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I brought my arms against my chest. It wasn’t the desire to cover myself up now that one of the demon lords was in our presence, but more of the fact that I didn’t have the slightest clue what to do. Asher was in pain and I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it — especially when I had no clue what was happening. “I-I don’t understand. Did I hurt him?”
The demon lord shook his head, fighting to keep Asher’s hand away from his chest to ensure he couldn’t slice into his own skin. “You did absolutely nothing to prompt this. It is the mark of rule being transferred to him.”
“What does that mean?”
His crimson eyes flickered toward me. “It means the king is dead and Asher will ascend the throne.”
My jaw dropped. “W-What?” I was reeling from the bold admission. Just from what Asher had told me about his father and the paranoia that had literally controlled most of his recent centuries, I knew it was only a matter of time before my prince would become king. That didn’t mean that I had gotten the impression that it would be within hours of him paying Asher a surprise visit.
The king had been right to be paranoid. As soon as he’d left the safety of both Italy and Europe, his enemies had pounced. All it had taken was one chance for them to deal a lethal blow that would now change everything.
Asher grunted softly as the pain continued to rip through him with so much strength that a layer of sweat now painted his entire body. Even if he wanted to contribute to the conversation, it was clear that he just couldn’t form the words.
Nibbling on my lower lip, I shifted my gaze toward his cock. Despite all the pain that was haunting him, it was still as hard as ever. It felt awkward just to consider giving him pleasure in front of one of the demon lords, but I was desperate to help. Perhaps the pleasure could override the agony he was enduring. I rose up with every intention of straddling him when Nico caught me by the arm.
The demon lord shook his head. “You only have a small piece of humanity left within you, Quinn Rossi. While I would be content to let Asher consume that final bit, the mark has been transferred to him. You will now have to walk through the old ways with him to prove your loyalty to his family. Which means he cannot take you again until it is time for that task.”
I sucked in a ragged breath. Every part of my being yearned to jerk free and simply take his cock anyway if it would help ease that pain. It was the look in Nico’s crimson eyes that kept me from going against their ways right off the bat. Breaking the rules now would only ensure the rest of the demon kind rejected me. What place would I have in Asher’s life then? My head hung. “I just…He’s in pain. I-I need to do something.”
“The pain will pass.” Nico’s voice was soft. Gentle. He released my arm to keep Asher pinned down. “You remaining by his side through this is all a demon could ask for. By that alone, you have already begun to prove your loyalty.”
The words were exactly what I wanted to hear, but they didn’t provide the comfort I desperately needed. Neither of us could bring ourselves to break the silence while Asher continued to jerk between us. It wasn’t until his movements slowed and the noises faded that the demon lord finally released him. Panic seized me as the prince’s golden eyes fluttered shut. I sucked in a sharp breath. “What-?”
Nico raised a hand to silence me. “The transfer is complete. Receiving the mark takes a lot of strength from the new host, which is why it puts so much pain and strain on the body. Asher will sleep for quite some time until he regains some of it back.”
I reluctantly eased back down and rested my upper body on his stomach. “I want to stay with him until he wakes up,” I murmured softly.
“That’s an honorable choice.” The demon lord eased off the bed and smoothed his suit with a sigh. “I will have one of my maids prepare a meal for you. You will need to keep up your own strength while you remain by his side. Rest while you can, Quinn Rossi. Things are going to change.”
That was exactly what I was afraid of. I knew this would be coming, yet I didn’t anticipate it would be so soon. I nibbled on my lower lip and tugged the loose end of the comforter down toward us. With the rough material now covering us, I burrowed against the unconscious demon while Nico left us alone. There wasn’t a part of me that expected to consume anything edible, not after what I had been forced to watch Asher endure. That didn’t mean that I could ignore Nico’s valuable advice.
He was right. I had to maintain my strength while Asher regained his. I refused to be a weak queen when he deserved so much better than that.
Tucking my head against his damp side, I allowed my mind to stray until the abyss reached out for me with open arms. The comforting icy chill was absent today, but I didn’t resist it. As long as Asher was out cold, it could have me.
I wasn’t sure how much time I had passed until a gentle nudge to my shoulder snapped me wide awake. I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes flying open with the anticipation that I would find Asher peering back at me with an exhausted smile. When I found him still out cold, my stomach churned into a painful knot. All it took was a quick peek behind me for me to realize that one of Nico’s lower demons had arrived with a tray full of food. I immediately pulled the comforter up to cover myself.
The middle-aged woman appeared only mildly amused by my reaction. “I did bring you a change of clothes, as per Lord Nico’s request.” She gestured at the stack folded neatly behind me. “Depending on how much the prince requires to recover, we will have to send for more in your size. His concern was the immediate moment.”
I flushed from the realization that the demon lord had probably sent someone upstairs to grab my scorched outfit just so they could have the correct size. “Thank you,” I managed. My throat was so dry from all the chaos. Even the embarrassment haunted me to the point where I was lucky to get that much out before it gave out.
“I will bring you the tray once you’ve gotten dressed.” She raised an eyebrow before she retreated from the room, leaving me with absolutely no choice but to heed her unspoken command.
As much as I didn’t want to pull away from Asher until he woke, I essentially had no choice. The maid was expecting me to get dressed just so I could have my meal delivered and there was no telling when Nico himself would return to check on his friend. I managed to convince myself to leave the warmth of my partial burrow just so I could pull the clothes on.
Fortunately, someone had decided to give me a pair of warm leggings with a loose-fitting t-shirt. It wasn’t ideal, especially when I didn’t like the sensation of cotton hanging so loosely on me, but it was comforting. By the time the maid returned with a tray in her hands, I was sitting on the bed with Asher mostly covered with the blanket.
I watched her carefully as she set the tray beside me. “So you work for…” The words caught in my throat when I realized I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to refer to Nico. For Asher, he was a demon lord as well as a friend, but that didn’t mean the same thing for me. Nibbling on my lower lip, I could only stare at her helplessly.
The woman didn’t seem to notice my words trailing into silence. That or she had no intention of acknowledging it. “Yes, I work for Lord Nico. I help keep this manor tidy, especially the pits down below. He likes to get quite messy unless Prince Asher specifies otherwise.” She pulled the silver lid off my plate, exposing a steak underneath with some mashed potatoes and green beans.
My mouth started to water as soon as the delicious aroma washed against me. “For a second, I thought you were going to bring me something more Italian.”
The edges of her lips twitched. “It sounds like you’ve already had the honor of Prince Asher cooking for you. Not often he does that, dear.” She clasped her hands in front of me and trained those blue eyes on me. “I would like to see that plate cleared by the time I return so that I could run you a bath. You still have a layer of soot on your skin from the house fire.”
I could feel my cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. “How did you…?”
Her smirk grew. “It’s not a secret where Prince Asher took you prior to your arrival at Lord Nico’s manor, Miss Rossi. Just like I know that carcass that was downstairs happened to be one of those neighbors that played into the abuse you experienced growing up.” She wrinkled her nose. “Mortal got off easy, if you don’t mind my boldness.”
