Whispers in the Dark: Black Oasis 1 (MM Monster Romance) by Nikole Knight & Lily Mayne

Author:Nikole Knight & Lily Mayne [Knight, Nikole & Mayne, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“This is amazing.”

Groaning, I sank deeper into the warm water until it reached my chin. The strong smell of minerals surrounded us, and the rock was smooth beneath me. Crystals glimmered above, flashing in the gently lapping water as Nor slipped in beside me.

After we’d lounged in his bed for a while, he’d taken my hand and led me down a dark tunnel until we’d emerged into this tiny cavern, a rock pool dominating most of it, the water gently steaming. The ceiling was taller in here, stalactites hanging above us, dripping with condensation.

Nor’s body moved sinuously through the water, slinking toward me until he pulled me into his lap. “Feels good, yes? The water heals.”

I quirked a brow. “It heals?”

Nor shrugged one shoulder, nuzzling into the bend of my neck. “Demons believe it does, anyway.”

Laughing, I twisted around in his lap, trying not to get distracted by the feel of his slippery limbs tangling with mine. “Do demons have like… a central belief system? Like a religion?”

“We have the old gods, but most have been forgotten. Mare’s followers are still strong in number, though.”

“Mare?”

“The goddess of nightmares.” Nor shot me a small, slightly nervous smile. “The first. Some believe all demons spawned from her, which is why we need to consume human emotions from their dreams.”

I stared at him. “And… do you?”

Nor fidgeted uncomfortably. “I don’t… actively believe,” he said eventually. “But we are all taught about them. Mare, the ruler of all, the bringer of nightmares. Ashareth, the demon god of lust and debauchery. Malady, the god of death and disease. And, of course, Kromis, the god of chaos and destruction. Who your Crumbs is named after.”

I snorted. “She’s not named after him!”

Nor grumbled under his breath like he didn’t believe me. “Those who still worship Mare have shrines in their homes. And those most fervent dedicate their lives to her, serving in her temples as her mystics.”

“Huh. So how come she’s still the most worshiped out of all of them? Do any of the other gods still have temples and worshippers?”

“Few, but not many. Mare created us—all life. She wasn’t always the bringer of nightmares, but she spurned Kromis, and he twisted her creations into demonic creatures that needed to feast on the emotions of humans. To torment her for not loving him back by tormenting her children.”

“What?” My eyes widened. “He messed with her… children because she wasn’t into him?”

Nor huffed. “Yes. Kromis covets Mare. He loves her fiercely. But he is cunning and spiteful, and he knew the cruelest way to punish her for not wanting him back was to curse her children to endless hunger—a different kind of hunger that drove us mad.

“But she outsmarted him,” Nor continued. “She found a way to sate that hunger in us, by piercing the veil between the worlds and drawing in the nightmares of the humans whose emotions we needed to survive. That is why she is the bringer of nightmares, and the Mother of all. And that is why she is still worshiped heavily by demons.

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