Page 24 of Demon Daddy’s Hidden Daughter (Demon Daddies #8)
RHYEN
D awn creeps through the enchanted windows like a thief, painting the bedroom in shades of gold and amber.
I wake gradually, my body still humming with the memory of last night—the taste of Lenny's pleasure on my tongue, the way she'd sobbed my name as she came apart beneath me.
She sleeps curled against my side, dark hair spilled across my chest, one hand resting over my heart.
Careful not to wake her, I ease from the bed and pull on trousers and a shirt.
She needs the rest after everything we shared, and I have a morning routine to keep.
Ava will be expecting me in the garden for our daily sparring session, and I'd rather face a battalion of demons than disappoint that little girl.
The thought brings a smile to my face as I pad barefoot down the hall toward her room.
Four years old and she already fights like a warrior—all fierce determination and boundless energy wrapped up in a tiny package with violet eyes and infectious laughter.
The way she hero-worships me should be embarrassing, but instead it fills me with a warmth I never expected to feel. Both my girls do.
My girls. The thought comes unbidden, settling in my chest with startling certainty.
Somewhere between Lenny's first smile and Ava's delighted squeals as I flew her around the garden, they'd become mine.
Not through blood or law, but through something deeper.
Through choice and love and the fierce protectiveness that now courses through my veins like fire.
I knock softly on Ava's door, then ease it open when no response comes.
The bed sits empty, covers pulled up with the careful precision she's learned from watching Lira make the other rooms. My chest lightens with fondness—she must have beaten me downstairs again.
The little sprite has been waking earlier and earlier, and I'm struggling to keep up. But I like she keeps me on my toes.
Orris will be on duty by now, keeping watch over the grounds and anyone wandering them.
Still, I quicken my pace down the main staircase, anticipation building.
These morning sessions with Ava have become the best part of my day—watching her tiny face scrunch with concentration as she tries to remember the forms I've taught her, the way she beams when she manages to land a hit on my shin with her wooden practice sword.
The garden spreads before me in the early morning light, dew clinging to the nightlilies and making the cobblestone paths glisten. But something's wrong. The usual sounds of Ava's chatter and Orris's patient corrections are absent, replaced by an eerie quiet that sets my teeth on edge.
At our usual training spot near the center fountain, I find her wooden sword lying abandoned on the stone bench.
The sight of it sends the first tendril of unease curling through my gut.
Ava never leaves her "warrior blade" anywhere—she carries the damn thing everywhere, much to Lenny's amused exasperation.
Then I see the parchment folded beneath it, bearing the official seal of the New Solas Training College.
My hands shake as I unfold the message, but the words are crystal clear.
I told you a little demon didn't belong in this city. I'm doing what you should have. Protecting everyone.
White-hot rage erupts in my chest, followed immediately by a terror so complete it nearly drives me to my knees. Someone took her. Someone took my Ava while I was sleeping peacefully upstairs, content from a night with her mother.
Thalor. It has to be him. The parchment, the location, the timing—all of it points to him.
The bastard who'd sneered at Ava just yesterday when I brought her to the college, who'd called her an "abomination" and approached me while she trained, telling me it was our duty to get rid of anyone with demon blood in our city.
He offered to take her—like he was doing me a favor.
I nearly snapped in front of a class of children. It took everything in me to hold it together until I got alone, and then I seethed all day. But I couldn't fucking stand it.
The memory of his pale green eyes filled with disgust as he looked at my little girl sends another wave of fury through me. I should have killed him then. Should have ripped his throat out the moment he dared speak of Ava with anything less than respect.
But self-recrimination won't bring her back. Action will.
I rush back inside, taking the stairs three at a time.
I'm not quiet as I burst back into my room, ready to go after Ava.
My hands are already reaching for the weapons harnesses hanging by my wardrobe before I'm fully in the room.
Lenny stirs as I yank open drawers, grabbing knives and spare blades with mechanical precision.
"Rhyen?" Her voice comes out sleep-rough and confused. "What's wrong?"
The buckles of my chest harness bite into my fingers as I work them with shaking hands. "Someone took Ava."
The words hit her like a physical blow. I watch her face crumble, watch the color drain from her skin as she scrambles upright among the tangled sheets.
"What do you mean someone took her?" The question comes out as barely a whisper, but I can hear the building hysteria behind it. "Who would—where is she?"
"I found this in the garden." I hold up the parchment, my voice coming out harder than I intend. "Left with her sword. Someone from the college has her."
Lenny's breath catches, a sound of pure anguish that cuts straight through me. Tears start streaming down her face as the reality sets in—our worst nightmare made manifest.
"Thalor," I growl, strapping my main sword across my back. The familiar weight should be comforting, but all I feel is the burning need to use it. To paint the training college walls with his blood. "The xenophobic bastard who couldn't stand seeing me care for her."
"Oh gods," Lenny sobs, pressing her hands to her mouth. "My baby. My little girl, she must be so scared?—"
The sound of her breaking threatens to shatter what's left of my control. In three quick strides I'm at the bed, cupping her tear-streaked face in my hands. Her amber eyes are wide with terror, pupils dilated with the same panic clawing at my insides.
"Hey." I force my voice into something resembling calm, though inside I'm screaming. "Look at me, sweetheart."
She meets my gaze, and I see my own desperation reflected there—the bone-deep fear of someone whose world has just tilted off its axis.
"I'm going to bring her home," I promise, thumbs brushing away her tears even as new ones take their place. "I'm going to find our daughter and bring her back to us. Do you hear me?"
"She's just a baby," Lenny whispers, her hands clutching at the front of my shirt. "She's so little, Rhyen. What if they hurt her? What if?—"
"I won't let that happen." The words come out like a vow, backed by every ounce of fury and love burning in my chest. "No one hurts our girl and lives. No one."
I lean down and capture her mouth in a fierce, desperate kiss—tasting salt from her tears and the lingering sweetness from last night. When I pull back, her lips are swollen and her breathing ragged.
"Stay here," I order, already moving toward the door. "Stay safe. I'll be back with Ava before you know it."
"Rhyen, wait?—"
But I'm already gone, thundering down the stairs with vengeance singing in my veins.
The moment I clear the manor doors, my wings snap open—massive spans of pale blue catching the early morning light.
The familiar sensation of air rushing beneath them feels different now, charged with purpose and barely contained violence.
I've failed her once. Let someone take her while I was lost in my own contentment, too satisfied with domestic bliss to remember that the world is full of people who would hurt an innocent child simply for existing.
But I won't fail again. Whatever it takes, whoever has to die—I'll tear New Solas apart stone by stone before I let anyone keep Ava from coming home.
The wind cuts across my face as I launch myself skyward, fury driving me faster than I've flown in years. Below, the estate grows small, but my resolve only grows larger.
They took my daughter.
Now they're going to learn exactly what that mistake costs.