Accidentally Married To A Demon - Mila Young Page 0,42

he did trick me into a contract with him, so I didn't really put much thought into what he had to say."

"A wise approach. Demons are untrustworthy creatures by nature."

"Have you known him to break his word?" I asked.

"No, but... the word must be studied, because it will be the sort that will betray you while maintaining honesty. Does that make sense?"

I shrugged. "Sort of. I mean, I get what you're saying, even if that isn't really the... clearest way to go about it."

Cretu nodded. "I assume that the demon has no intention of helping with the transformation of this place? It would not suit him if he intends to keep you here."

"He said that he would help. That he didn't want another person that he cares about dying at the hand of the vampires. Do you know what he is talking about?"

"Vampires are dangerous creatures," Cretu answered cryptically. "Sometimes even more so than demons. But it is good that he offered to help. I would not want to work on his land with him attempting to stop it."

"I don't want the vampires to claim another soul in this place."

I hadn't heard Rog approaching, but I snapped around in place, feeling a heat spreading to my fingers before I realized that he'd been sneaking up on us, although Cretu did not look like she had missed his approach.

"Good to see you again, dryad," Rog said, dressed up in tailored pants and a button up shirt. "It has been too long."

"I wish I could say that the feeling was mutual, demon," she answered, taking a deep breath. "How is it that you intend to help with the rebuilding of this place?"

"In any way I can."

"And you will not interfere or sabotage it in any way?"

Rog shook his head. "No, I will not interfere or sabotage in any way. As I told her, having her freed from her contract is better than dying at the hands of those bastards."

Cretu was eyeing him like she didn't quite believe what he was saying, but she flicked her graying hair back behind her ear and shook her head.

"We'll need to start work immediately," she said, looking down at the ground. "Churning and fertilizing the earth should not take long, not for me, but driving all the... foulness from around here should be the most challenging. Once there, we can begin the process of regrowing the vines and allowing them to produce the fruit required. Under normal circumstances, you would be waiting for three years for the vines to produce their fruit, but by that time, you would already be dead."

I shuddered at the thought. "I guess you have a way of... speeding the process up?"

"Considerably. A few weeks, as a matter of fact. Of course, from there it would require the process of crushing or pressing the grapes, allowing them to ferment, and then transferring them to the casks—at which point I assume you'll add your blood—and you can hand it over to them to choose how they wish to age and bottle it. You could even speak with your friend Bram to see if he would be willing to help speed up the fermentation process. I must warn you, however: The first crop will not be enough to produce a hundred casks. The second might, but it would be a rush to do so."

"We don't need a hundred casks," Rog interrupted.

"Uh... no, we kind of do," I said, looking around at the demon.

"Well, yes. But I mean that we don't need a hundred for the first crop. We already have forty casks in our cellars, left over from when we were still producing, still some of the finest wine ever produced in this country. All it would need is a drop of your blood for each one and they would be ready to turn over. And I have been working to repair the wine presses. They should be ready in a week or so, once the new parts arrive. Would the first crop be able to produce sixty casks?"

"Possibly. But unlikely. Young vines can only give so much fruit. A second crop would be ready to produce in another few weeks."

The both of them appeared to know a lot about the process. A timeline was starting to come together, and despite her dislike of him, Cretu appeared more and more excited about getting the place working again. I still had no idea how much money all this would cost.

Nobody would be helping me out