L'appel du Vide

Chapter 5

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The maids were clearly expecting Ezra to bring back a girl.

After I was ushered into a more comfortable side room, two small maids burst through the door, holding clothes, a robe and a blanket. Their shocked expressions were followed by Lux's chuckle at their gaping mouths.

One immediately looked away and cast her eyes to the ground.

The other was eyeing my chest like she wasn't living with and working for a breathing example of sin.

Ezra had retreated into a corner of the room to cloak himself in shadows. I could just barely make out his form and the flash of his eyes. The only thing I could see permanently was the wide grin exposing those sharp white teeth of his.

An involuntary shudder raked my body and I turned to the maids.

With a small smile, I accepted their fabrics, trying not to be rude to my hosts. Who knows what would come of it.

The maids shuffled from the room with some muffled giggles. Those probably resulted from my appalled look at the nearly transparent underwear I had found between the layers of clothes.

"I mean-," Lux drawled. "You could try to squeeze into those."

I rolled my eyes at him.

Thankfully the shirt I was provided with was close to my actual size. Casting all politeness out of the window again after Lux's unnecessary comment, I sat on the couch furthest from him and stared into the lit fireplace. It was the only source of light in this room. Maybe they had never heard of electricity before. While watching the flames dance and lick at the wood provided, I mulled over what they could want from me.

"He looks like a sulking child," Lux noted at my crossed arms and sullen attitude.

"At least I don't hide in the shadows like Smiles does over there," I bit back.

Ezra just kept smiling and observing our interaction.

"How did you even get him here in the first place, Ezra?" Lux leaned back on his couch and summoned a wine glass for himself. He had a habit of just making things appear or disappear on a whim. He may be just as powerful as Ezra.

Lux was staring at Ezra patiently as if they were having some kind of telepathic conversation I was not privy to.

"His mind is quite weak for an older incubus then," Lux finished his thoughts out loud.

"Why thank you," I said and rolled my head on the back of the couch to stare Lux down. "At least I don't compel people to visit me if I want to play host every hundred years or so."

"This is not a visit, little lamb," Ezra said from his corner. His voice sounded cheery but it did not go well with the gruffness of his tone.

"More like a kidnapping," Lux mumbled and smiled into his wine glass while taking a sip.

"Great," I said, my voice dripping with fake happiness. "Now that we're back to stating the obvious, could someone please explain why the fuck I'm here?"

Lux chuckled.

"You picked a little brat, Ezra," Lux continued and swiftly ignored my question. "We'll have to train this mutt so he doesn't bite off our hands when we try and feed him."

This earned a laugh from Ezra.

My fingers twitched and I wanted nothing more than to grab Lux's throat and slam his face into the shiny wooden floor. I didn't care for who he was or pretended to be but I heavily disliked his constant smugness. So I tried a different strategy.