Page 1 of Once Upon a Demon’s Heart
Chapter One
ALIRA
“ With gilded blood, pray upon a demon’s heart, for it very well might save you.”
The orphanage house mother always told us ludicrous stories of lore. Of dragons, wisps, and forest spirits in the Eastern lands. But the one about wishing on a demon’s heart always stuck with me the most.
Half-gods bleed gold, that’s a given. We are taught this from the time we could talk, but what I couldn’t figure out, was why a demigod would even be close enough to a demon to pray to it.
I’d never even seen one before. For all I knew, they were as mythical as the wisps and unicorns in her stories.
I would lay in my cold cot at night and stare at the ceiling, wondering, daydreaming of these creatures she spoke of. Letting my mind run wild with what any of it really meant.
Unfortunately, those bubbly thoughts and ideas of what the world could be beyond Alzhor were muddled for me from a young age. My first brush with a demon ended smeared in death.
Because, you see, the demons and demigods have never gotten along. Not before the war, and certainly not now. So why would a wish upon a demon’s heart save you?
I’ve wished on every evil heart I’ve plundered for this war to end.
I’ve prayed to Jupiter, the King of Gods, and all the deities above but nothing can save us now. Not after all the blood we’ve spilled. Mortal and demon alike.
The demigods are on the brink of extinction.
We’ve pushed the demons too far this time, and now, only a marriage in peace between the two species will bring an end to this senseless war—A deal suggested by the Demon King of course, whom I assume will be choosing one of his high lords or dukes as a suitable groom.
I was a little surprised that the demons would be the first to offer a peace agreement. Given that they’re malicious and wicked, down to their core. Every demigod knows this. The house mother told us to never, ever , under any circumstances, trust a demon.
The wicked creatures were sent to Faultore by Pluto, God of the Underworld, himself. Perhaps it’s because the gods despise their grim brother, that their offspring naturally fight with Pluto’s creations. At least, that’s one of the assumptions.
It wasn’t shocking to any of us that King Borlin, Ruler of Alzhor’s demigods, announced that he wasn’t willing to lower to his knees without a fight. He would have thirty years of war at the expense of what remained of the demigods over an arranged marriage to one of his daughters.
I couldn’t imagine being one of the princesses and having to marry a demon duke. None of us wanted to let our freedom and dignity go that easily.
I’ve learned that nothing is effortless. Everything has a cost, magic or not.
In my unfortunate case, it would seem that magic, fate, or a horrid curse is in play.
You see, the prospect of an arranged marriage compared to the slaughter I’ve endured repeatedly would be like walking through a flower garden.
How many times have I died at his hand?
I lay my hands together over my jewel encrusted sword, blood dripping from my brow, and kneeling on the disrupted gravel of my burning kingdom once more.
The thought of watching the royal family's heads being severed before my eyes again makes my stomach churn.
I lift my chin to the near seven-foot-tall knight before me. His ivory armor is bathed in the light of the crimson moon. He lowers his sword to my throat. It tinks against the neck guard—something he does every time without fail before ending me. It has become a bell of death to my ears.
The Blood Knight has killed me in twenty-time loops—a cruel curse that I’ve found myself trapped in.
For some reason, my life keeps resetting to exactly one week before his raid on my kingdom.
No, a wish on a demon’s heart doesn’t save you, I wish I could scold the house mother.
I’ve wished for every death after the third loop to be my last. And yet, I continue to wake and face the fall of my kingdom like clockwork.
A punishment worse than death. One I rightfully deserve.
The Blood Knight is a merciless demon. I cannot defeat him no matter what I try. No techniques I spent countless hours learning. No high-end swords that I had made from the bones of dragons and the blood of unicorns.
Absolutely nothing.
He comes on the night of the war god’s moon without fail—at the exact moment the sun dips beneath the mountains behind Alzhor’s walls.
Without hesitation or a drop of pity, the Blood Knight always finds me and kills me. Four times it was my head being severed from my body, six times he pierced my heart with his sword, twice he snapped my neck like it was nothing more than a stick.
But in each loop, his gold-stained armor was the last thing I saw before dying.
So, what’s one more death?
I firm my resolve and strike his heel with my blade, thinking if I can get him on the ground, he’d be easier to slay. He doesn’t budge from my attack. My eyes widen as he lifts his arm and with one hard thrust, he pierces his sword straight through my chest armor.
Blood spurts from my lips as my head is thrown back with the force of his blow. My helmet falls and topples to the ground. Silvery-white strands of my hair wisp around me, and for the first time I catch a glimpse of the Blood Knight’s eyes as he watches me fall.
They are an inferno of golden amber. Heartless flames. For a second, I think I see a glimmer of emotion flash through them, but my mind doesn’t linger on the thought as darkness clouds my vision. Then the tide of black waves consumes me whole.
I sit straight up in my cot and stare down at my hands.
Again. To what end will this loop continue resetting?
My gaze shifts to the calendar on the far wall of the knights wing.
It’s exactly one week before the demons come to take over Alzhor.
The mirror beside the calendar reflects my weary lavender eyes.
My silver hair spills over my shoulders and makes my olive skin look rich in contrast. The gold blood in my veins makes my complexion practically glow even though I feel like death.
Korin raises a brow at me from her cot beside me.
The sun has just risen and slivers of light streak across the gray stone walls of this practical dungeon we sleep in.
Vines of ivy grow along the windowsills, thanks to the knights who are descendants of Ceres, the Goddess of Agriculture.
The presence of a child of Ceres alone springs life to any dwelling that is unlikely to have it.
Most of the demigods are uncertain of who our parents are until we start to show signs of our gifts. Many never develop their signs though.
I wish that was the case for me.
“What’s wrong, Alira?” Korin asks sleepily as she rubs her eyes. I glance over at her, trying not to grin at the messy brown locks of hair strewn over her face.
I breathe out slowly and press my palm to the fading ache in my chest. Gods, he didn’t hold anything back that time, did he? I muse grumpily. At least he kills swiftly. Not once have I suffered too much from his death blow.
“Nothing, just a bad dream,” I say routinely.
It works every time I’m sent back to restart the week.
The first few times, I tried to tell her that I’d somehow jumped back in time and she reported me to the healers for insanity.
They kept me locked up until the night the Blood Knight came.
Long story short, I learned the hard way that no one would believe me.
Korin nods with a drowsy smile before turning into her sheets and almost immediately resuming to snore.
Ignorance really is bliss, I suppose. They have no idea what’s coming our way.
I press my lips together and narrow my eyes as I take a deep breath, memorizing the scent of the mossy stones and slumbering comrades.
I decided in the days leading up to my last death loop that if I failed to protect my kingdom again, I would abandon it and live for myself this time.
Who’s to say if I will survive or not? At least I’ll have a fraction of peace.
I want to do something besides fight and train to no avail.
What’s the point of all these time resets if I have to watch all of my friends die before being slain myself?
Nothing I do saves any of them. There are too many demons and not enough of us.
I can’t do it anymore.
My pillowcase is heavy with bread, small jars of honey, and dried meats.
I secure my sword to my side but leave the rest of my armor behind.
It would be suspicious for anyone outside of the kingdom to be wearing a full suit of imperial-grade plates so the sword and black leathers will have to do.
It will be easier to explain that I found these things on a corpse if I get stopped and questioned about them.
My thin pale blue cloak is the last thing I secure around my neck before giving the knight’s quarters a final look over.
The men and women in the royal guard are the only people who’ve cared for me for most of my life. I’m not just betraying my kingdom, I’m betraying them. I firm my hands at my side and force myself to turn away from their sleeping forms.
I’ve watched each of them die so many times. I can’t experience it again.
Perhaps leaving will alter their fate, I think blissfully. I close my eyes and pray, even though it’s been decades since anyone has heard so much as a whisper from the deities who created us.
The gods abandoned us long ago. It won’t be long before the final frontier of the deities is gone for good.
We’re outnumbered a hundred to one. I huff at the thought.
If the mortals and demons want a world without gods, then let them have it.
See who answers when the plague comes again to rot the world like it once did centuries ago.
The stables are dark, and the only sound is that of the horses occasionally stomping their hooves over the cobblestones and hay, huffing as I pass.