Undoubtably something sinister. I can't be certain of which though."

I swallowed the fear that I was trying so hard to hide.

"Don't be scared, love," his voice was deep as he leaned toward me, "of all the creepy crawlies that could haunt this forest, you're looking at the worst one."

"You won't hurt me though." My voice was so small I almost wondered if he had even heard me.

Both eyebrows rose this time as he tilted his head to the side. "Oh?"

"You need me."

A slow wicked grin splintered across his beautiful face, making him even more captivating to look at. "Need?"

"You need me to find the Ouroboros."

"You're implying that I need the Ouroboros. I am not of dire straits yet, love."

"You would let someone destroy the Dark then?"

His face immediately fell, giving way to something serious. "If they had the power and if they could wield that power effortlessly enough to destroy everything that lives within the Dark, they deserve it."

I frowned at him. "I don't understand."

"Then don't assume you know everything because you eavesdrop."

My brows knitted together as I glared at him. "Trust me, I have better things to do than eavesdrop on your day and the things that you are doing that aren't exactly categorized as good."

He smirked at me, leaning toward me again on the rock as his ringed finger ghosted along his lips. "I think we both know there's a blurred line between good and bad."