Chapter 7 Rhianelle
Ican end him here. With just a little more pressure, I can finally kill the person who murdered Aerin.
“This may be twenty years too late, but, my condolences,” he breathes. The words sound sincere, but my dagger stays.
“How was my sister at the end?” I swallow the words, instantly wishing I could withdraw the question.
“My shadows welcomed her. I ended it fairly quick,” the demon admits easily. “And afterwards—”
“They tore her apart…” I already know what happened.
He nods, exhaling slowly. “Desecrating the body of their enemies is the way of the Orkan Tribe. Her bones were divided so she may never rest in peace.”
Swift anger takes hold of me, and I push him against the wall. His blood trickles down the blade.
“Careful, love. I am a Keeper of the Hollow,” he warns. As if that means anything to me. I glare right back, determined not to cower before him.
“The dwarves carved four daggers from her humerus and femur bones,” he continues, his voice rougher than it was moments ago. “Eirik awarded one to King Armand of Darvan, one to Avaloth the new Orc King of Myrkheim, one to Dalton the Castellan of Reírse, and the last one to me.”
The maelstrom of sorrow squeezes my heart. Of course, the cruel Fae King would do that. My eyes sting but I will not give the demon the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
“I sent you mine along with her ring and a scarf from her friend,” he says softly.
What?
I received the signet and scarf…but there was no bone dagger. I must ask Rainer about it later.
I hold his gaze for several moments. My arm rests directly over his chest, and I can feel his heartbeat. It’s raging wildly, almost as thunderous as mine. I loosen a tight breath. The blade grows heavier in my hand until I finally set it down.
Kheirall suddenly leans closer. Something flares in his dark eyes, making them brighter. “Let me show you what happened that day.”
Every drop of blood in my body goes cold. The offer might be a trap, but I find myself nodding desperately. I want to see my sister again. Even if it’s through the eyes of another.
Kheirall’s folded wings reappear, rising behind his shoulder blades. They envelope me until all I can see is him. The proximity is disarming, for me and for him. My fingers accidentally smooth against the thin, delicate membrane and I feel his body tensing.
“This is a peek inside my mind, remember that. You might not like what you see, hear, or feel.” His lips move against my ear, and I shudder.
“Won’t this be dangerous? Opening yourself to me?” I ask earnestly.
He gives me a dark, arrogant smile. “You’re taking the same risk. Besides, my mental shield is impenetrable.”
Mist envelopes me as his thoughts take me to a fae court.
It’s as beautiful and grand as Aelfric has told me, but emotion clogs up my throat the moment I glimpse Aerin.
Her beauty and cleverness are the personification of the Goddess of the Hunt herself.
That grace is not tarnished even though they left her hanging from the vines and ivy for her punishment.
She is smiling, despite the thorns digging into her skin. I look away when Kheirall’s shadow finally takes her life, sparing her from further torment. Everything the demon told me is true. I feel his fear for inciting Eirik’s wrath, the remorse, the throbbing guilt in his chest.
The memory ends, but I linger in Kheirall’s head, reeling from my sister’s last moments. I miss her so much. Needles of grief and sorrow stab my heart, bringing me to my knees.
I feel a comforting hand on my shoulder. Nothing but a warm fog greets me when I turn. It must be Kheirall’s consciousness. I wipe traces of tears from my face and rise to my feet.
His impenetrable mental barrier seems to be thinner than a sheet of paper. I continue venturing through his mind like a stroll in the park until I stumble upon a hallway lined with doors. Each one of these is a past, a thought, a secret.
I open one to see a large male beating him and another child beside him. Some of these memories seem too personal. I don’t stay long before moving to the next. The first time the Demon Lord saw me was at some kind of ball when we were both young. I don’t remember this.
Little Kheirall is so confused watching a princess of the elves greedily stuffing food from the table into the sleeve of her dress.
A warm feeling spreads in my chest. No—this is the demon’s feeling.
He’s determined to show me that his pet toad has the same color as my gown.
The younger me hides behind Rainer’s feet desperately to avoid him.
Aerin is teasing the young demon to talk to me.
His memory of my sister is fond and friendly.
The next vision shows me in a white dress marrying him.
Heavens, that escalated fast...I think I’m stuck in one of his wild fantasies.
I almost trip when six little children run past me, chasing one another happily.
They have a mix of elven long ears with demonic tails and wings.
Is this to be the offspring from our union?
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. But they are extremely cute.
Who knew the Demon Lord’s dreams are so innocent?
I open the next door and realize I have spoken too soon.
The vision shows the two of us in a living room wherever in the world he imagined our future would be. I’m on my knees in front of him with his cock filling my mouth. My fingers curl around the base as I lavish wet kisses over his shaft and the tip.
“Keep going, love,” he groans, watching me with rapt and eager eyes.
A look of desperation fills his face as I take him deep.
Each long suck and expert tease drives him completely mad.
His hand brushes the side of my head signaling me to stop, but I keep stroking the thick length of him.
He tilts his head back, his self-control snapping.
It doesn’t take long for him to begin thrusting his hips, fisting my hair to push his erection deeper until he explodes in my mouth.
I look at the brilliant, confident me Kheirall pictures in his mind, pouncing and straddling him.
It’s a version of myself that I portray to the world.
I was beginning to worry I was some kind of childhood crush to him.
At least now I know the feeling he has for me is superficial and fleeting.
I need to get out of his weird, wicked head soon.
Over there, Rhianelle, the Un whispers excitedly.
They direct me to an entrance to a room blocked by metal wires. The fog shifts into a blood-red hue. Kheirall’s consciousness recognizes my intrusion. But it can’t stop me from gaining access to whatever I want. I merely hop past the barricade into the restricted area.
Metal cabinets and shelves fill the entire hall. Every secret of his realm, his weaknesses and strengths lie in these drawers. It’s so tempting to take a peek.
But this is wrong.
Infiltrating a person’s mind when I’m a guest at his home is cowardly. Aerin and Rainer taught me to be better than this.
Shall we shatter his mind empty like a shell? The Un whispers. Sometimes the things my dark patrons say terrify me.
“No, let’s just leave,” I tell them.
I open my eyes, lifting my face from the crook of Kheirall’s neck. I find the demon staring at me, shaken and breathless. My body is pressed against him, and I can feel his heart hammering wildly in his chest. “Every secret was laid bare…you could have ripped everything from my brain.”
“I didn’t take anything,” I reply quickly.
“I know. But why?” His brows knead together.
“The adorable mixed elf and demon babies stopped me.” I narrow my eyes at him. The crude image of his fantasy might never be erased from my mind for the rest of my life.
A soft laughter leaves his throat. “That was inappropriate. But I did warn you.”
He stares at me meaningfully, his eyes twinkling. “You and I could be perfect for each other.”
“Don’t you have a lover?” I tilt my head.
“Silka? She would have high-fived me.” He shrugs. I don’t understand some of his strange words.
My eyes fall to the column of his throat. The wound has already healed, but guilt dips in my chest. “I didn’t do this out of revenge. I just needed to talk to you,” I say quietly.
The devilish smirk is back. “If you wanted me alone, you could have just asked.”
“I came to seek the truth. My friend—Our Maiden of Arawynn disappeared after you turned her down at your door,” I say, my voice sounding as broken as my heart.
His eyes widen with surprise. “I had nothing to do with that.”
Strangely enough, I believe him.
“Come and look into my mind again,” he invites.
I’m still a bit traumatized after the last trip into his brain. “You’re not going to show me a vision of—”
A low and deep chuckle rumbles from his chest. “If I wanted to show you such fantasy again it would be me kneeling in between your legs. But I swear to you, it’s not.”
He welcomes me into his thoughts again. I walk to the same misty hallway and search for traces of Blaire. The first door opens to the current batch of Arawynn maidens and the Aldarelf secret meeting with him earlier.
“Take all five of them if you want,” Eamon offers to the demon easily.
Bone-deep anger stirs in me and my body trembles with rage. The five girls presented are the purest and most beautiful of elves in all of Aelfheim. Relief goes through me when the demon honorably rejects the offer. I will myself to calm down and focus on Kheirall’s memory of my friend.
The fog guides me to a door that leads to the castle gates.
My heart leaps the moment I spot her. Blaire seems relieved when Kheirall turns down the Aeonians’ request. I study every minute detail, remembering every face she was with.
Her escort refused the demon’s offer for refuge, but they left the castle grounds unharmed.