The Heart's Content

Chapter 85

Despite what he had told Vaggie, Husk was a nervous wreck the next morning. No he wasn't nervous, he was terrified. He knew very well that going against Valentino like this was almost suicide. If that psychopath found out what he and Vaggie were trying to pull today, then they were done for. He wouldn't destroy them because he still needed them but he would make their lives a true living hell. His treatment toward them now would be mercy compared to how he treated those who had the balls to be insubordinate.

Husk and Vaggie weren't Valentino's first prisoners to try to betray him. Human and creature alike, they'd try to run away, try to tear up or burn their contracts, even go as far as to try to kill Valentino. But whenever they tried to run they were called back, the contracts couldn't be torn and were fire proof, and Valentino was just too crafty to be killed. They had all failed and Valentino had caught them in the act so he brutally punished them for their rest of their lives. He beat them, starved them, used magic to painfully twist and morph their bodies, he even went as far as to rape some of them. Til their dying day they would perform on stage and be tortured back stage. Performed and tortured until they dropped dead.

"God give me strength." He prayed internally. "Please don't let us fail."

"Since when do you take six tea spoons of sugar with your coffee?" Roise asked him.

He was having breakfast with her that morning. He felt that if there was a chance of him doing something that could lead to never ending agony, he should have at least one last happy moment. But even in her lovely presence, fear had taken over him completely. He couldnt eat, couldn't drink, he could only just nervously spoon sugar into his coffee cup.

"Oops." He said.

"Are you alright?" Rosie asked him. "You seem a little on edge."

"I'm fine. Just didn't get enough sleep last night."

"You look pale."

"I didn't eat much last night."

"Or this morning apparently. You haven't touched the croissants or the fruit. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come now, there has to be something. I mean you ask me to breakfast and then you spend the time refusing to eat and not saying a word to me. What is it? You can tell me."

But Husk didn't want to tell her, because if she knew what he was doing then she'd want to help and well, he didn't want Valentino to hurt her anymore than he already had. But he couldn't just lie to her. Natural magic users like her had built in lie detectors. If he was going to give an excuse, it needed to be a truthful one. So he quickly searched his brain for which if his many issues he could use as an excuse. Gambling debts? No, that would scare her off. Drinking problems? No that that would be worse. Insecurity about his looks? That could work.

"Well the thing is...You and Beth have been so nice to me lately. In fact, nicer than anyone has been to me in my entire life. Human wise that is, and we're becoming so close I guess, I'm nervous that sooner or later one of you will see how I really look."

"And?"

"And, I don't know if you've ever seen a grunch before but we're not a handsome species."

"Handsome is in the eye of the beholder, that's what my Grammy always said and it must've been true because my grandfather, while having a very charming personality, was not considered attractive to many of the fairer sex."

"Really? What did he look like?"

"He was short, bald, his ears stuck out, and he had crooked teeth. But according to Grammy she found him irresistible."