Page 4 of Once Upon a Demon’s Heart

Chapter Two

ALIRA

“King Borlin, it’s an honor. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today on such short notice.” I hold my right hand over my heart as I bow to the king. The cold metal burns against my palm.

The king looks ten years older than he should. His dark hair has streaks of gray and the bags beneath his eyes are heavy. A direct result from the demise he’s caused his kingdom and the overwhelming stress that must come with it, one would think.

It was his malicious plan to trick the demons into that treaty, followed by the worst slaughter Faultore has ever known, and it brought upon a wrath greater than any of us could fathom.

Thornhall was his attempt at getting the demons to lower their defenses around Devicit, the Kingdom of Chaos.

It’s all but a memory now to the remaining demigods who’ve once visited.

Not a soul outside of Devicit knows where the kingdom is located or where it could’ve gone.

It has all but disappeared. An entire kingdom.

It's unknown how they managed to veil it. Only arcane power can be behind it—a lot of it.

No one craves that knowledge more than King Borlin, but his sad attempt to get them to let their guard down and expose the location of their kingdom has proven disastrous.

Perhaps the gods truly have forsaken us… and for good reason.

My hope falters at the thought. But if the gods have turned their heads away from us completely, then why am I stuck in a loop? There must be a reason for it. One god must be observing and tugging on the strings of fate to prevent this blood-ridden path we’ve found ourselves on.

“What is it, Alira?” he asks sullenly as he looks over the papers on his large oak desk.

King Borlin hasn’t bothered to glance up at me once, he’s fretting over the army formations reported from the western front. The demons’ numbers continue to swell as they merge their forces and armies from every one of their fellow kingdoms across the country.

I’ve relived it twenty times. No matter how many times he reviews the map, we don’t stand a chance against them.

“The demons only ask for a demigod bride for peace to be brought between our kingdoms. I know it has been insinuated that the bride must be of royal blood, but I would like to offer myself as the bride to be sent to them,” I say confidently, even though my stomach is curling into itself and sweat begins to collect along my spine.

That gets his attention.

The king snaps his head up and stares at me for a few terrible moments before blinking and composing himself. “Why would they take a knight in place of a princess?” His tone isn’t completely shutting my offer down, so I take courage in that alone.

“Because I believe they want this war to end as much as we do.”

King Borlin’s eyes narrow, the dark brown of them nearing black in his dim-lit study.

Walnut brown bookshelves align the back wall, filled with old books and rolled up scrolls.

“I need something to entice them. They won’t take a knight…

not after what I did.” He reaches for his crystal glass and downs what remains of his bourbon.

At least he has shame for it, though it’s a bit late.

I swallow, hoping that it wouldn’t come to me sharing the deity gift that runs through my veins. I’ve kept it secret for several years now. It seems it was all for naught.

“My king, there is one more thing—” I pause and take a deep breath “—I believe I am a daughter to the Goddess of Fertility, Venus.” I say the words so quietly that I worry he didn’t hear me, but when my gaze meets his, there’s no doubt that he did.

The king’s jaw is parted, and shock moves through his eyes.

“Are you certain?” he asks, disbelief cumbersome in his tone.

I slowly nod. “I’ve been having heat-cycles for over a decade now.”

The sign of a daughter to Venus.

The first time the heat came, I had no idea what was even happening.

My stomach cramped horribly. I felt sick and feverish the entire week.

I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even train with the other apprentices.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening.

The curse of Venus had come, and I knew I couldn’t tell a soul about it.

Venus rarely had offspring, at least not for a few centuries now. The demigods have never had successful reproduction rates, but for the last fifty years it has been declining rapidly. It’s why we’re outnumbered ten-to-one to the demons. They have no complications reproducing.

An heir of Venus is considered of the rarest demigod blood, above royalty even, for the sole fact that she could conceive offspring easily. As I can too. Which is precisely why I haven’t spoken of this to anyone, not even to Korin.

The king’s face pales. He looks down at the maps and strategy reports strewn over his desk. The black candles he’d lit are already down to the base and bleed wax over the old oakwood.

“You know what you’re offering them, don’t you?

They are demons after all. It’s not a stretch to think that they plan on breeding you,” he says with a wealth of sorrow.

If only he was this kind, defeated king when the first treaty was signed.

Perhaps it never would’ve come to this. I force the thoughts away.

Anxiety curls in my stomach, making me feel sick.

“Yes, I’m fully aware, King Borlin. If it’s for my kingdom—for peace—I will happily go.” I choke down the knot in my throat and hold my chin high. “It would be my honor.”

He’s quiet for many seconds. So long that I begin to fear he will refuse my offer, but he surprises me with a weary smile and relief settling into his features.

“Thank the gods for you, Alira. I will send the offer by dove in the morning.”

The dove was sent, as promised, at the break of dawn.

Then we waited.

And waited.

I worried that one of the demon’s messenger hawks captured the dove and killed it. I dwelled on the possibility that the message would never get through to their king. I worried that the dove would arrive safely, and the demons would refuse the peace offering.

Most of all, I fretted that they would happily accept the deal and be on their way to our kingdom by nightfall to collect me.

But three days passed, and we heard nothing.

I’ve spent those days wisely, studying the demons and their land as much as I can.

There isn’t much in our libraries about them, besides how awful and cruel they are.

Some books even go as far as to say they will eat any creature that is not their own.

I know that the information in here can’t all be taken accurately because I met Kalel.

He was kind and calm. Not at all what I was taught they are.

He was like any demigod, had it not been for his fangs, I doubt I would’ve even known what he truly was.

As a knight, we only see the demons on the battlefields. We’ve never bothered trying to speak with them out there. Of course, hindsight is bittersweet. My hands clench as I think of what happened in Thornhall.

I should have done something.

I shake the somber thoughts from my head and continue reading.

One source of material I find that is relatively helpful explains the different types of demons there are and the abilities they hold.

They are much like the demigods when it comes to strength and abilities.

It’s a result of the lineage from their parents that determine the gifts they possess.

Some can shroud themselves in darkness. Others can tear men apart with their hands alone.

While the more dangerous ones survive on the holy blood of deities.

Devourers . The demigods hardly quench the thirst of theirs, but they require our blood to survive.

There were always very few of them, but they were known to all.

Any commander of the Devicitian army has always been a Devourer.

Kalel might be a devourer. I suppose other demons could have fangs, though. He was eating normal food when we met in the woods, but there’s nothing in our books that say a devourer can’t consume other things as we do.

The Blood Knight is one. That, I’m certain of. On the account of many demigods that have narrowly evaded him, they shared that it was only because the Blood Knight was trying to bite them that they were able to escape his blade.

I firm my lips into a flat line when I think of that knight. He’s recognized to be one of the last devourers. His ability is unknown. Some say that his curse is to paralyze his prey with his gaze alone. Others say he is a thousand years old and immortal by the blood of the gods he steals from us.

I know rumors can’t be fully trusted, but it’s frightening to even imagine it.

Is it too ambitious to hope that I never cross paths with him again?

I slam the book shut.

It wasn’t until the fourth day after the dove took the letter that we finally received one back.

On the day the demons are set to raid our kingdom.

A black hawk, as large as a cat, perches itself on King Borlin’s windowpane—left open wide, allowing the fresh winter air to freeze my nerves as the awful news is read to me.

“They accept our offer.”

The king’s words bring me relief and horror all the same. A cold pit sinks into my stomach and puts a chill into my bones.

That was all it took? This entire time? It seems too easy after all the bloodshed I’ve endured.

I let my eyes find the mirror at King Borlin’s back and look at myself. My silver hair is tied back into a tight, high ponytail that reaches my mid-back, and my purple eyes are filled with misery.

My life is over. Sworn to the demons and the man they’ll choose as my husband, well, assuming that I can make it past the day I’ve died on for almost half a year. But if it means that the war will end then… it’s worth it.

It has to be.

I nod rigidly. “Will the Demon King send a high lord to collect me?” I ask and try to keep my expression as neutral as possible.

King Borlin’s brows pinch together. “Yes, you will be marrying his favored royal knight, Duke Lornhelm.”

Why does he make it sound like this guy is the worst of the dukes?

“A royal knight?” I echo and let my gaze drift toward the open window.

The hawk stares at me intently, like it’s been sent to study me to ensure this isn’t another trick.

I don’t blame them for being careful. I’d do the same.

I didn’t expect the duke to also be a favored knight, the likelihood of us getting along just plummeted.

“Yes, and he will be here this evening with his army to collect you.”

Oh gods. My heart dashes a beat and I take one staggered step back. That’s not enough time to say my goodbyes. It’s already almost sundown.

The king stands and walks steadily across the tiles until he is before me. Then he lowers to his knee. What is he doing? I quickly look at the knights standing guard around the room and they look just as perplexed as I feel.

“My king, please stand ,” I say gently as I offer him my hand to help him up.

He takes my hand but remains on his knee. “Alira, you’ve saved Alzhor and the remaining demigods with your sacrifice. You will be hailed as a hero for the rest of time,” he proclaims.

He makes it sound like I’m going to die and never be seen again. It makes my stomach curl. Is the duke really that awful? I worry my lower lip and try my best to keep the fears at bay.

“Tonight, we will send you off with the song of the gods.” He finally stands, and I can breathe again. “Go collect what little you have in the barracks. Say your farewells. I will prepare a witness to travel with you to Devicit in order to verify the wedding takes place.”

“Yes, my king.” I dip my head to him respectfully. The song of the gods has not been sung for years. The last time I heard it was as a child. Please let them hear our plea for peace, I pray.

The walk down to the barracks is hazy. My mind overflooded with the reality that this is happening. Well, considering that I actually live through this night. If I wake up tomorrow, then fate truly has been altered, and I’ll finally be able to live again.

As a demon’s wife.