You Can't Run From The Dark

{Part 35}

~Dessa~

When Zaire landed gently, he seemed reluctant to let her down, but when he did, Dessa's vertigo was so intense that she clutched his arm to keep from staggering like a baby deer learning how to walk. As the adrenaline wore off from the flight, she blinked at their surroundings. He had taken her to some sort of sprawling village. There were Fae creatures everywhere, and not a single one was feasting on a poor human.

In front of a cabin that was near the well-worn path, a Fae female with reptilian scales and a long, barbed tail was hanging garments on a clothesline. The female flicked a glance toward them, and her sharp yellow eyes widened. Her pupils were snake-like slits and they thinned with apparent shock as she looked at Zaire. She immediately dropped to her knees, and Dessa felt a wave of irritation. She didn't like to see a female brought to her knees for him, she wanted to be the only one doing that. Zaire sighed, not seeming pleased at all by the display of devotion, and gave the female a dismissive wave. But unfortunately, every male, female, and child did the same as they passed, and Dessa's frustration waxed and waned. On one hand, it was clear that the other Dark Fae revered him, and his presence alone humbled them. Could she really be upset that he had the same effect on them that he had on her? But on the other hand, the less ugly the female, the more anger bubbled inside of Dessa. Most were garish and strange-looking, but the more human-like ones were fucking gorgeous, and their cheeks flushed at the sight of her mate. Those particular Fae dropping down for him had her seething. She couldn't help but glare at them, but none of them seemed to pay any mind, with a fallen angel walking beside her.

It was the last straw, when a buxom Fae woman bared her breasts for him, her knees splayed open wide enough in her kneeling position to show him the valley between her shapely legs. Rage flooded through Dessa, and her entire body went hot. She wanted to strangle the life out of that creature, and her gaze snapped toward Zaire. Her anger and jealousy fizzled by a fraction, seeing that he appeared to be sick to his stomach, and he wasn't looking at the lustful female at all. His ill expression softened Dessa immediately, and when she grabbed his hand, the pallid look to his skin eased.

Zaire surprised her, then, by leaning down and brushing a kiss on her lips, as if to say thank you,  and the hand that she wasn't holding caressed the symbol on her forearm, sending pleasurable shivers through her body that banished the rest of her negative feelings. Just that simple action seemed to be a reminder that she  was his mate, and that she had no reason to worry about competition. Still, Dessa worried that he could taste the pride she felt when she looked back at the Fae female, who was now covering her shame and looking embarrassed for making a spectacle of herself. Zaire picked up his pace and tugged Dessa away, leading her toward a massive hut with what looked like tiki-torches on either side of the entrance. The smell of food wafted in Dessa's face as he guided her in.

It was a restaurant, and Dessa couldn't imagine that there would be a place to dine in the world of Faerie. If she ignored the creatures that inhabited it, she could imagine that it was one of those '50's-themed diners in the city. However, the Fae were impossible to ignore, as every one of them turned to look at Zaire, and bowed their heads as he led her to an empty booth. As soon as they sat down, a Fae male with a spiraled narwhal-like horn in the middle of his chest brought them complimentary rolls, butter, and small cups of an amber liquid. 

Looking down at them, Dessa's hunger stirred within her, but she made no move to touch any of it. Was this a date?  What a silly thought, but the concept had her cheeks burning. She had never been on a date. What a strange place to experience her first one. A restaurant in the Dark Realm. And her date was a being that was so powerful that everyone took notice. He was more than a celebrity here, he was like a king, or a god. The whole situation was beyond unnerving.