Page 63 of Fated to the Demon Lord

We left the forest behind and walked back to the log house in silence, the tension between us ebbing slightly.

Bargoth paced back and forth in front of the door. Vaelor stood next to the dwelling, arms folded. As soon as Bargoth saw Mother, he came up and said, “I need to speak with you.” They walked off in the direction I had barely come from.

I approached Vaelor. “Looks as if everyone gets to talk tonight.”

Vaelor glanced over to where my mother and Bargoth had left, and his jaw clenched. “Are things all right between you and your mother?”

I sighed. “No, but I didn’t expect one conversation to solve everything.”

He grunted, then shifted uneasily, glancing at me and then the ground. “Denara, I⁠—”

“Is it time to tell me whatever you were going to say to me?” My body felt as if I had been dragged through an emotional wasteland, and I wanted to lie down and take a long nap. But Vaelor had been wanting to reveal something to me, and the conversation might distract me from my heavier thoughts.

“Is now a suitable moment to inform you?” There was a slight edge to his voice as he glanced at the finger about my neck.

I looked down at it, the blood draining from my face. Shit. I forgot that what I said to Vaelor could be binding on him. All I’d said was ‘not now’, but that meant he’d need permission to bring it up again.

“You can tell me,” I said gently.

He opened his mouth, but just then my mother returned, marching straight up to Vaelor, a sternness mixed with urgency on her face. “Is it true?” she demanded. “Do you know where my son is?”

I blinked. What did she say?

Vaelor’s head dipped forward in acknowledgement. “Yes.”

A spark of light—of hopeful desperation—ignited in the darkness of my soul. I gazed at Vaelor in disbelief. “You know where Gerand is?”

“You mentioned that they sold your brother in Sheraniv. There is one local slave trader who runs that market. The night I went scouting, I stopped by one of his slave camps and used my connections to find out where your brother had been sold. He was bartered to a Misophae warlord, a dragon shifter by the name of Mirvarax. His lands are about half a day’s flight or a full day’s ride from here.”

I slid my hands into my hair, the spark of hope growing stronger—and something else—tears stung my eyes. “This is what you wanted to tell me?”

“I tried to tell you when your mother first appeared, but you were too distracted,” Vaelor said.

I grimaced, remembering how I’d brushed him aside and then how I’d been the one to keep him from telling me because of the talisman.

Gods, after so many months of fretting, worrying, plotting, and desperately trying not to give up hope, I finally knew where my brother was. A small thrill moved through me. I turned to Vaelor, wanting to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him.

Shit. Where did that come from? I pushed down my urges and asked him, “Why did you do that? Why do you care?”

He shrugged. “When you spend enough time inside someone’s head, I suppose it’s impossible not to begin caring about the things they care about.”

I held his gaze, my chest tightening at the meaning behind his words. Reaching for his hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping it conveyed everything I couldn’t say aloud. A soft smile touched his lips as his fingers curled around mine in return.

Mother looked between me and Vaelor, an odd expression forming on her face. “Thank you, Lord Vaelor, for finding my son.”

I turned to my mother, determination burning within me. “We are going to free him.”

Mother’s jaw clenched, and she nodded. “Yes, we are.”

Seventeen

Before we left early the next day, Mother pulled me into the cabin alone. A black substance boiled in a large cauldron-like pot over the flames of the fire. The light imbued an eerie glow on my mother’s face as she spoke. “A hedge witch’s power is strong. Witches often pass down spells to each other, but a certain powerful kind of hedge witch can create spells, not just cast them.”

“Like you created the protection spell on this town,” I said. I rubbed my hands over the dress she’d let me borrow. It felt odd being back in a dress after several days in pants.

Mother nodded. “Once I formed the spell, I taught it to other hedge witches who made their way to me. They have gone on to found other towns in Misophae. Other sanctuaries where freed humans and demons who are tired of violence and death can reside.”

“You’re very powerful.”