Demon Discord by M.J. Haag

Chapter Seven

The tightly packedbackpack I carried stuck out like a sore thumb as I made my way to the wall. At least, that was what I told myself to explain why people kept looking at me. They were absolutely not staring at my face, which was puffy from a long night of silently crying and very little sleep.

Sam had been kind enough to wake me at dawn, so I wouldn’t miss meeting up with Azio. Considering what I planned to ask him, I still wasn’t sure if I was thankful for her wakeup or not.

Through my pain, I’d spent a good deal of time last night giving a lot of thought to the future. At first, it had looked bleak and terrifying. While Grandma had been sure that Azio and Groth would welcome me into their home in exchange for baby clothes, the idea of living with two of them had made my vision swim more than once. But then, as I’d sorted the baby clothes after dinner, I’d found a silver lining.

The fey wanted babies. Badly. So did I.

I’d been worried about how long Azio and Groth would let me stay with them and feed me in exchange for the clothes. But if I was pregnant with one of their babies, I’d be set for life.

All I had to do was proposition one of them and not pass out. My vision started to tunnel, and I had to pause and crouch in the middle of the street so I wouldn’t faint. Rather than hating Wayne or dwelling on what I’d need to do with one of the fey, I focused on the end result.

A cute, tiny baby.

What wouldn’t I do to have one of my own?

Yet, my stomach continued to churn with nerves once I reached the wall. I watched the fey arrive and leave again for the daily supply run and gave Bobby a sad smile when he waved and said goodbye to me. A few minutes later, Azio appeared.

My knees went weak, and I immediately crouched.

“Terri, you are safe,” Azio said, hurrying to me instead of waiting for me to come to him.

His hand settled on my head, grounding me. Despite witnessing fey pull heads off of the infected, Azio had never used that strength against me. He was flawlessly gentle, physically and emotionally. I needed to keep reminding myself of that.

“I know,” I said, breathing through the wave of panic-induced dizziness. “I’m sorry.”

“May I carry you?”

I nodded and leaned into him once he had me in his arms.

We didn’t speak as he raced toward Tolerance, which was fine by me. It gave me a few moments to consider how I wanted to broach such a sensitive subject. He jumped the wall and slowed but didn’t offer to put me down until we stood on his stoop.

“Thank you,” I said when he opened the door for me.

Groth was once again watching a movie, which he immediately paused.

“I have a lot more with me today,” I said after removing my shoes and jacket.

They both watched with interest as I went to the dining table and started laying out clothes. I’d taken all of my personal favorites from the basement, including an adorable little ballcap.

Azio immediately reached for it. “I will give you all the food in this house in trade for this hat.”

“It is adorable, isn’t it? But trust me. It’s not worth that much. A baby will outgrow it before it’s worn more than a dozen times. Besides, I’m not interested in food this time.”

Azio lifted his gaze to meet mine. I forced myself to hold it even as my heart started to pound, and I grew lightheaded.

“What do you want?”

“I’d like to trade all of these clothes in exchange for living here for a few days. Maybe a month if you think that’s fair.”

His gaze flicked to Groth, then down to my hand.

“Where are your marriage rings?” The slow way he asked made my stomach dip.

“My husband, ex-husband, removed them. He doesn’t want to be married to me anymore, which is why I need to find a new place to live.”

Azio’s pupil’s narrowed, and his expression changed from calm to filled with rage. It was the first time I’d ever seen one of them angry. Even when they were killing infected, they didn’t look as mad as Azio did now. More fear pooled in my middle at the thought I’d committed a cultural faux pas that would require immediate death by head removal.

My knees buckled, and I would have gone down if he hadn’t moved with frightening speed.

His arms wrapped around my torso, and he pulled me to his chest instead of picking me up like he usually did. Firmly pressed against him, I trembled and struggled to breathe.

“I’m sorry, Terri. Forgive me,” he murmured into my hair.

“For what?” I rasped, already imagining what he was about to do.

“Scaring you.”

My spiraling panic froze, and I managed to lift my forehead from his shirt. But no farther. I was too afraid of what I might see if I looked up.

“I don’t understand,” I said, staring at the fabric.

“I am very angry, but not at you. Never you. My anger is for the human males who have so little regard for the opportunities we fey would die to have.”

“Is your ex-husband why you fear males?” Groth asked. “Did he hurt you?”

I could hear the promise of retribution in Groth’s tone, and with wide eyes, I finally looked up at Azio.

“Wayne never hurt me. Well, he hurt my feelings.” I glanced at Groth, who stood nearby. “But Wayne never hit me if that’s what you meant.”

Azio’s hand moved slightly against my back.

“Tell us why we make your heart race and skin reek of fear,” he said, his tone once more calm and gentle.

I frowned up at him.

“I stink? Please put me down.”

He immediately complied, but I saw the reluctance in his expression.

“I like how you smell under the fear.”

I opened my mouth to address that but then shook my head.

“Okay…I feel like we’ve gone way off-topic. Can I live here with you guys for a while in exchange for the baby clothes?”

“You can live here as long as you want in exchange for nothing but your company,” Azio said.

“Oh,” I said, stunned. His answer was better than I’d hoped for. It bought me some desperately needed time because I was far from ready to proposition one of them to secure a place to stay. “Can the clothes be in exchange for feeding me then?”

Azio grunted, and I couldn’t be sure if it was in agreement or denial. Rather than pressing the issue, I addressed the more immediate question.

“Where should I put my things?”

Azio gave me a tour of the house while Groth trailed in our wake. It was a little nerve-wracking, but I managed without needing to stop. The kitchen was on the ground level with a living room, bathroom, and utility room. A larger family room, bathroom, and two bedrooms were on the lowest split level. And three bedrooms and a bathroom were on the highest level. Overall, it was a comfortably laid out, large house.

“You can choose which bedroom you want,” Azio said when we returned to the kitchen.

“Thanks. Is it all right if I shower?”

“This is your home now. There are no rules. You may do what you would like.”

I nodded and grabbed my things from the table. As soon as I started up the stairs, the movie began to play quietly again—a sweet romance. I paused on the top step to make sure my ears weren’t lying. They weren’t. Both fey were intently watching the screen as the woman spoke to the man.

“She looks at his eyes,” Groth said.

“She does,” Azio agreed.

Knowing they were comparing her to me didn’t sit well. I hated that I fainted at the drop of a hat during stressful moments. Okay, not stressful. Terrifying moments. And I hated that I was so afraid of the fey. But couldn’t they see I was trying to overcome that? I was here. That was a step, no matter how small.

Hurt by the perceived judgment so soon after Wayne’s abandonment, I took the first room at the top of the stairs and gathered what I’d need for a shower. Azio’s comment about smelling like fear really bothered me, and I was looking forward to smelling like nothing but me.

I let myself into the shared bathroom and quietly locked the door before starting the shower. The hot water was magical. I soaped and rinsed everything twice, then reluctantly turned the water off.

Wrapping one of the soft, clean bath towels around my torso, I used my hand to wipe the steam from the mirror and studied my light brown eyes. They weren’t as puffy but watered just as easily as they had before the shower when I dwelled on my circumstances.

Instead of dwelling on the unknowns, I finger-combed my brown hair, then dressed in soft lounge pants. They were the only other option to the jeans I’d worn here. I didn’t have much. Not anymore. Things tended to be left behind when running for one’s life.

Balling up all my dirty clothes, I went downstairs to test if Azio had meant what he’d said. Neither he nor Groth paused the movie when I passed through the room, but I could feel their gazes on me until I disappeared down the hall leading to the utility room. There, I tossed my things into the washer and took the time to handwash my only bra. It’d been ages since it had seen soap because I’d been unwilling to leave the house without it.

In theory, that wasn’t a problem anymore since I no longer needed to leave the house.

Distracted by the task and my thoughts, I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until I hung the bra on the drying rack and turned to leave. Only Azio’s quick reflexes stopped me from face-planting in his chest.

My forward momentum against the hands he clapped down on my shoulders jerked me in place, making my breasts bounce. His gaze locked onto the motion, and his pupils narrowed before expanding to an almost circular shape.

“I’m not afraid of men,” I blurted. “I’m afraid of what the fey are capable of.”

Azio lifted his gaze to mine, blinked at me, and slowly released my arms.

“I don’t understand.”

“I was there at the gates when the fey first came to Whiteman and again when the infected breached the fences.” I dropped my gaze to his chest and crossed my arms around myself. “I saw how easy it is for your kind to remove heads. Humans are nothing to you. We’re weak. Pathetic. The fey have been patient with us so far. But what happens when we do something you don’t like?”

Azio chuckled. Nothing dark and sinister but thoroughly amused.

“Like shoot us?” he asked, lifting his shirt to point to a scar along his ribs. “The human who did this lives. Humans do many things we don’t like. We don’t kill smart ones. Only stupid ones.”

“Shooting you seems pretty stupid.”

He grunted and tugged his shirt back into place.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“You seem to fear us more than most humans. Groth thinks your fear will drive you to choose a different home.”

I waited for more, but he remained silent.

“That wasn’t really a question.”

“Will you give us a chance to be less scary?”

That simple question shifted something inside of me, and I looked up at Azio, seeing him as a man for the first time. A broad forehead with dark, arched brows, and thick eyelashes complemented his strong nose and curved bottom lip. If I could figure out how to ignore his terrifying eyes, I’d find him very handsome.

“That’s why I’m here,” I said, answering him.