Page 35 of Prince of Demons (Demon’s Mark #2)
Kirigan
“ A nd these European lords… you’re certain they were too young to wield the power you experienced?”
Lord Aran huffed an unamused snort. “Yes, Kirigan. I’m certain.
It was Eidelsward, out of Switzerland, and Rihncurr from…
one of the Nordic countries. I forget which.
Both less than a century old. From powerful families, to be sure, but it should have taken me less than a day to beat them back to the Old World.
Instead, I was on my knees, minutes from obliteration, when your son came to save my ass.
However humiliating it was to need rescue from your kid, who’s barely out of fucking diapers, I am grateful.
Your bloodline proves strong. I suspect our old monarchs would have been uncomfortable with your family, even if your son hadn’t taken control of the Americas. ”
Kirigan bent his head in acknowledgement of the compliment, then turned his gaze to the bay below. Lord Aran’s home was an imposing estate atop a high cliff overlooking the Atlantic—chosen for its strategic location more than its beauty. “My sons are a source of much pride.”
“Deservedly.” He chuckled dryly. “My only complaint is the mate your eldest picked. Our new queen is a boon to our cause, no doubt, but that… light of hers… It’s caused quite some furor in many of our homes.
My own Yiyun has become… discontent. Questions our way of life and has even taken to refusing me access to her body now and then.
All because she sees our queen wield power, she’s somehow gotten it in her head she should have access to agency as well.
I hear from my mated men that this phenomenon isn’t entirely uncommon. ”
“And when she refuses you, you don’t force her?” Kirigan gave the other lord a curious look.
Aran grimaced. “No. I can’t stand it when she gets angry with me. I tried giving her a firm hand early on. She… didn’t take too kindly to it.” He sighed, rubbing two fingers over his brow. “I know I should put her in her place, that it’s the best thing for her, but…”
“Do you love her?”
Aran blinked. “What kind of question is that?” he rumbled, his tone turning defensive.
Kirigan exhaled softly and turned his attention back to the crashing waves below.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter. Love or not, if you break her spirit, you’ll suffer tenfold the damage you inflict on her.
Mate bonds are… tricky… that way. If I were you, Aran, I would find a way to bring her the light she covets.
A powerful woman brings far more pleasure than a broken one. "
“The lords you fought. When exactly did you feel their assault lessen?”
“Moments before Prince Kesh reached me. No doubt they were distracted by his arrival.” If Aran was unbalanced by the change in topic, he didn’t show it. Likely, he was only too relieved to change the conversation from his discontented mate.
“And did you notice anything… odd at that time?”
Aran chuffed a mirthless laugh. “Odd? Outside my life force ebbing away? No, Kirigan. I was somewhat preoccupied with not dying, while also attempting to limit human casualties. As much as that was possible. We had just enough warning before the battle to glamour most of the village where the enemy landed, but some slipped through the cracks, and there was damage to several buildings. It was a pain in the ass to build the coverup after, with most of our magic reserves entirely depleted.”
Kirigan frowned. “Some slipped through the cracks?”
“Some of my men reported seeing a human woman and child in the middle of the battlefield towards the end.”
“Were they killed?”
Aran chuffed another breath. “Apparently not. Reportedly the prince’s Second broke off mid-fight to pull them away.”
“Odd.”
“I suppose. In the grand scheme of things, a man pumped up on testosterone seeing a pretty face and getting distracted doesn’t really register against the current scale of the clusterfuck we’ve got going on with the Europeans.”
The darkness clawed at the back of Kirigan’s skull.
Something about that explanation was… off.
He didn’t share his misgivings with the other lord.
“Thank you for your recount of the events, Lord Aran. Your staunch defense of our borders has proven invaluable in this instance, and will undoubtedly do so again before the war is over. The king will not forget your loyalty. And neither will I.”
A pleased look crossed Aran’s features. However much of a toll the attack had taken on his resources, he was an old demon known for his acumen on the battlefield as well as in politics.
Having shown his loyalty to the new king in a significant way, early on in Kain’s reign, would be a boon to him and his heirs for centuries to come.
“The European crown prince defiled our most sacred law by attempting to claim another lord’s mate.
So far as I’m concerned, their entire continent can burn.
Anything else I can do to support the king, don’t hesitate to let me know. ”
The large field next to the sleepy fishing village still bore marks from the battle.
Scorch marks carved grooves deep into the earth, and most of the grass had been singed by magic and trampled by boots.
Several buildings from the village itself had been leveled to the ground, though the humans had removed most of the rubble by now.
A freak power grid explosion was the explanation that had been magically enforced on the population.
Humans were easily manipulated.
Kirigan glanced at the video feed on his phone.
His daughter-in-law was curled up on the sofa, once again nursing his grandson.
Smiling. A couple of taps, and the feed showed Kain in the conference room with three of his top commanders.
It had been harder to get around his son’s vigilance than it had Selma’s, but neither of them had noticed the hidden video cameras covering every inch of the estate.
Despite their being installed for Selma’s safety, Kirigan had no doubt both would have objections, should they ever discover how closely he watched her. So he made sure they didn’t.
Temporarily comforted by the knowledge that she was safe and not showing signs of despondence, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and concentrated on the task at hand: finding out what had happened here—something that had been covert not only to the human population, but the demon combatants as well.
He started on the hill where Aran had fought the two European lords.
Pressing his palm to the ground, he let his magic penetrate deep and wide, searching for the echo of the battle.
Images rushed through his mind immediately; the combined power of three demon lords throbbed through his own magic, but even that was overwhelmed by the blinding light rushing through his skull.
“Shit.” Kirigan pulled his hand from the ground, severing the connection to the echo as he blinked to regain his magical vision.
There had been a Stone of Power employed in this battle, alright.
That Aran had survived long enough for Kesh to save him had been a miracle.
Or, more likely, suggested the wielders had been unfamiliar with the relic, and unable to use it to its full potential.
Kirigan probed the ground with his magic again, more cautiously this time. The echo flowed through him once more, the Stone of Power still overpowering everything else. Until suddenly—it didn’t. From one moment to the next, it was simply… gone.
He frowned and pulled back the the echo. Released it again, and again, until finally— there. A touch of something other, right as the Stone of Power vanished from the echo. It was only there for a half-second, but it was enough. He honed in, forced his magic to focus to a pinpoint, until?—
A shudder of revulsion crawled up his spine when the echo grasped onto the fragment long enough to reveal its origin.
Divine.
A god’s power.
A god had been here. A god had plucked the Stone of Power from its wielders, in the middle of battle, and no one had so much as noticed.
Sick dread settled in his gut as he pulled his focus back to the present.
They’d all known it would be only been a matter of time before the gods took advantage of the internal war raging within demon ranks. It was an inevitability they’d expected. Planned for.
But this?
Somewhere out there, a god now had possession of one of the three most powerful demonic relics on Earth.
There was no preparing for the consequences of a god wielding a Stone of Power against them, no way to predict the outcome. The only certainty was that the biggest threat to his family’s life was now the holder of this stone.