Chapter 26 #2
She steps down from her throne, gliding closer, her bare feet whispering against the mist. “It’s suspicious, Korithax.
A mortal bride? Not to mention, you seem to be on some secret mission through the realms. Do not insult me by pretending your journey and the impending marriage to a mortal are mere coincidences. ”
“None of this is any of your business,” I growl, stepping closer to her, deep black smoke slowly coiling around my shoulders as my anger heightens.
The action makes her guards move, angling their spears at me from every direction.
I smirk, looking each one in the eye, ensuring they understand that I don’t see them as a threat.
I could burn their entire realm to ash if I wanted to.
I could incinerate them from the inside out without so much as breaking a sweat, yet they think their pointy sticks are intimidating.
I scoff, turning my attention back to Virena.
“Now, if you don’t mind, said mortal needs coffee.” I smile, ensuring the insincerity of it shines through. I add in a mocking bow for good measure before I turn on my heel, striding away from her.
Virena’s voice slices through the air again, “Her soul is strange, Prince of Hell. Different. You feel it too, I know you do.”
I stop dead in my tracks, my fists clenching. Does she know about the tug between our souls? I can’t ask, because what if she isn’t talking about that, and I reveal something for her to hold over me?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say over my shoulder.
Virena’s misty form floats a few feet closer. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m talking about either,” she murmurs. “But there is something… unnatural about the girl. Tread carefully, demon prince. Not everything that shines is harmless.”
I frown at her. Does she seriously think that a mortal could be a threat to me? A laugh bubbles up out of me, causing her to frown.
“Despite the fact that you have enslaved her as your bride, she may not be as weak as she seems.”
I whirl to face her fully. “For the last fucking time,” I snarl, “she is doing this of her own free will. We are in love!”
“I do not hesitate that you love her, Korithax,” she says softly. “But it is strange. All of this is strange. Mark my words.” She turns, floating back to her throne, her misty robes fluttering. “I hope you have found your stay here pleasurable. I look forward to our next trade.”
She gestures to a guard standing near the exit. A slender male, with pale silver skin and hair the colour of moonlight. His spear is placed across his back with the tip pointing out just past his head.
“Veyric will guide you to where your mortal’s coffee can be found. Until next time, Korithax.”
I grunt, nodding my head to her slightly. Despite the fact that she has pissed me off, I need to keep the peace, for trade’s sake. Her blessed water is essential for some of the demons’ spell work, especially the healers.
I follow the guard out of the room, Virena’s words gnawing at me like a splinter under the skin.
At least she believes I love Daisy, that makes things easier.
But fuck me, if every realm we visit accuses me of stealing a mortal bride, this trip was going to get real tedious, real fucking fast. Even as the Prince of Hell, I have standards.
I don’t take mortal slaves, despite what my father might have wished during his reign.
Even the Divine Six, hypocritical bastards that they are, drew the line at mortal slavery.
I shake off the simmering anger as Veyric leads me towards the kitchens to grab the coffee.
I immediately notice a plate of fluffy-looking pastries that look like little shimmery clouds, and I swipe it up for her too.
She’s going to need all the energy she can get for the next realm jump.
Despite her trying to hide it, I saw how her skin paled and the way she slightly swayed on her feet when we arrived here.
Realm jumping was as taxing for her as it was for me, despite it being for entirely different reasons.
Transporting through veils and realms depleted my magic; the bigger the jump, the bigger the hit on my reserves.
And for her, it completely messed with her body, her mortal fragility struggling with such disorientation.
I’d have to find a way to make it easier on her, maybe ask in Aurora’s Veil if their healers have anything to make it easier on her. Even if it means knocking her out.
I return to the suite with a tray in my hands—a cup of rich-smelling coffee and the little pastries. “I have your coffee and breakfast, Daisy—”
She stands by the window, bathed in the soft light of Fjellheim Heights.
She’s wearing a dusky blue gown, the fabric shimmering with tiny threads of moving starlight.
It hugs her curvy body perfectly, the flowy sleeves fluttering slightly as she shifts.
A delicate necklace strung with tiny diamonds, forming a constellation that looks like the fucking cosmos, is wrapped around her throat.
Her hair falls in soft waves down her back, a glimmering silver hairpiece crowning her head, catching every stray glint of light.
Her makeup is soft but radiant—a faint sprinkle of stardust sparkling across her eyelids, making her ocean eyes glow like twin nebulas.
A thin midnight blue cloak is tied carefully around her shoulders, its flowing train speckled with pinpricks of silver light, mimicking the night sky itself.
And in the centre of the cape—stitched in a faintly glowing thread—is my sigil.
She looks like a living, breathing goddess. A vision that’s far too beautiful for mortal standards.
“I’m sensing Lyvia has my outfits match the realm we are going to?” She says, a nervous laugh escaping her as she anxiously smooths the endless folds of her dress with her hands.
I snap myself out of the trance, feigning disinterest. “Yes, apparently so,” I say shortly, setting the tray down onto the nearby table. “It’s a little over the top, but it’ll do.”
That was a lie. It wasn’t over the top; it was perfect. She looks like the embodiment of the night sky. Divine and entirely untouchable. And that’s exactly what I needed to remember—untouchable.
Distance. I need distance. Last night was too much. The closeness, the softness of her body against mine. It can’t happen again.
“Drink and eat,” I command, gesturing to the tray. “I’m going to go change, and then we leave for Aurora’s Veil.”
I stride toward the bathroom without looking back—but at the door, I hesitate. I glance over my shoulder, finding her seated neatly at the table, her small fingers cradling the coffee cup as she softly blows on the steam, her entire body wrapped in that ridiculous, perfect vision of starlight.
A bitter, ugly thing rises in my chest, and I can’t help but grab onto it and project it onto her.
I turn back to Daisy fully, my voice harsh.
“Virena believes that I love you,” I say coldly.
“I appear to be a greater actor than I initially thought, for her to believe that I could truly love such a weak, fragile thing like yourself.”
I walk away before I can see the way her light dims at my words.