Page 3 of To Sway a Demon Heart

They didn’t realize that soft didn’t mean safe.

“Oneiros would be the best choice,” a third noble, Lord Tenebris’ son, chimed in. I could never remember the blasted male’s name. He was handsome in the way of all demon males, with dark skin and curling brown horns that contrasted sharply with very white teeth. He also seemed to be somewhat the opposite of his father, much more soft-spoken and even-tempered.

I smiled at him apologetically. “That is not possible, I’m afraid,” I said, holding out my hands placatingly. “The King and Queen are still rebuilding parts of the city. They won’t wish to risk any more destruction.”

“The tournament can be held in Blood,” Tyr said, giving me a quick glance. I nodded imperceptibly. Pushing the tournament to the Court of Blood meant that rebuilding could continue in the damaged portions of Oneiros and Sun, and it would keep the conniving lords away from the sacred grottos in the Court of Beast. Blood was remote enough in the mountains to the north that any damage would be contained, and the demons of that court were bloodthirsty enough to keep the nobles from Shadow in check.

“That is irregular,” chimed in a female noble, the only member of the council I actually liked. Lady Shyama was similar in coloring to Lord Tenebris’ son, but her disposition seemed firmer, and her intelligence was obvious. While not exactly kind in demeanor, she was polite and efficient, and there were no scandalous stories or worrying rumors about her like so many of the other nobles. She was relatively young, a little older perhaps than Tyr, and if it were up to me, we would have already given her the title.

The males were the problem.

“Irregular, but not against any of your rules,” Tyr pointed out, grinning proudly as if he had been the one to comb through ancient records for hours the day before to double-check every single rule and regulation. “What say you?”

“Fine,” said Lord Tenebris, standing from his seat at the table in clear annoyance. “How do you propose we transport the contestants?”

“The Queen has already sent enchanted mirrors to all the courts, including this one,” I pointed out, frowning at the lord. “We can travel directly into Blood via witch magic.”

Tenebris sneered, clearly disgusted by this idea, but Tyr rose and cut in to prevent disagreement. “The King and Queen will be here on Samhain for the feast. You have until then to figure out how to convince them to go along with this scheme.”

He offered me an arm expectantly, and I stiffened. I still felt the stab of rejection whenever we touched.

I took his arm, pasting a bland smile on my face as I nodded to the assembled lords and let Tyr lead me from the chamber.

“That went well,” Tyr murmured once we were out of earshot of the door. He was still holding my arm, and though I knew I should, I didn’t have it in me to pull away. “Comparatively.”

“Compared to an all-out revolution, yes,” I agreed. “What exactly will this tournament look like? You’re not planning on replicating the traditional contests, are you?”

I had been the one to research how Shadow held this competition, and it was utterly barbaric. Usually, there were feats of strength or skill or intelligence that ended with an all-out massacre, in which the last champion standing was named Daemon Lord.

“First of all, I thinkwehave to,” he corrected, glancing down at me. His gaze lept to where he was still holding my arm, and he dropped it immediately, turning to face me fully. “As long as Carnon agrees—which I have no doubt that hewill,despite Elara’s protests—the lords will demand we start immediately and follow tradition. Secondly, we tried to do this peacefully, and they refused. Why should you care if they want to murder each other to choose a lord?”

“Why wouldn’t I care?” I replied incredulously. “We are trying to change the Darklands, to be more enlightened. More accepting and tolerant. If we continue the same gory old traditions, nothing will change.”

“Believe me, I’m well aware,” Tyr said stiffly, his mouth a tight line. I swallowed, remembering Tyr’s truths that had been forced out of him that night in Oneiros. How he had killed his own father to spare Carnon, and played games of lies and deceit in his court to protect the weak. “Just because youwantthings to be different doesn’t mean that they are.”

“Tyr, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine,” he cut in, interrupting my apology. Without realizing, I had put my hand on his chest, and he looked down at it now with such agonizing longing that, for a second, I thought he might take it.

Instead, he stepped away, forcing me to drop it. The Pull rebelled at the move, urging me to close the distance, but I stood my ground.

“Not everyone is inherently good like you are, Brigid,” Tyr said, his face still agonized and mouth a thin line of pain. “Some of us are wicked to our very bones, and have to fight that evil inside us every fucking day.”

“You’re not—”

“I am,” he interrupted again. “And the sooner you realize that, the better.”

Tyr strode away down the dark hallway without me, fisting his hands in his pockets as if to fight temptation like I was. The Pull begged me to go to him, to tell him he was good and kind, to comfort him.

Instead, I turned and walked back to my room, silent tears running down my cheeks the whole way.

Chapter 3

Aspredicted,Elarawasnot pleased with the plan. We had contacted her and Carnon via mirror the evening after the council meeting to explain the situation, hoping we could be on the same page before the council bombarded them.

To my annoyance, Carnon agreed with Tyr that change would take time and that this could be the end of the violent history of Shadow. In the end, the council got their way, as males always annoyingly seemed to when they stuck together.

Elara insisted on several conditions, though. Only volunteers older than twenty-five, the year a demon reached maturity, would be allowed to enter. All would need to be made aware of the risks and cautioned before entering. And only a small number of guests would be permitted to watch the trials, the council included. She hoped that containing the cruelty to a small number would help contain it. Tyr agreed to take the conditions to the council, and he took care of all the particulars.