Page 105 of Lost in the Dark

She smiled. “I’ve never seen anything like this. They’re beautiful.”

This tiny human was really stroking my ego.

She wasn’t the first to be impressed by the mushrooms, but she was the first to awaken feelings in me that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

It was unusual for me to be attracted to the humans that found their way into my tunnels, but there was something about this one that felt different.

“Um, Selvyn,” she asked. “Is there somewhere I can, you know,relieve myself?” She rubbed her neck and refused to make eye contact with me.

Shit.

Generally, I was on top of these things with those that I led to safety, but in my enamored haze I’d forgotten about her basic bodily functions.

“I should have asked you before we left. I’m sorry. There’s a little alcove down here just a ways.”

Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed her hand in mine and led her down the tunnel.

“Here,” I said as I came to a stop in front of an opening in the cave wall. “There’s plenty of moss lining the walls.” I picked a handful of mushrooms and handed them to her.

She looked at the mushrooms for a moment then stared up at me, her teeth digging into her lower lip. “Could you, um, maybe go down the tunnel a bit? So I have some privacy?”

It took everything in me not to laugh, but I was worried I might offend her or hurt her feelings. Humans were more sensitive about their bodily functions than I remembered. My kind weren’t born with those same insecurities.

“Yes, I’ll be just down the tunnel. Yell for me if you come out and can’t find me, okay?”

“Alright.” She gave me a genuine smile, then headed into the alcove to take care of her business.

I hummed as I made my way down the tunnel in an attempt to give her more privacy. Perhaps during our time together she could teach me some new songs. I was growing tired of the one I’d been singing to myself all these years.

I leaned against the cavern wall and rubbed the tip of my broken horn.

Had I really been down here alone for years?

I did occasionally make trips to the town on the other side of the mountain, but only when necessary. And even then, I only interacted with those that I could explicitly trust. Those that didn’t find me threatening or frightening.

When I thought about it, my life was actually quite lonely. One filled with darkness and solitude. Neither of which were by choice, but rather necessity.

“Selvyn?” Her tiny voice rang down through the tunnel.

“I’m here, Iris. Can you see me with the light from the mushrooms?” I asked.

“Yes, I see you.” She was closer now. “The red skin is hard to miss, even in the low light.” She snorted and nudged my arm playfully.

I liked the fact that she was becoming more comfortable.

Perhaps I even liked it a littletoomuch.

I feigned shock and held out my arms. “What red skin? Have I fallen ill?”

Her high-pitched laughter echoed off of the tunnel walls and warmed my heart.

“If you don’t mind me asking, are you really a demon?”

“Why are you asking?” I arched a brow at her, my tail whipping back and forth behind me as we walked.

“I always thought that demons were, you know, evil. You don’t seem evil to me.” Her voice was a faint whisper, as if she already regretted asking her question.

“I’m what’s called a cambion. My father was a demon and my mother was a human.”