She could see that the clearing had been created by someone uprooting trees to make it bigger and that gap allowed enough sunlight to make its way through the forest and grey fog.

She smiled at her hands as she watched it glittering before the last spark of it disappeared when the sun dropped away over the trees. It was still early afternoon, so she imagined it was only able to reach here for a very few short hours.

Still, this was hope that his home wasn’t as dreary as she’d thought it’d be.

Quick huffing and snorting caught her attention as something thumped quickly across the ground. Her face shot to the side while she stood in the middle of the garden just as she saw a Demon running straight for her on all fours.

Oh shit! Reia backed away quickly from it and tripped over a plant in the garden, falling to her bottom with an oomphft.

It wrapped his black, claw-tipped hand around her ankle right before it screamed and released her. Then, there was a black shadow sprinting into her line of sight as Orpheus gripped it around the throat right after it let her go in pain.

“Mavka!” it yelled before it gave a choke when Orpheus must have squeezed harder.

His growl was deep and bestial as she watched him claw his way through its shoulder with his other hand.

“Do not touch!” he roared.

Not that it mattered when he ripped its head from its body a moment later as though he was simply popping the cork off a bottle.

Purple gooey blood splattered from its headless body before he tossed both to the side, out of the garden and into the clearing beside it.

He spun to her, his eyes a bright, glowing red with his fingers curled with tension, his sharp claws dripping with moisture.

“I told you to remain with me!”

He looked frightfully gigantic standing over her while she was almost lying in the dirt. She had to crane her neck far back to look up to his face.

And yet, Reia wasn’t afraid of him. Sure, she was definitely worried, and even though the red in his glowing orbs obviously symbolised something terrible, she knew he didn’t want to hurt her.

“I’m sorry! I saw the garden and forgot!” she yelled up to him, but her voice didn’t hold any anger. It was strained, more like she was pleading her case to calm him. “And you said I’d be fine with the amulet.”

He lowered until he was above her on all fours, his claws digging into the earth to create a crunching sound next to her shoulders.

“From possible death! That doesn’t mean you still cannot come to harm! A weak Demon may not be able to hold you, but they can still strike you with their claws.” He came even closer, a growl present as it rumbled from deep within his chest. “And female, if you are bleeding profusely, the Demons will come here to find I have already eaten you!

There is only so much I can handle before I lose myself to my own urges of hunger.” He removed one hand from the ground to place it around the back of her head to cradle it in his large palm as he lifted her closer. “And I do not want that.”

She could hear the sincerity in his voice, like he wanted her safety more than anything. It caused her gut to tighten in response.

“Why are all you humans so foolish around me? It’s as if you all want to find your deaths when I am trying my best to avoid it. I said you could venture around my home when I was done.”

Reia averted her gaze, knowing he was right, and she was the one who’d made the mistake.

“Like I said, I’m sorry. It’s just, I saw the garden and that there was sunlight and I thought it was pretty.”

“Pretty?” he asked, his tone a few decimals lighter in anger. The growling stopped as he looked around them.

“You... like something about my home?”

“Who wouldn’t like this garden?” She gestured to it, allowing him to cradle her head as not to upset him further.

She also didn’t find it particularly... unpleasant. Then she grumbled quietly, “The inside of it isn’t too bad either.”

“You like my home?” His eyes turned from red to yellow as he tilted his head and began to gently lay her back down on the ground.

“Yes,” she answered. It had its wonderful, cosy qualities with its trinkets and woodsy comforts. “But it is still a cage.”

She wouldn’t allow him to forget that she wasn’t truly happy here. No human would be.

At her words, his eyes faded to a deep blue, darker than usual. He backed away from her to slowly rise to his feet.

She got up on her own, only realising he’d offered his hand to help her when she was done.

He clenched it into a fist before bringing it to his side.

He looked around them once more. “If you like the garden, then I can teach you how to tend to it as I was taught.”

“Someone showed you how? A human?”

The Duskwalker turned away from her to head back to salt ring he was carving. He was still huffing in anger.

“Yes. Someone from a very long time ago.”

She wondered if he turned away to avoid her stare. She followed him to stay close like she was supposed to.

“Was that person also the one who showed you this house?”

She wondered if humans had once lived in the Veil before the Demons came. They hadn’t always been on Earth.

He knelt down and started shoving the metal spike into the ground to dig.

“No. She asked me to build it for her, and I did.”

“What about all the furniture?” Her voice was lit with excitement and curiosity. “I was surprised to find human items like a bed, chairs, and even a cooking hearth.”

“She told me what she wanted, and I built it or obtained it.”

“Who is she? How long ago was this?” Reia had so many questions about this that they threatened to pour out from her all at once.

“Eons ago.”

Silence followed.

“You didn’t tell me who she was.”

And when he didn’t answer, moving onto another section, she realised he wasn’t intending to. She puffed her cheeks in irritation.