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The challenging looks were impossible to miss, but no one else seemed courageous enough to demand further explanation from her. Not while they were in the king’s presence, that was.
She answered for them. “I trust the king’s judgment. And the general’s. I also have an agreement with the king that we’ll work together to support his peace efforts. And, if that’s not assurance enough…” Jade took another deep breath, then jumped off a cliff. “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 roll her eyes. She let it go on and on. Sliding a glance toward Darien, she found him shaking his head and appearing astonished by her audacity. Michael looked duly stricken.
She’d deal with both men later.
When Lisette finally stepped forward with her arms lifted and an expression of utter shock on her face, Jade quieted the group once more.
“I realize this is stunning news,” Jade said. “And for the record, we haven’t exchanged vows yet. However—”
“You’re a demon slayer, Jade.” Lisette stated the obvious in an incredulous tone.
Jade fought the natural hackles creeping up on her. “I’m aware of that. And my fiancé is a demon, yes. But he is not the enemy,” she insisted.
Darien 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 we’ll talk more in private.”
She sighed. He stormed away and she focused on the outraged group.
Finally, Tanner exerted himself and announced, “Meeting adjourned!” He turned to Jade and added, “You could have warned me.”
“I hadn’t accepted his proposal. Until now.” She shrugged, though guilt ribboned through her. “What choice did I have? I had to prove to them Darien would never willingly let anything happen to these people when he knows how much they mean to me.”
“Jade,” he said between clenched teeth, “you’re talking about marrying the Demon King, not having a fence built around our village.”
“Actually, there will be a fence around our village. A demon fence.” She smiled at him, despite her own anxiety over having pissed off her fiancé once again. “I’ll admit the thought freaked me out at first, but face it, Tanner. There isn’t a chance in hell Darien will let that rogue army penetrate his forces.”
The other slayer gave this due consideration, his eyes clouding. Eventually, he said, “I agree.” He took a step closer to her and said, “But you just committed yourself to marrying him, Jade. How do you plan to reconcile that with the villagers?”
* * * * *
“She certainly knows how to twist the knife, doesn’t she?” Morgan commented as they mounted their horses outside the meeting hall.
Darien 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.
“Can we count on her to follow your direction and stay in the village?”
“She knows the extent of my patience and tolerance.” He hadn’t missed the flicker of dread in her eyes while his temper had simmered over her unexpected announcement of their now-impending nuptials. She’d known she’d aggravated him. Yet again. “I’m certain we have nothing to worry about with her or Tanner. Jade will obey my command this time.”
“I still can’t believe you allowed her to take the slayer’s oath,” the general said as they rode through the woods.
“Who says I allowed her to take it? She had Tanner swear her in while I was gone.”
Morgan shot him a confused look. “You didn’t have to approve the registry.”
With a jerk of his head and a sardonic tone, Darien said, “As if that would stop her.”
His general was silent as they passed over the narrow bridge in single-file formation before doubling up again. “Forgive me for asking, but how will you justify marrying a demon slayer?”
Darien sighed. “That does complicate matters.” By a lot. “She wasn’t a slayer when I proposed.”
A snort from Morgan was followed by, “As if that would stop you.”
“No, I didn’t intend to rescind the proposal. But I could have used more time to work out the semantics. Now I’m relying on the fact that she’s part demon to help smooth the waters with my alliance.”
He was resigned to an inevitability he hadn’t previously considered. “Her being a slayer certainly gives her more weight than when she was merely human. The demi-demon aspect will work in her favor as well. And our union will prove we’re both serious about maintaining peace.”
That was a very reasonable stance to take, he decided. One that would validate the choice he’d made when he’d selected his queen.
