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CHAPTER17
Riley’s mind raced as she contemplated the magnitude of Ashkara’s power. Deruthel was genuinely afraid of his father. While he spoke of plans to keep his father from entering the human realm, his eyes held uncertainty. While she had no doubt, he wished to lock the demon king in its current world, she wasn’t confident he could. He wasn’t confident he could.
What would it take to ensure the general betrayed his father at the risk of his death? Perhaps death would be preferable to what Ashkara would do to his son if he attempted to close the portal. “How old is your father?”
Deruthel’s eyes narrowed on her. “There is no one alive who can answer that question, and my father would not be forthcoming with the answer.”
“Why?”
“Because I would learn how long it takes to obtain his power. He was born a soldier demon, just as I, but he trapped his father and took his power.”
She swallowed dry air. “So, it can be done.”
The claws of his feet clicked against the loose rock in the dirt, giving the impression of a timer ticking down. In a way, it seemed like humanity was tied to that bomb and it detonated the moment Ashkara arrived. “It’s possible, and if there’s a way I will find it, but you forget that my father can jump into the consciousness of his subjects, including me.”
Riley pushed herself from the wall, testing her equilibrium. “So, he already knows what you’re planning.”
“Of course. I am a demon and his prodigy. It is my nature to seek power and dominion over my brethren.”
She pursed her lips. “Do you know how Ashkara trapped his father?”
“He would never share that information, but my grandfather did not possess the power of consciousness. According to my father, he is the first and only demon to possess the gift.”
She ran her fingers along the rough rock. “Assuming he’s telling you the truth.”
Deruthel’s lip twitched. “You are highly intelligent and will make an excellent breeder. Of course, I have considered my father is lying to me. He would never admit to anything that would give me an advantage. He has killed my predecessors long before they reached my level of power.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Your predecessor?”
“My father has had many children. Once they reach a certain level of power, he murders them and bears another.”
“Why has he allowed you to live?”
Deruthel’s eyes flickered with red fire. “He hasn’t. I have killed all my siblings prior to maturity. My father’s power is too great to utilize the mind of the fledgling. I ensure my siblings meet a gruesome death prior to their thirtieth year.”
She touched her hand to her chest. “You kill your brothers and Ashkara won’t kill you until he has an heir mature enough to jump into.”
“Yes. I fear my father will risk staying in this world long enough to allow my child to mature.”
“Your child?” she asked.
“My position was too precarious to allow my first-generation siblings to live. Only the generation prior to the infection can produce young.”
“He can’t have children?”
“He is the size of a small state. He can overtake the mind of another to mate, but the bloodline is that of the body he inhabits. He must use my body, my bloodline, to ensure a new vessel.”
She allowed that realization to hit her. “You can’t keep jumping from world to world. You will eventually have to create a stable ecosystem and live within it.”
He pointed a crooked claw at her. “Now you understand. My father’s ways are unsustainable. It does not have to be your world, but as my power grows, the ability to move between realms is hindered. We must create a stable ecosystem and stay within that world. I have known for some time, but my father does not agree with this view. My body is not a renewable resource. I cannot create another vessel that will have the ability to breed.”
“You want to stay here?” she whispered.
Deruthel’s eyes roamed over her. “I admit I am becoming partial to this realm. It wasn’t my original plan to choose this as our permanent destination, but I find it growing on me. Ashkara’s threat has shortened my timeline. I believed I had another world or two before I had to restructure and put down permanent roots.”
“If Ashkara takes over your body, he won’t stop here.”
Deruthel growled. “He won’t stop anywhere. He will move from realm to realm until the first generation is gone and he no longer possesses the ability to breed. He is too old to change and too powerful to accept a diminished version of himself. Even if he wipes my mind and takes my body, he will seek to replace what he has lost and this is his last vessel.”
