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Jade leapt onto the seat of her chair and whistled loudly before proclaiming, “I promise you, this is no trick.”
When the room quieted enough for her to address everyone at a more normal decibel, she said, “I’ve seen the fire wraith. I’ve been injured by him. Badly. More so than any of you know, with the exception of the king and his staff.”
Her gaze slid to Michael, who merely gritted his teeth and averted his gaze. While her heart hurt because of the strain on their friendship, she didn’t waver from her duty. “I understand how difficult this is to reconcile in your minds. I’m struggling as well. As did my father, Liam, years ago when faced with conflicts involving this community and renegades. But the fact remains, we’re in jeopardy from demons outside the king’s alliance that do not heed his command. And if King Davian offers his assistance to us, I cannot, in good faith toward all of you, refuse it.”
Jade allowed the villagers to squawk and fret. The men were outraged and she didn’t blame them. Toran folded his arms over his chest and gave her a cynical look, as though to indicate she’d stuck her foot in her mouth and had worsened matters and heightened their troubles.
She disagreed.
“If you’re done,” she said in an authoritative tone that garnered attention. She hopped down from the chair as the villagers returned to their seats. “I truly believe—and have my own stakes invested—that the king and his general will keep their word and drive back the invading force. Without harming any of us.”
“How, Jade?” This statement, laced with skepticism, came from Donovan Kelly, a tavern regular.
She pulled in a breath, then surged forward. “First, I’ve been appointed by the king himself as an ambassador of peace between the demons and humans.”
Having expected the eruption of dialogue, she waited for it to peak before interrupting. “In addition to being a slayer,” she said, “I’m committing myself to improving relations between us and those under the king’s allegiance. What we don’t have control over, but which I assure you the king eventually will, are the defiant demons that make their random assaults.”
Donovan was bold enough to ask, “How can you trust them, Jade?”
“Because I know King Davian and his second-in-command,” she replied without hesitation. “I’ve seen the lengths in which they’ll go for someone who resides outside their castle walls. They saved my life twice—a human. I know their protection can stretch much farther. Plus, we’ve already been the recipient of their goodwill within our bakery and shops. And,” she contended with conviction, “I will give you my personal guarantee that we are not in jeopardy from the king or his men in any capacity.”
The challenging looks were impossible to miss, but no one else seemed courageous enough to demand supplementary explanation from her. Not while they were in the king’s presence, that was.
She answered for them. “I trust his Majesty’s judgment.” Jade took another deep breath, then jumped off a cliff. “If that’s not assurance enough… You can be confident in that he’d never intentionally let anything endanger this village when it means so much to his—” She swallowed hard and said, “Wife.”
The uproar made her sigh. She let it go on and on. Sliding a glance toward Davian, she found him shaking his head, looking astonished by her audacity. Michael appeared duly stricken.
She’d deal with both men later.
When Lisette finally stepped forward with her arms lifted in incredulity and an expression of utter shock on her face, Jade quieted the group once more.
“I realize this is stunning news,” Jade conceded. “And for the record, we haven’t exchanged vows yet. However—”
“You’re a demon slayer, Jade.” Lisette stated the obvious.
Jade fought the prickly sensation at her nape. “I’m aware of that. And my fiancé is a demon, yes. But he’s no longer the enemy,” she asserted.
/>
Davian approached her. She could see he fumed, though he tried to hide it from everyone but her. In his commanding voice, he said to the villagers, “I understand this comes as a surprise. But the bottom line is that Jade is correct. I will do everything in my power to protect Ryleigh. And other villages. You have my word on that.” His gaze slid to her. “And you and I will talk more in private.”
He stormed off. She focused on the distraught group.
Finally, Toran exerted himself. “Meeting adjourned!” He turned to Jade, as irritated as the king. “You could have warned me.”
“I hadn’t accepted his proposal. Until now.” She shrugged, though guilt rippled through her. “What choice did I have but to make the announcement this morning? I had to prove to these people that Davian would never willingly let anything happen to them when they’re so important to me. The woman—the human—he loves.”
“Jade,” Toran all but growled. “You’re talking about marrying the Demon King, not having a picket fence built around our village.”
“Actually, there will be a fence around our village. Demon, not picket.” She smiled at him, staving off the anxiety over having aggravated her fiancé once again. “I’ll admit the thought freaked me out at first, but face it, Toran. There isn’t a chance in hell Davian will allow that renegade army to penetrate his forces to get to us.”
The other slayer ruminated over this, his ice-blue eyes clouding. Eventually, he grimly admitted, “Agreed.” He took a step closer to her and his voice dropped an octave as he reminded her, “But you just committed yourself to marrying him, Jade. How do you plan to reconcile that with the human population?”
* * *
“She certainly knows how to twist the knife, doesn’t she?” Morgan commented as they mounted their horses outside the meeting hall.
Davian said, “I do vacillate frequently between wanting to kiss her and wanting to shake some sense into her.” It was unfortunate that he found Jade’s cunning intriguing and that he respected her determination and nerve, because those things also infuriated the hell out of him.
