Page 24 of Prince of Demons (Demon’s Mark #2)

Georgia

T he ride back to Prince Kesh’s penthouse was tense.

The knowledge that she would be performing her end of the bargain once they landed had tension knotting in her stomach, not helped by the hard glare the prince had given her before he focused his attention on piloting the helicopter.

Thankfully, the loud thrumming from the machine made conversation impossible, so she didn’t have to begin buttering him up just yet—nor talk with his second in command.

Mallorn hadn’t stopped staring at her since they returned to the helicopter, his expression something between reverence and an uncomfortable dose of raw lust. All in all, Georgia was more than happy to spend the helicopter ride with nothing but machine noises filling the silence.

When the prince put the helicopter down on the roof of his penthouse, darkness had long since fallen, and Georgia’s stomach was twisting with hunger—a feat she hadn’t thought possible only this morning, when the demon lord had force-fed her until she was full to bursting.

The moment Kesh cut the helicopter’s engine, a particularly loud rumble made Georgia press a hand to her stomach.

“You’re hungry,” Mallorn said, with an urgency suggesting this was the greatest crisis ever to arise in his lifetime. He got to his feet and placed a clawed hand on her arm, which made her tense on instinct. “Come, little one. Let me feed you.”

“Mallorn.” The prince’s snarl rumbled through the air, low and threatening.

“When did she last eat?” Mallorn countered, an air of outrage to his voice as if forgetting to feed the human during an honest-to-god battle was entirely unacceptable. “Humans are frail, especially the females. They need nourishment several times a day.”

Kesh’s eyes widened at his subordinate’s challenge, then narrowed.

Mallorn must have been able to see the impending storm coming too, because he quickly softened his tone.

“Look, you have a war to win and a territory to run. It’s understandable that details like feeding the Breeder will slip your mind from time to time.

Let me take over her care. I’m much more accustomed to human companions than you. ”

“No!” The word was out of her mouth before she could process why the thought of being alone with Mallorn seemed infinitely more terrifying than being under the prince’s dubious care.

They were both monsters—it shouldn’t matter which of them was in charge of her, because both scenarios were nightmarish.

Mallorn gave her a wounded look that was almost comical on his demonic features, and a twinge of guilt weaved its way through her gut.

“I—I’m sorry, I?—”

“Enough!” The prince gave her a glare that made her mouth clamp shut before she could finish her stuttered apology.

Seemingly content with her swift obedience, he turned his glare to Mallorn.

“The Breeder is mine to care for. Mine. Get your hand off her, and don’t ever challenge me on this matter again. ”

Mallorn’s face stiffened, and from the tension in the air, Georgia got the distinct impression something significant had just shifted between the two males.

“As you command, my prince,” Mallorn said stiffly, bowing his head as he took a step back, removing his hand from her arm.

“Brief my brother on what transpired in Maine, and make sure our men are taken care of. I will debrief them tomorrow, once I’ve had a chance to talk with Kain myself.

” Shifting his attention to her, Kesh flicked two fingers—a command to come to him.

As if she were a dog. “Let’s go, Breeder.

You need to eat—and then, you have a bargain to fulfill. ”

Georgia stepped toward him, managing not to wince when he put an oversized hand on her shoulder and began steering her toward the stairs leading from the roof of the building to his penthouse below.

As the door closed behind them, she glanced back over her shoulder.

Mallorn still stood by the helicopter, watching them with burning eyes.

His hands were clenched into fists by his sides.

The prince didn’t force-feed her this time. Not that it made the experience of eating under his watchful glare particularly more pleasant.

It wasn’t that he’d displayed a delightful temperament up until now, but he seemed in a worse mood than ever as he stared at her eating the leftovers from that morning.

Nostrils flaring when she swallowed a bite, sharp claws drumming dangerously against the countertop when she took breaks, but he stayed silent. Silent and broody.

“So… why did the European demons attack a fishing village in Maine…?” she finally asked, when she couldn’t take the looming silence any longer.

Kesh’s glare turned even darker, which she hadn't thought was possible, and she instantly wished she’d stayed quiet.

But much to her surprise, after a moment, he said, “Their crown prince attempted to steal my brother’s mate.

He had to make sure she’d be safe, so he killed the European prince and took control of the Americas from them.

They were… displeased. They’ve been poking at our defenses ever since, looking for weaknesses.

It won’t be long before they launch an all-out war.

” He gave her another look through narrowed eyes.

“Which is what I should be focusing on. Not babysitting you.”

Georgia didn’t point out that she’d be happy to get out of his hair if he wanted to release her from their bargain—she’d tried that once before, and right now seemed to very much not be the right time to push that point.

“I… guess I can understand why that would be frustrating,” she said instead.

Kesh raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re not apologizing? That’s a first.”

She blinked. “Um… I’m sorr?—”

He interrupted her with a curl of his lip, showing a hint of fangs. “No. Don’t you fucking dare. Why does it take so little for you to prostrate yourself?”

“I thought you wanted me to…” She trailed off, heat rising in her cheeks as his stare made her think about his question. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “I just don’t like upsetting people.”

“You’re a doormat,” he said, voice cold and dismissive. “You’ve spent your life making yourself as small and inoffensive as possible, and what has that gotten you? Nothing. Less than nothing.”

“You don’t know me or my life,” she protested, a hint of anger worming its way through her innate fear of the demon.

“Oh, but I do,” he huffed, a disgusted look on his harrowing face.

“You were the quiet girl growing up, always doing what was expected of you, but never claiming the spotlight when you excelled at anything, right? Wouldn’t want anyone to think you were too proud, or thought yourself better than them.

And you were praised for it, weren’t you?

Little Georgia, always putting others first. So self-sacrificing. Such a saint. Such a nice girl.

“And here you are, fully grown, and you still haven’t fucking clocked on that while you were busy putting yourself last, everyone else put you last as well.

I don’t have to know your life to know that you’re so used to being taken advantage of, you wouldn’t feel safe unless you were somehow sacrificing for others. ”

“You don’t…” Georgia opened her mouth to rebut his harsh characterization of her with another assertion that he didn’t know her or her life, but her voice died as his words sank deep underneath her skin, burrowing into the most vulnerable parts.

Memories flooded through her mind—going without dinner now and then as a young teen, when Mom was struggling as a single parent and there wasn’t money to put food on the table for everyone.

Mom had to have energy to work, and Larry was a growing boy.

So she’d gone to bed hungry. Sacrificing her GPA to work more hours as an older teen, so she could contribute to the household.

Walking to work for months, because Mom suggested the single mother living next door needed the rundown old beater she’d managed to scrape and save for more than Georgia did herself.

Not taking that art scholarship to an out-of-state college, because that would have left Mom and Larry to fend for themselves.

Memory after memory flickered through her brain. She’d never questioned it—the habit of stepping aside for others who might have more need—and she couldn’t deny the stab in her gut at the prince’s derisive tone as he called her a nice girl.

“Well, excuse me for being a good person,” she finally huffed.

“I’m sure the concept is alien to a demon, but it’s a basic, vital part of humanity.

We can’t all be self-absorbed assholes. I was raised this way.

I’ve done nothing the rest of my family wouldn’t do in a heartbeat, and I almost pity you that you’ll never know what it's like to have people you would do anything for.”

Kesh only snorted at her defensive tone. “Oh, I’m sure your people would definitely sacrifice themselves for you if only they got a chance… But wait! Why were you the one bargaining your body to save your brother’s life? Why didn’t he seek one of us out? Why didn’t his mother? His father?”

Two hot spots bloomed on her cheeks with anger at his persistence. “Because I’m the only one who can see you. They don’t know you exist.”

“No?” The prince raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “So when you were a little girl and cried whenever you saw a monster, what would they do?”

“They’d…” She hesitated, the heat in her cheeks intensifying. “I was a child. What were they supposed to think? That demons were real, but their daughter was the only one who could see them?”

“So they dismissed us as figments of your imagination?”

“Of course they did. Like I’m sure most sane parents would,” she snapped. She wasn’t aware she’d wrapped her arms around herself until she saw the demon’s dark gaze dip to take in the protective gesture.

“And when you grew older and still saw us…? They had you speak to a psychiatrist? Like most sane parents would?”

The way his dark eyes taunted her, she knew he already knew the answer to that. She just glared at him.

“Well?” he pushed. Forcing her to say the words.

“No.” It came out like a soft whisper—not at all as assertive and unbothered as she could have wished.

“Tell me, then. What did your supportive family do? You know, the people who would sacrifice for you, just like you have for them.”

“We didn’t have that kind of money. And Larry was still little and needed a lot of attention.”

“Georgia,” he interrupted her, voice sharpening as he crossed his arms over her chest and speared her with a look that made her lungs tighten. “What happened when you told them you were still seeing monsters?”

“I… had a new P.E. teacher. A demon. He was… mean. Scary. I told my mom I didn’t want to go to class.

She asked why. I told her he was a monster.

” She exhaled softly as the echo of terror from that moment reverberated through her.

“She… didn’t have the capacity to deal with it.

She and Larry’s dad were going through a rough patch, and… ”

“What happened, Georgia?” Kesh repeated, his voice as commanding as before, if perhaps a fraction softer.

Why was this so hard to say? She understood why her mom hadn’t been able to deal with it.

And it was so long ago. So why did admitting out loud what had happened when she went to her mother for help still hurt?

“She… told me I was too old to believe in boogeymen. And that she didn’t have the energy to deal with my drama.

That if I didn’t like P.E. to eat less candy and start jogging. And to never bother her with it again.”

“And let me guess—you never did?” he asked. He spoke more softly than before, but something in those dark eyes made the hair at the back of her neck stand on end.

Wordlessly, she shook her head, eyes lowering from the intensity of his stare. Her skin prickled, something numb and unpleasant stirring in her gut at the opening of old wounds. Mom had done the best she could with what she had. Georgia knew that.

But it still hurt to remember.

“How old were you?”

“Eight,” she said softly.

Silence fell between them. Though she didn’t look up, she could still feel his eyes on her. Feel the judgment in them.

“She really trained you well, didn’t she?

” he said quietly. Disgust laced every word.

“Taught you that your pain and fear mean nothing if they get in the way of her convenience. Or, let me guess, in the way of her Golden Child? I think you know, deep down, that even if she’d believed in our existence, she wouldn’t have sacrificed herself for your brother’s life.

She’d have expected you to do it. Just like you’ve been trained to do. ”

“That’s not true!” Georgia glared up at him, anger and hurt giving her the strength to meet his disturbing eyes again.

“She gave up everything for me and Larry. She wasn’t perfect, but at least she stuck around.

That’s a hell of a lot better than what my dad did.

And why do you even care? What is my upbringing to you?

Didn’t you say you had a war to focus on, rather than the massive inconvenience that is me? ”

The prince huffed what could have been a mirthless laugh, one corner of his sinful lips curving up a fraction of an inch.

“You’re right. I don’t care. Keep being a doormat, Breeder.

It’ll only make you easier to control for whichever demon claims you in the end.

” He got to his feet and flicked two fingers at her—his command to follow.

“Where are we going?” God, how she wished her voice didn’t wobble.

Kesh glanced at her before he began walking out of the kitchen. Toward the bedroom.

“You sold yourself for a stranger, Breeder. You know where we’re going.”

She did. Nails digging into her palms, she followed him. Whatever humiliations he had in store for her, she’d chosen this willingly. For Suzanne.

At least there was some comfort in that.