His final words to her were, “Stay away from me, and do not leave this house.”
Well, shit. Reia probably should have put thought into what they should do when she got her period. She knew he reacted to blood, knew it made him strange and hungry, but she’d forgotten about it completely.
Like merely realising she was going through her monthly cycle conjured it, Reia groaned, hugging her mid-section when she felt a terrible cramp assault her.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
Reia grumbled when she sat on the human-sized living room chair that she’d dragged to the window to watch Orpheus sitting outside just within the salt barrier. He was cross-legged with his back to the house.
“Well, this is totally shit,” she complained to the air.
She’d managed to get the fireplace going by herself, could feel it, and yet the house was unbearably cold. It was because she was alone and had been alone for three days.
Being locked inside while the ground dried had been difficult, but at least Orpheus had been able to come inside and spend time with her. The boredom was hard, but now that she was used to him being around constantly, having him completely and utterly gone was upsetting.
Don’t tell me I’ve become attached to him? To his voice, his scent, to his mere presence. To those glowing orbs that conveyed so many emotions and she barely understood half of. To the way he took up all the space, leaving Reia very little room to feel alone.
He was there, right past the window, and yet it seemed like there were miles between them. I haven’t felt this lonely since I was a kid.
For a few years after her family died, Reia had felt that way, but she’d grown to accept her life. She wore it like a badge and persevered, refusing to wallow since she’d known the villagers weren’t going to keep her company. She had learned to keep herself content, despite her misery.
Now that she’d experienced the overwhelming comfort of being looked after, cared for, and treated like she was something precious and to be treasured rather than a cursed disease, she felt a sense of loss at no longer having it.
I’ve become a pampered brat.
He didn’t even come inside to wash her of her scent. What was the point? Her blood was drawing Demons closer regardless.
On the first day, she’d seen that Orpheus had carved a second salt circle just in case. He came inside after a little while, but he didn’t say anything, and she could see his chest was unmoving like he was holding his breath.
He’d grabbed everything he needed. The jar, the spike, the trinkets that they’d made, and then he’d immediately left.
She knew he was also doing the same thing each morning, when she woke to find a bucket of food at the door as if he’d just pushed it inside and left.
Today was the worst day. It was early morning as she sat by the window, wishing she could go sit in the sun.
She was using wads of cloth to stem the bleeding within her underwear, had been doing so from the beginning, but she had to change it regularly. She threw all the bloodied cloth into the blazing fireplace, burning it to destroy the evidence and scent.
She was bleeding heavily, and her cramps were utterly terrible. She’d even started crying over it. She was hormonal and in pain and just started weeping pathetically. She was tired and felt bloated.
Despite the few Demons outside, Orpheus wasn’t chasing them away. He was just sitting between the salt circles, doing nothing but shuddering. Today was the most intense. It was like he could smell her from a distance, and his endurance was waning.
Fuck. How have any of the other woman survived past this? And then it hit her; she doubted any had.
She laughed. That was a rather cruel joke. Be born a woman who had to deal with the annoyance of bleeding once a month, and then oops, a Duskwalker eats you.
He’d once told her that he was no longer looking for a bride, but merely a companion. Was that why he’d allowed men to be offered? They wouldn’t bleed. Perhaps he was hoping he could ease his loneliness with a friend he wouldn’t be tempted to eat once a month if he couldn’t have a bride.
Reia gasped and got to her feet when she saw him clawing at his back, shaking and shuddering wildly.
He’s hurting himself!
Even from a distance, she could see he’d cut open his back by the wide flare of the four long gashes he’d created.
She ran to the door and opened it, shouting, “Orpheus, stop!”
“Inside!” he roared, turning his deep red eyes to her.
She flinched, realising she’d done something extremely stupid. As she was backing away, his body began to morph into his more monstrous form. He leapt away.
Orpheus left. He left the safety of the salt circle, left his duty of protecting the house that had a handful of Demons surrounding it. He left all day and didn’t even return when night fell.
Feeling miserable, she circled up on her fur-covered armchair and brought her knees to her face. Okay, so maybe he was trying his hardest, but this situation was absolutely crummy.
It was even worse now that she couldn’t see him. Instead, all she saw were Demons, hearing them wail over the distance.
I don’t want to be awake anymore, she thought after she cooked and ate her dinner. Maybe I’ll feel better once I sleep.
Reia lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling while cupping the lower part of her stomach to soothe it, and eventually drifted to sleep.
She expected to wake in the morning, but she knew it was still the dead of night when she felt something wafting over her face.
The deep smell of smoky mahogany wood and pine needles pierced the fog of her sleep, and she wondered if she was dreaming it and the heavy feeling of heat wrapping around her as she slowly came to.
When her eyes finally fluttered open, her room was dark besides the slight glare of red.
Reia hadn’t mistaken that heat, or scent, or the sensation of breaths flittering across her face. Orpheus was above her on his hands and knees, the red glow telling her he wasn’t here to be sweet.
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” She almost laughed.
She knew the reality of the situation, that she was in danger, but the ache in her chest told her the truth of how she felt. I missed him. And even though he was bearing down around her with his jaw slightly parted and his fangs moving closer, she couldn’t help being relieved to have him close.
“No,” he answered, his voice distorted, strained, and growly.
“Are you going to eat me, Orpheus?”
She was staring up at him and didn’t look away or cower when his jaw slowly spread over her neck.
“Yes.”
He came closer, pressing his mouth down until she could feel the four long front fangs slipping around the back of her neck.
“Okay, then.”
There was nothing she could do to stop him either way. But strangely, she also felt like he wouldn’t. Her faith in him was probably misplaced, foolish even, but right then she was just too relieved to care.