Page 3 of Promised to the Demon King (The Demon Brides #1)

The Demon King, Asmodeus, smirked at the messenger, relaying that his new bride had just been born.

He quickly dismissed his official messenger and made his way to his oracle’s chamber. He wanted to catch a glimpse of his new bride.

Desperate souls summoned Asmodeus occasionally, but this particular couple had what he sought out the most. An unused womb. It was finally time.

He understood that he had eighteen more years to wait for her, but knowing that she was finally born made the wait all the more desirable. He could see his future on the near horizon.

“Show me what I desire, witch!”

Asmodeus demanded as he entered the chamber. His oracle, Sacha, did not hesitate. She made quick steps to her scrying mirror.

A fog fluttered inside the mirror before a clear picture appeared.

A baby's cry echoed from the mirror, and Asmodeus could almost feel life take hold in his heart. She was beautiful. He watched as she swung out her tiny fists in her fit, and he found himself smiling. His new bride was a fighter—good; she’d need that spirit.

As he continued to watch, he noted Carol Thompson’s behaviour. The way she behaved was a woman condemned. He would enjoy torturing her for all eternity.

His temper flared when the heartless woman suggested sending his promised bride away. He could feel his inner demon instincts taking hold. He wanted to fillet her over an open fire of brimstone. Allow her screams to fill the entire ring of hell he holds domain over.

Through his flash of wrath, he did notice that Jonathon Thompson had finally stepped up to his evil wife. He rarely showed this woman his backbone, always conceding to her every whim to avoid her tantrums, but the threat to his daughter was the line for him. Jonathon Thompson stood up to protect the baby girl in his arms.

Nova.

It suited her. She would always shine bright like a star in the night sky—his bright light in the darkness of his reality, his Nova.

Asmodeus took in her features. He was pleased and couldn’t wait to see the stunning woman she would grow into. Her ruby lips were stained with the souls sold in her name. It wasn’t a common deal to be struck, but it wasn’t unheard of. It wasn’t easy for a Demon King to create a hybrid bride, but they were easier to control than a true Demoness within Hell.

A clear sign of a hybrid was porcelain white skin, ruby lips and glowing eyes. Her demon father defined the eye colour.

In the last hundred years, there have been two in history. Nova made the count now three.

Being a demon highly associated with lust, he could almost envision how stunning his bride would be all grown up and the thought of her old enough to be his filled him with unspeakable desire. It was why she would be raised away from him. He could not trust his demonic instincts. He had to be smart about this.

She would be mature enough to mate with him at eighteen, which would also be the time when her demon genes would start to open up and develop. Once her demon side was fully matured and revealed, he would fully claim and crown her. There was a risk of him harming her if her inner Demoness wasn’t fully awaken before claiming. That was a risk he would not be taking.

He groaned at the thought and had to adjust himself. It was not appropriate now to hold those thoughts. He may be the Demon King, but he had his own set of rules to follow. Nova must be protected and kept pure until he can retrieve her at eighteen.

His focus shifted back to Jonathon. He heard his claim of divorce, and he smirked. This man had truly stepped out of the shadows and started acting like a man with self-respect. If he continued to put Nova first through his years with her, he just might prove worthy of lenience. If he remained devoted to raising a happy and healthy woman for him, he would spare Jonathon Thompson a thousand years of torment.

Mortals never cared for the fine print of deals regarding greed or lust. They wanted riches, attention and praise. They cared for nothing else.

What this pair failed to realize, much like the others Asmodeus has made deals with in the past, was that they would release consent over their souls. They now belonged to Asmodeus. Living or dead, he could call upon them. They invited him into their lives and offered the most precious thing they possessed: their free will and souls. Nothing in life held more value then that.

This pair was selected for a reason.

With Jonathon being sterile and Carol never having children in the past, she had a pure and healthy womb. It was a requirement to birth a healthy hybrid-demon baby. After the birth of a hybrid demon, the womb would decay, no longer able to bear another child.

That matter not to him, however. Asmodeus needed a hybrid bride.

After the betrayal of his last concubine, Vivex, he had no interest in the Demoness who evolved within Hell. They were too ambitious for control and power. Their intents were never to be trusted. Two demons can rarely be forever. One will usually betray and destroy the other. Asmodeus will not allow Vivex another chance, nor any other Demoness from Hell.

On the flip side of the coin, a human woman would never be able to survive the daily trials of hell, not in his ring or any of the others. It was made so by his father, Lucifer and God. It was designed that way to prevent over-population, and fear of war from either side. Earths mortals were to remain amongst themselves. There was a small loophole, however. Hybrids can be created.

However, finding a pure womb with a sterile partner was rare, and it was incredible luck that lined Asmodeus up for success to create his perfect bride. Nova would have human obedience but also the resilience of a demon.

Once the deal was struck, Asmodeus commissioned a Demon Lord, Lord Thalon, under his rule to inseminate Carol Thompson. To conceive his beautiful hybrid bride.

Her eyes glowed a brilliant green unlike anything seen on earth, a telling sign of divinity—not that humans would know that.

Humans rarely believed in what was blatantly obvious if it defied logic in their eyes. They clung to religious deities only when it was convenient to them. It was incredible to him that demons were looked down upon as they were when humans were often true beasts on Earth.

It was despicable. Humans were dirty and full of sin, yet they judged without remorse for what they did not understand.

They had no idea that their sins had plagued the earth's energy so badly that it was now nearly considered a new ring of Hell. You had to prove your worth and faith to ascend out of the clutches of the demons that unassumingly rule over them. Earth was referred to as unawoken limbo. It meant you were present while living your daily life, but your fate was undetermined.

Carol had sealed the direction she would go; it would be the darkest chamber under his command. Jonathon was still undetermined for Asmodeus. He saw great potential in him. Only time would reveal his fate.

“My King. You wished to see me?”

Thalon, the Demon Lord who fathered Nova, entered the Oracle's chamber.

“Indeed. I thought you would like to meet your new daughter, Lord Thalon.”

the beast curiously approached the large scrying mirror.

Thalon often lived his life in his beastly form, rarely taking on the shape of a man. He would instill fear in any demon ranked below him and many on the same level. Thalon had been Asmodeus’ right-hand Lord since the Crusades when his soul was collected, and he proved worthy by turning the tables and tormenting his tormentor.

“She is too small. She is vulnerable, my King.”

Thalon growled. Asmodeus felt the rise in Thalon’s concern.

This was a curious sight for Asmodeus. Thalon does not concern himself with many things attached to feelings. It was clear seeing his kin had shaken something within him. He wondered if it reminded him of his lost daughter during his human life many centuries ago.

Lord Thalon had no friends, he kept to himself other than when his King, Asmodeus called upon him. The only Demoness to see his softer side was Roz, his concubine and most trusted soul within Hell. They were that rare match of two demons, both suffered a great deal within mortal life as well as their afterlife. Even then, Thalon kept her at arms length.

“Calm yourself, Thalon. I plan to assign a guardian to keep watch. Human babies are born tiny, Thalon.”

Asmodeus placed a hand on Lord Thalon’s shoulder. His course fur bit into his flesh, but it enjoyed the connection. After all, he would marry Thalon’s daughter soon enough.

“Who, if I may ask?”

Lord Thalon asked, his fluorescent green eyes glowing as he took in his tiny daughter's features.

“Roz! She is the only female that we would both trust, and I will never allow a male near her. She is mine. Roz will always guard her. You will be rewarded handsomely for your contribution, Lord Thalon. I will gift you the eastern domain. As for Roz, she shall be sworn in as official Queen’s guard upon her descent to Hell and claiming her crown and throne by my side.”

Lord Thalon turned and looked at his King in disbelief. The Eastern Fires were a large territory within his king's ring and a generous reward for siring a child he was already bewitched by. He wasn’t surprised that Roz would be selected. There was no other Demoness either of them would trust with this important and dangerous task.

“May I meet her someday, my King?”

Lord Thalon turned to look back at his sleeping daughter through the scrying mirror. She was beautiful. Her soft coos in her sleep created a small curve in his lips. He was certain his smile would be seen as terrifying in his beastly form, but he smiled.

Thalon was reminded of his wife and daughter during his time on Earth. He wouldn’t fail this time to keep his kin safe.

“When the time comes, we shall all meet her. Her name is Nova.”

Lord Thalon nodded. The name suits her.

The two demons continued to watch the tiny future Queen coo herself into sleep. Lord Thalon had never sired a hybrid demon before. Human women seemed to be incredibly fertile, unlike demon women. Seeing the product of his one singular night with that sin-ridden female, Lord Thalon could feel a sense of warmth take hold within him.

“Careful Lord Thalon. You are one of the most feared and respected demon Lord in hell. There is no slipping on the strong front. Sensed affection could endanger your rank, but more importantly, it could place a target on Nova.”

Asmodeus whispered low, and Lord Thalon straightened himself up, burying the warm emotions buzzing within. He could feel it, but his king was right. He mustn’t show it.

“My apologies, my King. I will remember myself better next time.”

Asmodeus gave Thalon a pat on the back. “If you visit her, remain unseen. I plan to do the same. Her safety must always be the highest priority, however.”

Lord Thalon’s eyes briefly lit up. He was unofficially permitted to visit as long as it was in the shadows. He could live with that.

“Absolutely, my King.”

Thalon bowed and took his leave. Giving sleeping Nova one final look before he does.

He had a daughter. She had his eyes and his hair. This was new for him, but he was determined to control his emotions and curiosity about her.

She wouldn’t see him, but he’d keep his rosy-cheeked, green-eyed, adorable Demoness daughter safe. No matter what.

As per the King's request, he never thought he would care after he sired a daughter, but his head was now scrambled. It’s been a long while since he felt real human emotion.

His bright star awoke that in him.