Free Claimed by the Demon Knight: Book One by Cryptic Fawn Page B

you."
    "What?"
    "I came back for a good fight, and you didn't keep up your end of the bargain."
    "Screw you."
    "You ruined my fight."
    "You ruined my weekend."
    Even the air in the room seemed to still in wary anticipation of what was surely to come, as the two warriors glared icily at one another. Elsi knew she shouldn't be so quick to talkback. She was already in deep enough shit. She felt the knights energy rise in warning, clashing against her own, the friction between them becoming more intense until Elsi winced and shifted uncomfortably, her very movement conceding defeat. Ten flashed a quick grin.
    "Heh. Your weekend should be the least of your concerns. Or haven't you figured it out yet, witch?"
    He took another quick sip of vodka and stood up, placing the half downed bottle on a small table. Elsi watched him from her bed with a unimpressed scowl, nervousness building quietly on the inside, as the demon rose and sauntered in a casual fashion towards her, flaunting himself, confident, bold, hands in his pockets as he stopped at the very edge the bed, all eight feet of him looming over the prone Elsi.
    "Rest assured witch, I am going to kill you. And when I do, you will be at full power, and the sound of my sword running through your heart will be the last thing you hear." He grinned, revealing his oversized and very sharp canines. A ridiculously long pink tongue quickly ran over his front teeth.
    Elsi's expression faltered at the very real nature of the threat, and her composure crumbled easily in her unhealthy state.
    "Stay away from me you psycho fucking monster!", she spat, fear and disgust hopelessly intermingled.
    The feral grin fell away in an instant. "Monster?", he said tightly. A muscle at the corner of the knight's eye twitched and it took Elsi only a fraction of a second to realize that she had said the entirely wrong thing.
    “Was that supposed to be an insult?”
    "Y-you assholes tore up my town, tried to murder my friends, tried to take over the world, you..." She was stuttering, tripping over her tongue in her haste to explain herself, excuse her poor choice of words. Why though? Elsi had no reason to apologize to her enemies, least of all Tenuxhal. It was the lightheaded feeling that was creeping in around her that was the cause. It made her weak in mind as well as body. She fucking hated feeling like this, especially in front of this arrogant fuck.
    What she wouldn't give to be healthy again and have her full powers back. She had a mountain of stuff she wanted to return to Tenuxhal, with interest.
    Tenuxhal cut her off sharply, voice rising in pitch and intensity, mirroring his emotions, and he bolted forward. He stopped just short of throwing himself onto the bed, and leaned towards Elsi, his arms braced against the mattress.
    "Wrong, you stupid bitch!"
    Elsi recoiled, pushing herself away as quickly as her sore and torn muscles would allow, shuffling across the bed until her back met the solid wall, causing pain to flair out through her ribs. Even then she pushed.
    "Beelzebub tried to take over the world. Not us! We were just hired help. And we didn't have much of a fucking choice!" His eyes opened white and wide in his head, suddenly distant as if he were reliving an old nightmare. "You helped Beelzebub or he'd make sure you end up as someone’s dinner!”
    He was yelling now, searing silver eyes returning to Elsi's with ferocious intensity, and each thought punctuated by the sound of fabric tearing as his hands clenched spasmodically and his sharp nails clawed at the bed, gouging it until its edge lay in shredded ruins.
    Elsi had nothing at all to say to Tenuxhals's outburst. She didn't particularly want to acknowledge what she'd just heard, as if it might incline her to feel something less than bitter hatred towards the bastardized demon in front of her. She couldn't meet those pissed off silver eyes, or stand to see the suddenly victimized and abused expression of a veteran of war. It didn't fit