Page 37 of Once Upon a Demon’s Heart
Chapter Twenty-Three
ALIRA
My stomach is in knots as Tessa and Nikolai extend their hands to me. We exit the carriage in front of the enormous chapel. The clouds have already blocked out most of the sunset, but the warm sconces lining the exterior of the beige stone building light it up magnificently.
I take in the sharp points of each spire and the lancet windows beneath them. The doors are made from twin ebony wood. Symbols are scrawled on them, but I’m too jittery to focus on them to decipher what they are.
“Loosen up, you’ll pass out if you lock your knees while standing up there,” Nikolai scolds.
“How long does the wedding last for demons?” I ask, darting a look between the two nervously.
Tessa has a smug grin and shrugs. “It’s usually pretty short, but I doubt it’s anything like what the demigods do for marriage.”
“What do you mean?” I hastily ask as we reach the doors. She only winks at me before music spills out of the chapel and the doors swing open.
I inhale like it will be my last breath. Hundreds of demons turn to face us. They’re all standing with solemn faces, as if this were a funeral and not a wedding.
At least we’re all on the same page. I shrink into myself and stare straight ahead. Waiting beneath the altar, made of a clear crystal stone that bounces orange and purple hues, is Kalel.
My eyes widen at the sight of him. His hair has been tamed, and he wears a gilded wreath atop his head—A tradition many mortals use to celebrate the gods and to show their social standing.
Gold necklaces drop down Kalel’s chest and cross over the white robe that only covers half of his chest. My eyes linger on his exposed muscles, the sinewy bronze of his skin that dances in the flickering lights of the candles above.
His shoulder and forearm leather plates are gilded as well, tying every piece of his attire together perfectly.
He’s the kind of handsome that demands time to slow.
His eyes catch mine. He looks tired and not enthusiastic to see me. Nonetheless, he takes me in, letting his gaze move from my lips to my chest, down to my feet, before forcing his attention toward the altar instead—the muscle in his jaw tenses, and I swallow nervously.
I know we aren’t two souls who are meant to be tethered to one another, but an ache settles in my heart at his reluctance to even look at me. Something from deep within my soul yearns to be with him, even if the gods revolt at our coming together.
“It’s all you from here,” Nikolai murmurs, giving me a little nudge to walk ahead.
I swallow and cast him a worried look. He smiles reassuringly.
I straighten and start walking down the long aisle, startled when a choir begins singing a haunting hymn.
Their voices are chilling, some deep and low, and a few with high-pitched voices that make your heart twist. The arches in the ceiling rise at least three stories high and carry the sound divinely.
The demons whisper as I pass by them. I try my best not to listen, but their words reach me anyway.
“Dirty half-god.”
“Murderer.”
“She should be hanged along with her kingdom.”
My fingers intertwine over my abdomen, and I try to remain as composed as I can. This is what you chose. I remind myself, desperate to hold onto the hope that my life here won’t be as terrible as I fear it will be.
I stop at the altar and hesitantly look up at Kalel. He’s impassive to my presence. His only acknowledgement of me is the slight tick in his jaw as he grits his teeth.
My heart skips a few beats as a very tall, very slender figure approaches us from the head of the building.
This must be the Krinsle that Nikolai told me about before we left the room.
He kept it brief, but the Krinsle is one of the oldest demons in Devicit, with an ancient sort of power that has found its use in the chapels.
The demon is at least eight feet tall, draped in blood red robes that trail on the marble floor behind it.
Its hood is pulled up and I can only make out two white dots for eyes.
Chills run down my spine, and a shudder moves through my entire body.
Nothing Nikolai said to describe this demon could’ve prepared me for the darkness that rolls from its shoulders.
“In all the centuries that I’ve walked in Devicit, I’ve never borne witness to the union of a devourer and one of holy blood.
” The creature’s scratchy voice curls and bends through the room like a curse.
My palms are clammy and it takes everything I have just to remain standing here and not bolt for the door.
The Krinsle extends its long, charcoal-like hand to Kalel. The fingers are practically bones, and the nails are overgrown and sharp.
Kalel takes the Krinsle’s hand, then looks at me. I flinch, not sure what I’m supposed to do, so I just stare into Kalel’s eyes and hope that he’ll signal me.
“Lord Kalel Lornhelm, I will bind you to this half-god if you so wish it.” That awful, haunting voice slithers through the room once more. No matter how long I look at the Krinsle, all I can see are the two dots for eyes. Perhaps it does not have a true face. Somehow, that’s even more disturbing.
“I wish it.” Kalel’s tone is steady and sure. His eyes bore into me, hurt still flickering there.
The Krinsle makes a clicking sound, almost like a clock that’s been spun backward. Then it extends a hand to me. It looks cold and like it will suck the life from me if I touch it.
I force my breaths to be smooth as I reach for its hand. Kalel holds his breath and tightens his fists at his side.
“I won’t let her filthy blood contaminate our beloved Lord Lornhelm’s heirs!
” A woman cries out. Her voice rings from behind me, and an audible gasp moves through the entire chapel as she tears my head back by fisting my hair.
A cold stone is pressed to my neck and in that split second, a pain like fire bolts through my arteries and brings me to my knees.
My vision clouds and all I can hear are the hammering breaths that escape me as I lift my trembling hand to my neck. Ash residue is left on my fingers. Only a devilstone can inflict this damage to the flesh of a demigod.
Another devilstone? Where are they coming from?
It feels as though time has slowed, because as I force my head up to flee from the demon trying to kill me, I’m faced with Kalel. His hand buried inside the woman’s chest.
Horror drowns out all sound in the room. The woman’s face is mortified, but she can’t mumble words as he rips her heart out in one fluid movement. She collapses on the ground beside me, twitching as her blood flees her flesh in a large pool of red.
I lean back on my elbows and inch myself away from Kalel. He takes notice and stares down at me. Her heart in his hand, his amber eyes glowing like fire.
“Would anyone else like to try to stop this union?” he asks in a lethal voice. He doesn’t let his eyes lift from me, assessing the wound on my neck that still throbs. He drags his tongue over the woman’s heart, tasting her blood before crushing it in his hand and dropping it.
The room is silent.
“Then let us continue.” Kalel reaches down and hooks his hand around my waist, hoisting me up and supporting my weight against him.
I grit my teeth and force my thoughts away from the pain.
Let’s just get this over with.
The Krinsle offers me its hand once more. This time, I don’t hesitate to take it. I want to get out of this chapel as quickly as possible.
A magical pulse spreads through my hand at its touch. It’s a soft and gentle magic. Not malicious like one might assume from the Krinsle’s fearsome appearance.
It tilts its head at me. “ Hmm . You are a strange half-god. Alira, Daughter of Venus, I will bind you to this devourer if you so wish it.”
Kalel’s grip tightens over my waist like he’s about to be stabbed in the chest.
I swallow thickly and shut my eyes. Of all fates I’ve lived, this one I hope to keep. My eyes open and land on Kalel.
“I wish it.” My resolve is sure.
There can be no other path for me. And as much as Kalel despises me, I can’t help the emotions that swell in my chest whenever I’m near him. When he touches me, I feel like I’ll melt in his hands.
The Krinsle’s eyes arch as if it is smiling. “So be it. The devourer and the half-god are bound by this kiss.” The Krinsle touches its thumb to Kalel’s lower lip, leaving a black smudge of ash down the center. Then it does the same to me.
Kalel turns to face me. His earthy scent wraps around me and settles into my bones as I stare into his eyes.
I want to tell him how sorry I am that everything has unfolded this way.
Sorry that he has to marry the person he loathes most in this world.
But as he lifts his bloodstained hand to my chin and tilts it up, I find a yearning burning in him. I find that it burns in me too.
Kalel’s lips press against mine.
It’s without a doubt a kiss the gods will wage a war over, but how is it that his kiss breathes life into me like I’ve never known?
As if all the air before this one has been bitter.
His hand moves up my jawline and threads through my hair as he deepens the kiss.
There isn't a hint of hatred. Only whispers of our hearts—truths we have not yet shared.
For a moment, I forget that we’re in front of hundreds of demons. Kalel seems to remember himself and slowly pulls away. His brows knit as he holds his face close to mine for a second longer than he should, studying my features and sucking in his bottom lip as if to savor the taste of me.
I swallow and lick my lips anxiously.
The Krinsle announces, “Kingdom of Devicit. I give you your new duchess, Alira Lornhelm.”