Desires of a Monster by Roe Horvat

Submerged in ecstasy, blind with love… With every second we spent joined, I became less of my own person. Sometimes, I felt he was turning me into an extension of him, and if he ever ordered me to leave, I’d decay like a severed limb. Sometimes, I lay awake at night, empty inside, carved out and hollow, as if he’d already taken everything from me… As if I could only be whole while he was in me.

I didn’t know anymore if what I felt was love or insanity.

At nineteen, Rees’s life had come to an end. An orphan who loads ships for a living has no hope to die with dignity. Soon, he won’t be able to work, and then hunger might kill him before his illness can. He feels no fear or regret when he offers his body to the immortal Demon to consume.

Despite the colorful, terrifying legends surrounding him, the Demon is a practical and benevolent landlord. He finds joy in taking care of his estate, farming, raising horses, and watching the villages thrive. His only vice is seduction. He likes how human men crave, their warmth and scent, their primitive urges. He only lets his lovers stay for a little while. Human lives are transient after all, like shooting stars. Better to enjoy them while they shine brightly and send them on their way.

Until one day, a dying boy comes to the estate and changes everything.

Desires of a Monster first came out as a short novella in the spring of 2020. This is the full story, more than twice as long, complete with Rees’s point of view.