Page 34 of Her Demon Daddy

And that might be the scariest part.

But I will just have to take it one at a time. One second, one minute, one day. And I had once hoped with one man.

One.

18

ASMODEUS

Istep out of the portal, and my eyes adjust from the blinding blue light. Going through portals is never an easy feat, but after a while, you learn to control the nausea and headaches. The trick is to keep walking, don’t stand still once you enter. Unfortunately, there’s no trick to the momentary mind fog that creeps in after you land in the next world.

Once my eyes and body adjust, I feel the heat on me. Ikoth is always hot, much warmer than Galmoleth. The heat rips through my robes, and I immediately start to sweat. I look at the ground and notice we’re on a large hill. When I look ahead of me, I see the city right below the hill. Once my mind de-fogs, I look over at Siara.

I imagine the portal was rough on her human body. The magic that forms them isn’t for the faint of heart. even lower-level demons I’ve met have vomited or passed out from the intensity of the journey. The portal's magic reflects off of ours, and if you don’t have any in your system, it’ll shoot right through you.

When I first look at Siara, I almost think she’s a wraith that’s joined us from another portal. She’s flushed and looks like she hasn’t been out in the sun in years. She glances at me slowly, like she’s thawing out of something. Her gaze hits me, and I realize that she’s not only this pale because of the portal. She looks like this because of what I put her through.

I haven’t only caused her emotional and mental damage, but physical now, too. If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t have shaken with the quake on Galmoleth, she wouldn’t have bruises on her arms from the xaphan holding her so tightly, and she wouldn’t have gone through the portal.

I open my mouth and get ready to call out to her, but the xaphan whisks her away quickly. The two angels holding me turns me away from her, and when I look back, she’s gone. I had too many chances to say something to her, anything to make up for or explain what’s happened.

I look ahead of me, my eyes tired and spirit broken, at the city I used to call home. This is the first time I’ve laid foot anywhere near Ikoth in decades. Shit, it’s the first time I’ve been back on my home continent in decades.

The bright red sky casts an ominous glow over the black and silver homes lining the back streets at the bottom of the hill. The hot air has no mercy for plants, leaving only dead trees and dry bushes around the city.

I think of my childhood home and wonder if it still stands. I’ve missed so much being gone for so long, and I don’t know the extent of the changes. Xaphan having posts all over our city is the last thing I thought would happen. I don’t know what else to expect, but from up here, my home looks the same as it did before I left.

The sentimentality and nostalgia knock the wind out of me as I look over the city. I exhale and hang my head. Although it’s sick to admit and probably insanely selfish, a part of me feels relieved. I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. I’m home and have no secrets to keep from anyone. I don’t have to hide under my hood anymore. I don’t need to keep the company of solely blind men because I’m ashamed of my deception.

I didn’t realize how much I missed it here until now, but I also know homesickness is the last of my worries. I have to find Siara, prepare for the trial, and find a way out of the punishment. I can’t die knowing I dragged her into my mess. I don’t even know if theywouldsentence me to death. that would probably be too nice of a judgment for my crimes.

The xaphan lead me down the hill and through the backstreets. I know where we are. Prazeth street intersects with the Yikon Passage-the main road in the capital city, Sarziroch. These backstreets are our version of rich human suburbs, although the foliage is dry and the homes are more gothic.

We turn onto the Yikon Passage, and I look ahead of me. The road is lined with demons, angry and jeering, and they line all the way to Vag’thimon’s castle at the end of the passage. Along the sides of the road, black and silver buildings spiral into the clouds. Being at the top of one is a beautiful sight. Vag’thimon and I went to the top of one of them when we were children. I wish I could rewind time and go back, warn myself, and stop myself from becoming so selfish. I would love to be at the top of one of those towers with him right now as children before this mess began.

I can hear the roaring and screaming of the city’s residents as we walk closer, dead in the center of the road. We get closer to the castle, and I see xaphan posted on the side and in front of the angry mob. I look at them with confusion, suspicion, and rage as I’m walked by. They don’t look at me but rather keep their eyes straight ahead.

“Kill the traitor!”

“Sick, disgusting excuse for a demon!”

“Let him bleed out on the streets!”

“Long live Vag’thimon!”

I can only imagine what else they have up their sleeves as I’m brought into the chaos. The shouts and jeers continue, and the words shouldn’t hurt, but they do. They pain me because, for decades, I knew this day would probably come. Either that or the mob in my own head would have shouted these thoughts at me until the day I died.

I look to my side and see one of our communal venues in the rubble. The townhomes that used to line the venue have all crashed to the ground, gray and black brick sprawled on the streets like pebbles in a creek. I look in the other direction and see more destruction on the Northern side of town. One of the skyscrapers is split in half, and I can see the vacant rooms that used to be lived in hanging freely in the wind, cut cleanly open. We pass a side street in that direction, and I look over the crowd to see the other half of the skyscraper on top of hundreds of homes.

I can only assume this is due to the war. I always thought Ikoth was impenetrable. We had the best warriors and guards on duty at all times. I hate to admit it, but I wonder if Vag’thimon reallydidn’thave another choice but to take the truce. I’m in disbelief and heartbroken that the structures are still on the ground. This isn’t the Ikoth I grew up in. This is a city hellbent on destruction, whose leader doesn’t give a fuck about their well-being.

As I see the furious faces of demons lining the streets being held back by xaphan guards, I think of what it looked like before I returned. These streets used to glimmer and sing of royalty like the castle looming before me. As I look up at Vag’thimon’s palace closely, I realize the castle seems to be the only structure left intact, save a few cracks on the side that look like they’ve been patched together. Of course, Vag’thimon wouldn’t take care of the city in years but would repair his walls within minutes.

We walk toward the black, twisting archways leading to the castle, and I exhale as I prepare to enter through them. Right before we do, the xaphan make a hard right turn and lead me down a side street. I look back, hearing the screams echo from the houses lining the passage, and a solemn thought occurs to me. I’m not going to see my cousin. I’m going to the dungeons.

I don’t try to fight it. If I do escape from the xaphan’s grip, where am I going to run? The entire city despises me. Siara probably wants nothing to do with me.Siara.Her name echoes in my head, and I close my eyes as I trudge forward. A montage of our memories plays through my mind, from the first moment I saw her to the night we made love to when she told me she pressed the button on the beacon in the throne room.

They lead me down the dark stone staircase underground before opening the solid steel door that leads to the holding cells. I walk in, looking around at the other criminals I’ll be jailed with. It’s only fair that I stand among them, but I can’t just stay here. I have to get out. I have to find Siara.