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The carriage is already waiting for us.
They file in, chittering and lamenting their circumstance under their breath. Some are taken aback by the ever present storm rolling above the island. Others blubber when they see a stray Gilak lumbering through the courtyard. They all reek of fear, and would be torn apart by my Ur’gin if my hounds so much as got a whiff of it. I’ll have to bathe before I tend to them.
The journey is brief and uneventful, hardly a stone’s throw from the cells. Soon enough, we’ve arrived at the royal estate that overshadows everything.
Trolvor guards line the halls, which the women shuffle through in utter silence. It’s as if a spell has been cast over them, and they don’t dare to utter a peep until we arrive at the throne room. There, several of them muffle sounds of shock at the sight of the Demon King, Asmodeus.
They huddle together like the flustered birds that they are.
I issue a formal bow. “My King. As you requested.”
He leans forward in his throne, looking over the crowd of human women that shrink from his attention. “Well done, Giroth,” he says, filling me with an uncomfortable sort of pleasure. Before, I might have basked in it. But now that I have fallen for a human woman, it prickles under my skin like a curse. I hate that he chose me for this task, and still, I am glad to have known her in this brief passage of time. Too brief, I think. We have only just met, and yet our time is running short.
He continues, and I can sense his favor beaming down on me from beneath that dark hood that conceals his features. “I knew I could trust you with this task.”
“Thank you, my King.”
The Trolvor close in on the women, who become agitated with fear and upset. But the King’s focus does not stray from me. “Something is troubling you. Speak.”
I watch as the women are led away. Several shoot me accusing stares, as if I am responsible for what will happen to them. I am almost glad when they are out of sight, the weight of my shame lessening. “It is…” I trail off, chewing on my lip as I consider how to voice my concerns. “When I first arrived with the women in Ti’lith, one of them went missing.” I pause, gauging his response, and finding nothing. So, I continue. “I have been searching for any sign of the culprit, but have come up empty.
“It is a failure of duty, my King. I should have noticed sooner.”
He seems to consider my words. “And what of the other missing human?”
My heart stalls briefly, but I keep my expression neutral. “My King?”
“There were twenty three documents, and you have delivered twenty one. If one is missing, then there is another that has been unaccounted for as well.”
Heat crawls over my flesh, and I realize he’s talking about Cora. For the first time since the King has graced me with his presence, true guilt washes over me. He already knows, as he seems privy to everything that transpires in Ti’lith. “My apologies,” I begin, bowing a little deeper. “I have kept that one in my residence because she attempted to jump off the island after escaping. I wanted to keep a closer eye on her, for her own safety.”
I think I might have made a grave miscalculation as King Asmodeus goes deadly silent. Then, his form begins to shake with grating laughter. It fills the hall and echoes from the high ceiling, and relief washes over me.
I cannot know my King’s designs, but I am certain he is not cross with me.
When he finally settles, he stands from his throne. He is taller than even I am, and I cannot help but be humbled in his presence. “Do not fear my wrath, Giroth. I was right to have chosen you for this task.
“It was a delicate mission, and you have exceeded my expectations.” He descends the dais, his heavy plate armor rattling with each step. “Because of your efforts, our race will not be snuffed out on this hostile, alien planet. Carry yourself with pride, Kennel Master, because you bear the gratitude of your King, and the charge of a generation.”
How I want his words to fill me with pride.
They should.
Instead, a deep self loathing nearly bowls me over, and I am trapped between the snare of duty and the pull of my errant heart.
25
CORA
For the first time in days, I wake up alone in his room.
I think I still feel Giroth’s heat in the depression of the mattress next to me, but it evaporates upon contact with my searching fingers. A great weight bears down on me, and I curl up into a tight ball in an attempt to preserve our shared warmth.
I can’t get his scent out of my nose.
After our unexpected tryst, nothing feels the same. I had acted out of desperation but there was something so right about what we did, and I can’t stop thinking about him. I had imagined sex with a demon would be a dreadful affair, but it seems that we are compatible, after all. My hand drops between my thighs, to the cleft which is still raw after taking so much of him. But even my nub is swollen and impatient for more.
Where is he?
