Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 19 ∷

CLARA OPENED THE door of the parlour to find a disgruntled looking Zephyr waiting for her on the other side. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She was certain her chosen companion for the evening would have been Jae or Rylan, even.

But, Zephyr, on the other hand . . . The demon outrightly despised her and he'd had no problems making his hatred known. For him to be her companion for the evening was as unexpected as the sudden declaration of her status as the princess of the Underworld.

"Zephyr?" she called out to him, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

"What?" he spat, doing little to hide his annoyance. Before she could question him further, he added, "It's not like I had a choice."

He inhaled sharply, averting his gaze as he offered her his arm. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, cursing his luck and his repeated stupidity again for falling for Rylan's tricks. His initial insistence to never indulge in the petty games humans play was dashed once more when he agreed to another bout of the wretched scissors paper stone.

Unbeknownst to him, both Rylan and Jae had picked up on his tell, knowing for certain he'd go with paper on his first try as he often did. And thus, he had lost again and now found himself with the responsibility of escorting Clara.

He felt a weight on his arm and looked down, realising that she had hooked her arm through his, her small hand clutching almost desperately to the sleeve of his jacket. He shifted his gaze, eyes meeting hers for a second before he looked away as though he hadn't just been caught staring. He cleared his throat, adjusting his grip as he led her through the hallway to their end destination.

He could feel her tensing as they neared the ballroom, her steps slowing and the hold on his arm tightening.

"What's wrong?" Zephyr asked despite himself, acting as though he didn't particularly care.

"Nothing. It's just . . ." Clara's voice sounded constricted and choked as she fumbled over her thoughts.

Zephyr waited for a few seconds and when she failed to say anything more, he began tugging on her arm impatiently.

"If it's nothing, then let's go."

Clara stilled, pulling herself free from his hold before saying, "A moment, please."

He watched her panic-stricken expression and exhaled audibly, crossing his arms across his chest in mild irritation.

"What's wrong?" he repeated, giving her a pointed look as though to drive home the fact that he knew something was amiss.

"I just . . ." Clara lowered her gaze, brows drawn low over her eyes as her lips trembled in unease.

Her hands that were now free from Zephyr's grasp were clutched painfully tight in front of her as she tried her best to control her breathing for fear she might succumb to the erratic manner her heart was beating.

"Just what?" he prodded, agitated at the way she was beating around the bush.

The harsh tone of his voice startled her and she found the words tumbling clumsily past her lips in a rush.

"I'm scared, okay! I'm terrified. I don't know what to expect in a room full of demons and . . . And I–"

"Shut up," Zephyr interrupted, cutting her off brusquely.

She snapped her gaze in his direction, voice snagging in her throat as her eyes widened at the rough manner he spoke to her.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" he said, scoffing. "Why are you getting so worked up over something trivial and stupid like this? You're human. You're the weakest species of all; at the bottom of the food chain."