Perhaps she could use one of the heroic children’s tales to prove to him she could be just as brave and strong as the heroes inside them. The information book on creatures would allow him to know she understood the dangers.

And that sword training book... That must be why she gave them to me. Reia would stay with Orpheus if he would allow her to travel.

Perhaps not far, but enough so she saw a little of the world. But I’ve already seen more than any human ever will.

She’d want to come back here. She liked their home. But being able to leave it with him sounded like a wonderful future.

He... He said he might if I gave him my soul. Could she do it? I don’t know if I want to live forever. It sounded too long, and she’d barely liked her life up until now.

Yet, within her mind, she knew she could live with Orpheus for eternity. If this was the way he was, caring, thoughtful, naughty, then she didn’t think she could ever possibly tire of him.

I don’t want to leave anymore. Not after last night, not after how special and well-pleasured she could feel.

So where did that leave her? What would happen if Reia began to turn old and grey? Would he no longer want me?

Her stomach twisted. Perhaps he may only want a young and youthful looking human.

Would he eat me then? Abandon me? Her stomach twisted further with the idea that he would allow her to die peacefully here but obtain a new human. Shit... Why does the idea of Orpheus being with another hurt?

Orpheus returned with a bowl filled with fruit and a cup of water. She took it from him with a weak smile as a sore pang remained in her heart, drinking the water first.

I don’t want to ask him what I would have to do to give him my soul, what would happen to me. She didn’t want to get his hopes up when she was too afraid of it.

She also didn’t want to know the answers to her other questions. They were in the long distant future. She shouldn’t dwell on them for now.

“While you are eating, I will wash and then refill the bath for you.”

She paused with a spoonful of raspberries as he was leaving again. She knew he must use the bath considering how big it was, but she’d never known when he was.

When she was done, she placed everything on the side table closest to her, then stared down at her body.

I... feel really sticky and slimy. Her inner thighs were coated in semen.

It didn’t take her much to make her decision to walk to the washroom and peek inside.

It was dim. He hadn’t lit any of the candles yet, and the only light was coming from the hallway as she opened the door.

She caught his glowing orbs and heard the bells jingle, the only indication he tilted his head since he was facing her.

“Is something the matter?”

“I really want a bath. If you don’t mind, can I just hop in with you?”

His orbs turned yellow, and she wondered if that was in happiness or curiosity. “If you would like to.”

She didn’t hesitate. She opened the door further, allowing more light to filter in so she could see. She walked over and slipped into the opposite side to face him.

He moved his legs to the side to allow her between them, and he kept his head tilted as she settled. Her body shivered

at the goosebumps that rose on her flesh from the delectable heat.

It relaxed her sore muscles, and she melted into the water that was much higher than normal. It came to her collar bones, almost submerging her completely, when usually it only came to just her breast height.

“Why were you in the dark?”

“Because I could see.”

Oh, that makes sense. She leaned her head back to wet her hair.

“If... If we’re going to do what we did last night again, maybe you should start doing your spell in the mornings instead.” If there was a possibility of being covered in mess at night, she didn’t want to have two baths, one for actual cleaning and the other for the spell. Two birds, one stone.

“We can do that, but I cannot do it now,” he answered.

“The oil clings to my fur, and I don’t like it. I will do it once I leave the water.”

She nodded, happy with that answer. Plus, the idea of him bathing her while he was in the water with her might be too much. She already got aroused when he wasn’t, and she thought if he was, she’d probably jump him, and she was a little tired.

Reia stared at him, her earlier thoughts still whirling around in her skull. They were giving her a slight headache, and she worried her bottom lip until she felt him cup one of her calves.

“Orpheus...” she started hesitantly, unsure if she should ask her question. But I want to know. “What happened to the woman that stayed with you here?”

“She is gone. That is all that matters.”

“Please? I want to know about her. How she came to be here. You built this house for her…” She gestured to the walls around her. “I want to know why she is gone.”

Why didn’t she give you her soul?

That was what she really wanted to know.

His head turned to the side to look away, before it pointed down, then forward once more.

“I don’t know why she is gone,” he said. His eyes turned to blue then started to darken. “And it was a long time ago, Reia.”

“Well, how did you end up bringing her here in the first place?”

“I was like the Mavka that went to the Demon village with us when I found her. It was nearly two-hundred years ago, and I was... hunting humans specifically. I realised that I could gain humanity by eating your kind, and I wanted more of it. Reia, I...”

He fell silent, struggled to continue as that reddish-pink of embarrassment flashed into his orbs before going back to the deep blue. She lifted her leg and placed it on top of his, showing by touching him that it was okay.

“Continue, Orpheus. I’m not going to judge you, no matter what happened.”

“I... I was not good, Reia. I hunted many humans. I hunted for homes by themselves because I knew there would be many and entered them to devour everyone inside. When I entered her house, I found her alone. She didn’t smell of fear, and she was holding a knife with the intention of trying to kill me because she’d seen me approaching.” He placed his hand on her shin, rubbing it like he was trying to soothe himself rather than her. “She didn’t get the chance to try.

My curiosity about her was the only reason I didn’t eat her. I had never encountered a human with no fear before, and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t smell it. Why she wasn’t making me hungry.”

He let out a heavy, shaking breath before continuing.

“I wanted to take her with me back to my home, and she didn’t fight me. When I asked her about it later, she said it was because she hadn’t wanted to die.” He gave a chuckle that held no humour. “She did not bleed like you do. I don’t