Page 31 of Her Demon Daddy
I have to pull myself together. They can’t see me as weaker than they already think I am.I lift my chin and cock an eyebrow, looking at Theliel intensely.
“What has my dear cousin been up to?” I ask mockingly. “Well,” I chuckle. “If he’s bothered to get his ass off of the obsidian throne.”
The large demon to my right strikes me, and I try not to move from its force, rather standing tall again and clenching my jaw. I want to drop the weight I’ve carried, I want to break and fall to the ground, but there’s no place for that here, especially when I’m the outcast, the traitor, the disgrace of the royal family.
“You dare not speak of thetrueKing in that manner!” the demon barks as he walks toward me and stands over me menacingly. “You will suffer enough for the disrespect you’ve already shown. I would suggest you not make it any more difficult for yourself,” he looks me over like I’m a disgusting sewer rat. “Asmodeus.”
I sneer and chuckle. “Oh really? And what’s the price to pay for aligning yourselves with the likes ofthem?” I motion to Theliel and the other xaphan in the crowd. “Is there no punishment for taking on an alliance with…” I look at them and smile cockily. “Angels?”
One of the xaphan tries to come toward me, but Theliel stops them. The wordangelhas been considered a minimizing, disrespectful term to the xaphan, and if my life is going down the shitter anyway, I might as well try to stir the pot before going down.
“Do you not remember the war?” I shout as I look at the demons. “The desecration their kind caused us? Do you not remember the bloodshed, the losses, the agony our kind went through as a result of their actions?”
I hear Theliel chuckle, and I look at him as he approaches me, the demon in front of me stepping aside to make way for him. “Vag’thimon is much better suited to be called King than you are, Asmodeus, if that is what you truly believe. Oh!” He holds up a finger as he looks to the sky, then back at me with squinted eyes. I didn’t know angels could look so evil. “That’s right, you were in your false palace, on your phony throne, with your imaginary title.” He motions to the demons.
“They had no choice but to make a truce with us! Which, by the way, was very gracious of us to offer. You would have understood that if you had stayed around to help your kind instead of running off like thecowardyou are.” He snarls as he steps closer to me. “And while your ‘kind’ isn’t too happy about this…” I look around at the displeased demons around me and wonder why they’re not interrupting him. “Xaphan have been posted all around Ikoth to ensure that the holy rule and truce are honored.”
I have no rebuttal, but I can’t let them know that. There’s nothing I can do if the xaphan have taken half the control, or even more than half, of Ikoth. I remain composed and look back into Theliel’s eyes.
“And what do you plan to do now?” I pivot. “Because I’ve been a great King and ruler to those that followed me…” I pause for a millisecond, praying one of my servants doesn’t say that I pushed them into the portal when they were in a trance. It was involuntary, but I would rather not highlight my wrongs more right now. “And Vag’thimon could ever be if he made a truce with the likes of you!”
I watch Theliel bristle and inhale deeply, trying to control himself. Part of me wishes he would attack me so I could release some of the rage that’s eating me alive. Instead, he smirks and begins to walk back to his followers.
“We will refer to demonic law to hold a trial for your misdoings,” he shouts as he walks away.
“Yes,” the demon next to me comments. “Along with your inner circle, of course.”
I scoff. “And how will that work? I’m the true King. I oversee all the trials here!”
“No,” the demon laughs heartily. “Arealtrial, before thetrueKing, here on Aersak.”
Fuck.I’ve studied demon court well enough to know that my punishment will be one of the more severe options in the court on Aersak. I try to get away from the xaphan holding me back, I’m not sure what I’ll do if I break free, but I know I have to.
To my disappointment, they’re stronger than I gave them credit for. My blood runs cold, and I look at my servants, now standing with disapproving and furious faces. I can’t let them go down with me.
“You already know they’ve been deceived!” I yell as I continue struggling against the xaphan’s grips. “It’s not necessary for you to drag them all back to Ikoth!”
The demon chuckles and steps in front of me again. “And I should believeyou?”He scoffs. “Some may have been tricked, but clearly, they have some prior knowledge. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have stayed around as long. Don’t count us as stupid, Asmodeus.”
“What do you mean?” Siara yells.
The xaphan holding her strengthen their grip, and I see her kick them and bite down on one of their arms, to no avail. She struggles fiercely, as she should. Fury rushes through me, and I try to get out of their hold again.
“Let her go! She did nothing! She had no prior knowledge of any of this. she’s innocent!” I scream into the demon’s face.
I break my gaze from the demon’s face to Siara’s, hoping to see empathy in her eyes for my demand to release her. My heart sinks when all I see is betrayal cross her face. I’ve never seen a more discouraging look from another being in all my life.
The demons can send me to trial. they can execute me, torture me in front of the masses, and none of it would be more painful than the look in her eyes. I broke her heart and, in turn, mine as well with my selfish greed for power.
“Please!” I scream. It’s unlike a demon to beg, but right now I’m not considered much of a demon right now, anyway. “She’s done nothing. you have to listen to me!”
The demon sneers at me and gets close to my face. “Your inner circle and yourself will be escorted to Aersak.” He chuckles before turning to the crowd. “Along with anyone else who wishes to view the trial!”
The crowd cheers and I look around, seeing the faces as blurs. My heart rate spikes and I look at Siara again. She’s always known how to calm me down, she’s always been my rock, but when I see the look in her eyes again, I realize she’s not mine anymore. Good, she deserves better than all I’ve put her through.
“At the end of this lunar cycle,” the demon declares to the crowd. “In two days’ time, the trial will commence if you wish to attend!” The crowd cheers again, and the demon motions for them to quiet down. “Or, if you would like to return to your home planet that the false King has stolen from you, we welcome you back!”
The crowd cheers, and I watch one of Theliel’s men open a portal. The blue light spins around in circles, reminding me of the one I opened on that fateful day on the battlefield. The xaphan holding Siara begin walking her toward it.