Chapter 45
Daisy
The bright light of Luminaria streams through the tall windows, casting golden ribbons across the bed as I wake up.
My eyes flutter open slowly, my body aching in the best way.
Every muscle hums with soreness—the kind that makes you blush just thinking about it.
The healing tonic still sits untouched on the bedside table like an afterthought.
Heat rushes to my cheeks as I remember how filthy it’d gotten.
He was all demon—punishing, relentless, mine. And I’d loved every second of it.
The shower afterward had been tender. Gentle.
He’d held me like I was breakable, like I was something precious and fragile.
I think that part undid me more than anything else.
I’m not sure anyone else has ever seen that side of him, and I relished in the fact that I got to see the tender side of the Heir of Hell.
I just hope he doesn’t go back to cold Kori today.
I don’t think I could handle the whiplash, not after last night.
Not when I’m still riding the high of being fully his.
I lift my head from his chest, blinking up at him. He’s already awake, watching me with his brows furrowed and his jaw tight, like he’s in the middle of a war with himself.
“Good morning,” I say softly, offering a small smile.
Please don’t be an ass. Please don’t be an ass.
He quirks his mouth up slightly and strokes his hand slowly up and down my spine. “Good morning, little flower.”
I internally release a sigh of relief. Thank the gods. Not an ass. Not yet, at least.
“You okay?” I ask gently. “You were frowning when I looked up at you.”
He nods and leans forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead. The tenderness of it hits me right in the chest, and the butterflies go feral.
“How did you sleep?” He asks, voice careful. His eyes look into mine like he’s searching for something.
“Good, I think,” I say, frowning slightly. “My body definitely hurts, though.” I huff a laugh, heat blooming across my cheeks.
He stretches across me and grabs the healing tonic from the bedside table. He pops the cork and gently presses it to my lips.
“Drink up, princess. I need you strong for the last leg of our journey.”
I tip my head back and swallow the cool, swirling liquid.
It slips down my throat like silk, the magic tingling as it goes down.
I feel the power of it slowly soothing the ache in my limbs.
He pulls the bottle away, setting it down again, and uses the pad of his thumb to wipe the corner of my mouth.
“So…” he says, “no nightmares or anything?”
I blink. “Uh, I don’t think so. Why?”
“No reason.” He says, just a little too quickly. “Just asking.”
My mouth parts to push him, but he cuts me off. “Any regrets?”
“Regrets?” I echo. “About what?”
“Last night,” he says, almost too softly. He lays his head back on the pillow, eyes staring up at the ceiling like he’s afraid of my answer.
I pause for a moment. Still naked, I climb over him and straddle his torso, pressing my palms into the pillow on either side of his head. I lean down until our foreheads touch, having to rise to my knees because of how freaking tall this man is. My golden hair falls like a curtain around us.
“Not a single one,” I whisper. “Husband.”
I press a soft kiss to the tip of his nose. His eyes flash, and he growls at me. The next second, I’m on my back, pinned beneath him. His hands trap mine above my head, his body pressing me into the mattress. I don’t miss the feel of his cock pressing against me, solid and fucking huge.
“Don’t say that word while straddling me naked,” he growls, “unless you want me to fuck you until you’re a whimpering mess, Daisy.”
I consider my options:
Option A: Be a good girl and behave.
Option B: Whisper that word again and see if he follows through on that delicious threat.
I smirk, sucking my lower lip between my teeth. His nostrils flare, his eyes narrowing as he senses what I’m about to do. I feel the shift in energy, and a low, feral sound rumbles in his throat as he narrows his eyes at me.
“Husband,” I whisper.
I lay panting, the ache between my thighs blooming all over again in the most intoxicating way. Korithax lies beside me, his chest rising and falling heavily, sweat still glistening on his golden skin.
“I’ll never, ever, tire of being inside you,” he murmurs, voice low and rough with after-sex satisfaction.
I blush, giggling as I bury my face into his arm. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it either. He was right about what Ethan did. Yes, he’d taken my virginity—but he didn’t claim me. He didn’t make love to me. He didn’t have filthy sex with me. He just… took.
But Korithax? Korithax touched me like I was a living altar.
He worshipped every inch of me. Maybe it wasn’t gentle—maybe it never would be—but it was mine.
Ours. I liked how he treated me in bed. I loved the way his hands explored me like he was memorising every curve.
The way his mouth devoured me like I was his favourite meal.
The sinful sounds he made when he tasted me, moaning like I was a prayer answered.
Those sounds would echo in my head for a lifetime.
This seven-foot god of a man, this demon prince, was entirely mine.
Maybe Elyistria had heard my quiet, desperate pleas and sent me the man of my godsdamn dreams.
A sharp knock breaks the silence, and Korithax snarls. He freaking snarled, like a wild animal being disturbed from its peace.
“Down boy,” I giggle, swatting at his chest. In retaliation, he slaps my ass.
I yelp—just as a voice calls through the door.
“Your Majesty, Elyistria asked me to remind you of your breakfast arrangement. She would like to see you within the next half hour. I shall return to escort you shortly.”
“Thank you,” I call out, trying to suppress my laughter.
Korithax groans dramatically and wraps his arms around me, dragging me against him.
I snort, trying to wiggle away. “I have to get ready. I can’t keep a literal magical goddess waiting.”
“Of course you can. You’re the future Queen of Hell.” He grumbles against me.
“Future being the keyword,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. “And I’m pretty sure you already pissed her off enough yesterday with your whole Child of Ruin tantrum. I’m not looking to add fuel to that particular fire.”
He scowls but rolls out of bed with me, his hair tousled, wrapped around his horns.
His elongated ears poke out from his onyx locks, and his dark eyes shine in the glowing light.
I stand for a moment and just marvel at the sight of him, fresh out of bed with sex hair.
I can’t help the snort of laughter that escapes me.
“Why are you laughing?” He asks, tilting his head.
“Because I’m standing in a freaking magical realm, god knows how far away from earth, with my seven-foot demonic god of a freaking husband. Who, not to mention, is standing butt naked in front of me, with his sex hair wrapped around his horns. It’s all so absurd, yet feels entirely right.”
The grin that splits his face has those freaking butterflies going feral yet again. His too-white teeth shining, the sight of his elongated canines sends a shiver down my spine at the memory of them digging into my throat just a few hours ago.
“Me. Daisy Sandoval. A boring, twenty-year-old mortal girl, married to the most feared twenty-thousand-year-old demon in the universe.” I laugh again, the sound echoing through the vast space.
He prowls towards me, holding either side of my face with his hands as his expression turns serious.
“There is nothing boring about you, little flower. You are fucking divine. A prayer answered. The most magnificent creature I have ever laid my eyes on. And you are mine. In this life, and every life after.” He presses his forehead to mine as I stare at him in shock.
“If death takes me, I’ll claw my way out of the grave.
If the gods erase me, I’ll set the universe ablaze to return to you.
Across lifetimes, across worlds, I would crawl through ash and ruin just to touch your hand again. ”
I blink up at him, his words settling in every crack, every fracture of my soul, mending it in its own, tragically beautiful way. He places a soft kiss on my lips, a rumble sounding in his chest. He pulls me in tight, the kiss quickly turning heated as he trails his hands over my still naked flesh.
“I have to get ready.” I breathe, pushing at him softly.
“Fine,” he sighs. “But only because we’re going to need her help to get back home once this is done.”
Home.
The word sends a flutter through me. I’ll be going home, to Zeriavoss.
To the obsidian halls and the skies that flicker with never-ending blood-red lightning.
Back to the demons I’d started seeing as my own people.
I’d be going as an immortal, to become a queen.
My life had taken a turn so sharp; I was still trying to catch my breath.
Yet there was one thing holding me back from truly being happy.
“When do you think I’ll get to see Talia and Ezra again?” I ask, gnawing at the inside of my cheek.
He gently brushes a thumb over my jaw before planting a soft kiss atop my head. “As soon as we return and it’s safe, I’ll take you back to the mortal realm. I swear it.”
I nod, but it doesn’t chase the anxiety away that’s been eating at me since I agreed to this deal. We both knew it wouldn’t be that easy. We didn’t know how the Divine Six were going to respond to what we’d done.
I tried not to think about it too much, but it was becoming harder to ignore.
What if they still tried to kill me? Immortality wasn’t a shield, I could still be destroyed.
And what if they destroyed Zeriavoss? All those people.
The children. The families. Everything Korithax had fought to protect—gone. Because of me.