Ridley

I had somehow managed to get lost in the woods with my worst enemy, the Demon Prince of Darkness himself.

This...was not good.

After several excruciating minutes, the fog cleared, and I found that I had absolutely no idea where I was—or how to find Princess Annette.

Vandel turned to me, arching a brow. "So what happens now? I Hope we don't have to walk too much. I really like these boots. It would be a shame to wear them out."

"Quiet, demon," I said curtly. My gaze swept across the forest in a last-ditch attempt to spot either path or princess, only to be met by more trees. But then an idea came. "Vandel."

He didn't respond.

"Vandel!" 

Finally, he turned, glancing up at me through dark eyes. "I'm only going to respond to Your Highness. I am a prince, Sir Ridley. I deserve to be treated as such."

"You sound like a whining child."

"Yeah, well you sound like a dickwad."

His choice of words took me aback. "What...did you just call me?"

I'd never been called a dickwad before. Well, at least not to my face. Just when I thought I couldn't hate demons more, of course, I had to get stuck in the woods with this walking piece of garbage.

I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. Vandel couldn't see any points of weakness from me, or he would exploit them. That's what all this was about—the teasing, the taunting, and the mocking. He was trying to throw me off, but there was no way in hell I'd let him succeed! I just needed to find the princess, then the path, and finally deliver Vandel back to Alteria. Laid out straightforwardly, that didn't sound all that hard. Right?

I glanced up at the sky, the blanket of night still stretching out above our heads. I only had until sunrise. After that, the Demon Queen would realize her son was missing and these woods would be crawling with demons. Clenching my hands into fists, I built up the resolve for what I was about to stoop to. 

Vandel's lips pulled into one of his signature smirks. "I know I'm probably the most attractive person you've ever seen, but I'm still slightly uncomfortable having you stare at me like that."

If I didn't need him for Alteria's sake, I would have gladly run him through right then and there. "Please be quiet, demon, and only speak when asked a direct question."

"Please?" Vandel chuckled under his breath. "You're at least polite. I'll give you that."

"Prince Vandel, I know you're a powerful magician. I need you to scry and locate Princess Annette." I grimaced as the words left my lips. Asking a demon for help. How much lower could I get?

Vandel laughed, a long, cruel cackle that sent a shiver down my spine. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"I'll give you something in return if you do."

He thought for a moment. "Hmm...alright, you've made things a little more interesting. What would I get?"

"What do you want?"

If Vandel still had pupils, he probably would have rolled his eyes. "To be released, obviously."

"Anything but that."

A cold smile spread across his features then. "Suck me."

I froze, staring at him in disbelief. But I had to find Annette. Why should it matter the cost? If it was for my country, I supposed I was willing to do anything.

"Alright," I said, my voice coming out rather strained.

I took a deep breath. And then, slowly, I sank to my knees before him.

Vandel's blood-chilling laugh erupted through the forest once more, echoing around us. "Holy shit, I was joking!"

My face burned. He was still playing with me. The Demon Prince was my captive, so why the hell did I feel like the powerless one?

Vandel's mouth twisted into a grin. "Hmm, well then, I suppose a simple kiss will suffice as my payment."

"You want me to kiss... you?" I hated the way my voice trembled as I said the words. Honestly, I'd never been this thrown off by someone before. I hated it. 

Vandel stared at me through lidded black eyes. "That's what I said. Honestly, I'm bored out of my mind right now and would seriously kill for anything to spice it up."

I stared back at him, mouth hanging open. "You're bored? You've literally been kidnapped by the enemy and you're bored?"

Vandel's lip curled. "Unless you're both a knight and a bard who can sing me some nice ballads while we walk, I'm not going to reconsider." He stepped closer, his voice dripping with malice. "Wait, don't tell me this is would be your first kiss, Sir Knight."

Why the hell did he like to emphasize words so much?

"It wouldn't be," I replied sharply.

I tried not to lie, for the most part. But my pride wouldn't allow me to admit to Vandel, of all people, that I'd never even held hands before. Let alone kissed. 

"Alright, then it's settled," the Demon Prince snickered. "Time for you to pay up, Sir Ridley."

I swallowed hard. Then I stepped forward, pressing a quick peck to his cheek, before immediately drawing back.

Vandel stared at me, expression blank. "That's not going to cut it. It's gotta be a little more than that."

I sighed heavily.

Then I grabbed him roughly by the back of his head, pulling his face to mine as our mouths crashed together. His pointed teeth tugged at my lower lip, drawing blood. I could taste the iron on my tongue as he deepened the kiss. He pushed himself against me, mouth hot where it met mine. My fingers knotted in his dark hair as his tongue found it's way into my mouth, causing a shiver to shoot through me. The kiss felt like he was about to devour me whole; as if his touch alone would consume me. Somehow, I felt myself surrendering to it. And that's when, to my horror, I realized I was actually aching for more.

I tensed, disgusted by the thoughts and feelings that had just come over me. This was wrong...enjoying kissing a demon was horribly, terribly wrong. Everyone knew seduction was one of a demon's most primitive and effective defenses. How had I been stupid enough to fall into such a trap? I'd need to punish myself for this.

I frantically drew back, hating the way my body still trembled, as if desperate to taste him again.

Vandel was smirking, somehow completely unfazed. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" He wiped away my blood with his thumb from where it'd smeared across his bottom lip. 

I ignored the lump that'd formed in my throat, trying to calm down. "Be quiet, demon. I've performed my end of the bargain. Now you must complete yours."

Vandel shrugged. "Alright. Do you have any water with you?"

I nodded, pulling out a flask.

"Oh, and untie my hands," Vandel added.

I did what he asked, carefully undoing the knot. As the rope fell away, I unsheathed my sword in a flash of silver, pointing it at the nape of his neck. 

Vandel turned to me, eyes narrowed. "Really?"

"I need to guarantee you won't run or try to kill me."

"Fair enough," Vandel replied nonchalantly, rubbing his wrists. I could make out the red marks around them left by the rope.

Vandel poured the water into his hands and shut his eyes. When his lids finally fluttered back open, he gazed into the water. I couldn't see anything, but I assumed Vandel must have, because he was staring intently.

After a moment, he glanced up at me. "Keep going left. There should be a cliff there. When you reach it, you need to turn left again. Then you'll find her."

"Thank you for your corporation." I returned my sword to its sheath before quickly retying his wrists. "Alright, let's go."

We began to walk once more. This time, Vandel remained surprisingly silent. It made me uneasy.  Sucking in a breath, I came to a sudden halt.

Vandel sighed, a bored expression on his face. "Why are we stopping?" 

"The woods are too quiet," I said, teeth sinking into my lower lip. "Something is wrong."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

And that's when a beast came charging through the underbrush. It was huge, resembling some horrific combination of a rhinoceros and a bull, all melted together—pure white, as if carved from ivory. My stomach dropped. Vandel and I exchanged a glance, knowing what it was in an instant: one of the Bone King's monsters. Trying to keep my hands from trembling, I drew my sword. I had to fight it. You couldn't run from these creatures. I'd heard horrible stories of those who'd tried. Bone Monsters were rare, but if you came across them, the chances you would live to tell the tale were... minimal.

The creature paused, just standing there, watching intently as if it were evaluting me. 

"Untie me," Vandel hissed. "I can help."

"Absolutely not," I hissed back. "You'll run away."

"You know as well as I do that if I run, it'll kill me."

"I don't know..."

"I won't be of any use to you if we're both dead!"

As much as it pained me to admit it, on this single account, he was right. I slashed the ropes at his wrists just as the Bone Monster came charging at us.

We just barely dodged its first attack, desperately skidding to the side. 

I glanced at Vandel. "So, you have a plan?"

His teeth sank into his lower lip. "If you lured the beast into a corner, then I could make a semicircle of fire around it, trapping it there."

"Why can't you just make a full circle of fire around it now?"

"That would be too much. I can't just alakazam magic fire out of my ass 24/7, Sir Ridley. "

The monster circled us now, pawing the ground as it prepared to lunge. 

"The cliff should be a little ways ahead," Vandel continued urgently, his words coming at double speed. "Let the Bone Monster chase you there, and I'll trap it against the base. If I really exert myself, I can keep the fire burning for ten minutes, giving us plenty of time to get away."

I glowered at him. "And how do I know you won't let it chase me and escape?"

Vandel shrugged. "You don't. You'll just have to trust me."

The monster charged at us again, so I threw reason to the wind and ran. If this cliff was too far off, I was screwed. There was no way I could outrun this thing for long. The monster dashed after me, practically nipping at my heels. 

My heart slammed against my ribcage, blood pounding in my ears, drowning out everything else. I had no idea if Vandel was behind me or not. If he really had abandoned me, I was as good as dead. The monster grew closer and closer. I could hear it huffing behind me, breath hot against the back of my neck.  My lungs burned, the trees streaking past me, a blur of motion as I rushed through the night. 

At last, my gaze caught on the jagged base of the cliff. I sent a quick prayer to the Gods, hoping that Vandel would actually uphold his part of the plan. And with that, I turned sharply, summoning the last bit of strength I had to push ahead of the monster. Only a few paces in front of it, I skidded past the base of the cliff. Right as the beast went to follow, a raging semicircle of fire burst from the ground— trapping the Bone Monster between the wild flames and rock. 

"Not too shabby, huh?" Vandel said, appearing behind me.

I had no idea how he'd made it here so fast. But it wasn't like I had time to question him. We needed to get the hell out of here. So I kept running, this time with Vandel at my side, the fall of our feet pounding in time as we raced through the twisting trees of the Dark Forest. 

As we finally reached a safe distance, I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Vandel looked down at me, his own breaths heavy, and his face waxy and pale. I guessed it was from using so much power to keep the fire burning.

After my heartbeat had settled into a slightly less violent rhythm, I rose to my feet. "Thanks," I mumbled.

"You're welcome, I suppose." Vandel's lips curved upward, giving me a dramatic bow. "Now, Sir Ridley, this little excursion has been lovely, but I'm afraid I've had my fun. It's time for me to take my leave."

My hand jumped to the hilt of my sword. "You're not leaving! You're coming with me to Alteria."

Vandel wagged a finger. "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong." He sighed, looking more upset now than at any point of his kidnapping. "It's a shame, really. I liked this outfit so very much."

The moment the words left his mouth, Vandel disappeared, his dark garments crumpling to the ground. I stared at the pile in disbelief. That's when the dark head of a bird poked up from it. My eyes went wide. It was the raven from the night before!

The raven shook itself free from the clothes and looked at me, cocking its head. I could have sworn it winked. And with that, it took off, its little form disappearing into the ink-black sky.

The anger hit me fast and hard.

"You could turn into a bird this entire time? Are you KIDDING ME? Did you specifically LEAD me to that monster?" I yelled after the raven. "I CAN NOT BELIEVE I FED YOU BREAD, YOU ASSWIPE!"