Chapter 1074: The Cat is Awake [Part 2]

Chapter 1074 – The Cat is Awake [Part 2]

Step one.

Her paw sank into the blanket.

Step two.

She wobbled.

Step three.

She nearly fell sideways.

Runa froze, trembling with effort.

So this was her grand escape.

The great sorcerer, defeated by bedding.

The demon shifted beside her.

Runa’s entire tiny body went rigid.

Lux exhaled slowly in sleep, one arm moving slightly across the blanket. His hand landed near her, large and warm, fingers relaxed.

Runa stepped around his hand carefully.

Her paw touched his finger.

Warmth pulsed through her.

Not a spell.

Just warmth.

She hated that too.

She reached the edge of the bed and looked down.

Abyss.

Absolute abyss.

The floor was impossibly far.

How did cats survive in this cursed size?

Runa crouched.

Jump.

She could jump.

Cats jumped.

Surely this body knew how.

She gathered strength in her back legs and leapt.

For half a glorious second, she flew.

Then landed in an undignified heap on a rug.

Pain flashed through her limbs.

She hissed softly.

The bedroom door was not fully closed.

Good.

Lux was arrogant enough to sleep with exits available. Or secure enough. Same disease, different perfume.

Runa slipped through the gap.

The hallway outside glowed with soft mansion light.

She stopped.

The place was enormous.

Not palace enormous, but close. Wide corridors, polished floors, rich carpets, art, enchanted lamps, and strange protective wards humming beneath walls. Not mortal. Not entirely demonic either.

This mansion was layered.

A home built like a vault pretending to be comfortable.

Runa moved forward, limp but determined.

Voices drifted from below.

Women.

Many women.

Of course. The demon kept a household of women.

She reached the top of the stairs and looked down.

Mistake.

The stairs were taller than her current life ambitions.

Before she could decide whether to crawl down one step at a time or throw herself into fate, something moved beside the banister.

A black bird stared at her.

Raven.

No.

Not ordinary raven.

Its eyes had too much sarcasm.

It tilted its head.

Runa stared back.

The raven said, "So the tower cat is escaping."

Runa froze.

Talking bird.

Fantastic.

The household had achieved another layer of nonsense.

She hissed.

The raven’s beak clicked. "Rude. I respect that."

Runa prepared to flee.

Then a lazy voice came from the shadow near the wall. "Let her wander."

A figure leaned there, pale and elegant with gray hair, dressed like an old noble who had been born in a funeral and raised by theatrical darkness.

Runa did not know the name, he felt like old shadow. Ancient.

He smiled at her. "New prisoners always test the doors."

Runa’s fur bristled.

Prisoner? No.

No, absolutely not.

She hissed harder.

The old shadow noble lifted both hands. "Guest, then. Temporary angry furniture replacement."

The raven cawed.

Runa turned and fled down the hallway instead of the stairs.

So much for stealth.

She limped past one open room and stopped.

Inside, a small girl-looking woman slept on a pile of pillows with a hammer beside her.

Runa stared.

The sleepy one opened one eye. "Cat escaped."

Runa stiffened.

Lullaby yawned. "Too sleepy to chase."

Good.

Finally, an intelligent creature.

Runa continued.

Another room.

Gula sat on the floor surrounded by snacks, eating with spiritual devotion. She looked up slowly when Runa passed. "Oh. Cat."

Runa froze.

Gula looked at her snack.

Then at Runa.

Then at her snack again.

"I promised not eat you."

Runa backed away.

Gula smiled reassuringly.

It was not reassuring.

Runa fled faster.

Her limp became more dramatic.

At the next corner, she nearly ran into another demon who looked like pride.

The Pride woman stood with arms crossed, wine glass in hand, crimson eyes glinting with amusement.

"Well, well. The tower is mobile."

Runa hissed.

Sira smirked. "Same."

Runa tried to dart past.

Sira did not stop her.

Instead, she called down the hall, "Lux’s angry cat is escaping."

Traitor.

Runa pushed onward, rage fueling her tiny body.

She found another sitting room. An elf. An ancient elf. Aela was her name if she remembered it right.

Aela was by the window, head turned as if she had already known Runa would arrive. The First Elf’s presence filled the room with old trees, soft songs, and a gentleness that made Runa’s anger hesitate.

Aela knelt slowly. "Are you leaving?"

Runa froze.

She should hiss.

Should run.

Should claw.

But Aela’s voice did not command. Did not coax. Did not treat her as pet.

It asked.

Runa’s claws pressed into the carpet.

Aela smiled sadly. "You may. No one here will cage you."

Runa’s chest tightened.

That hurt.

Worse than the ache.

Because she wanted to believe it.

And that made her furious.

A sound came from behind.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Barefoot.

Lux’s voice drifted through the hallway, rough from sleep and far too calm.

"I just closed my eyes and she woke up already?"

Runa froze.

The demon had awakened.

Of course he had.

Why would the universe allow her one clean escape? No. Apparently, after several centuries of imprisonment, transformation into stone architecture, death of her original body, emergency possession of an injured orange cat, and relocation into a mansion full of dangerous women, the world decided she still had not suffered enough.

She remained half-hidden near the corner, paws pressed against the carpet, tail low, every tiny muscle ready to run despite the fact her body felt like wet parchment wrapped around bones.

A new voice came from deeper in the hall.

"You slept? In this time? That’s rare."

Runa’s ears twitched.

She looked toward the source.

A woman walked into view.

Tall. Elegant. Beautiful in a way that was not soft at all. She wore an eastern-style cheongsam that hugged a body built from old grace and terrifying strength. Calm eyes. The faint scent of thunder, mountain rain, and scales older than empires.

Runa’s instincts screamed.

Dragon.

Ancient eastern dragon.

Wonderful.

The demon’s house had one of those strolling around as if this was normal corridor furniture.

Lux leaned against the wall, black shirt loose at the collar, hair still messy from sleep. Even like that, he looked disgustingly composed. His beauty was more irritating when unprepared. Formal elegance could be blamed on tailoring. Sleep-soft danger could not.

"I was looking at Hell market stock graphs," Lux said.

The dragon woman lifted one refined brow.

Lux continued, "But it was boring."

"Hell’s market was boring?"

"Very."

Runa stared at them.

Was this a joke?

Lux rubbed the back of his neck. "Prices were stagnant. Very stagnant. Seems like all investors are waiting to see what will happen next before deciding their moves."

The dragon woman looked amused. "And that put you to sleep?"

"I was bored and fell asleep by accident."