Page 8 of Her Demon Daddy

All of us will die.

Flaming arrows scorch past me as I dive off of the back of my mare, rolling to the ground. I hardly have time to recover before a xaphan is upon me, his symmetrical face twisted into a hateful roar as his blade clashes against mine.

The tang of blood fills the air, the sounds of battle punctuated by the agonized screams of my soldiers, there’s too many of them, we’re never going to make it–

A knock wrenches me from the memory, forcing me back into the present, the flickering flames of the fire replacing the scene that has tortured me since the day it occurred. My heart pounds wildly in my chest, my palms slick as though I was just in the middle of battle once again.

I take a breath, trying to regain my control and willing steadiness I do not feel into my voice.

“Enter.”

5

SIARA

Claws bite into my upper arms as I writhe in the demons’ grips, snarling and kicking at anything I can reach. My toes skid across the marble floor as I grapple for any kind of foothold, but despite my best efforts, we do not slow down.

I can’t remember the last time I saw anything of what lies beyond the dungeon doors, but now that I’m faced with the sight of the palace yawning open around us, I can’t help the awe and dread that mingle painfully in my belly. The sounds of my struggle against the demons holding me echo off of vaulted ceilings, made louder by the dark stone of the walls and floors.

Hallways wide enough to fit whole armies begin to narrow as I’m led deeper into the palace, the ornate sconces and beautiful paintings adorning the walls becoming fewer before they’re replaced entirely by nothing but cold, empty expanses of stone. The complete lack of extravagance tells me we’re heading away from the main part of the palace, but I don’t know if that’s something I should be glad for or not.

“Keep moving,” the demon to my left hisses, jerking me forward so hard that I lose my footing. I stumble, certain I’m about to fall when the other demon jerks me upright at the last second.

I grit my teeth against the cry of pain bubbling at the back of my throat. I don’t want to give the bastards the satisfaction- they’re stronger than I am and have thwarted my every effort to get away, but that doesn’t mean I have to fall into the submissive role they so clearly expect of me.

We round a corner suddenly and are greeted with a sudden blast of heat and near-deafening noise. Demons of all types move about in the kitchen, chattering and squawking to one another over the clatter of pots and pans.

The smell of real, warm food makes my mouth fill with saliva, my stomach screaming in protest as the demons drag me through the hustle and bustle of the kitchens toward a small, nondescript door on the other side of the space.

Demons fall silent as I pass them, the feeling of all those unnatural eyes pressing against my skin only heightening the fear swirling through me. A part of me wonders if I should renew my efforts to get away, having far more potential weapons available to me here than I did in the hallway, but my desperation to avoid whatever waits for me beyond that door pales in comparison to the fate I’d meet at the hands of this many demons.

I’d be lucky to make it out in one piece- hell, I suppose I’m lucky to still be in one piece.

I swallow the fire raging inside me, promising myself that I’m just biding my time. I’m not giving up, or giving in- I’m lying in wait.

The small comfort that thought gives me dissipates quickly into confusion as I’m shoved past the small door in the kitchen and into the room beyond. A huge, porcelain tub takes up the majority of the space, flanked by a small wooden dresser and what looks to be a vanity, complete with a simple, oval mirror on the wall behind it.

Two servants stand on either side of the tub, and it’s with no small amount of relief that I note that they look far more like people than the animalistic trolvor demons who dragged me here.

The door slams shut behind me, and I only realize that the demons who escorted me have left when their razor-sharp talons on my arms are replaced with the soft, firm hands of the servants within. I start up my desperate fight for freedom immediately, snarling and scratching at the demons, but their hands don’t budge.

Feverish panic begins to swell in my throat as they rip my dirty, ragged clothes off of my body. I fight to try and cover myself, terrified of what they might do, all of a sudden painfully aware of just how alone I am in this room with these two demons. I have half a mind to scream, despite knowing that no one would come to my rescue, but don’t get the chance before the demons thrust me into the scalding water of the tub.

A bucket of water is dumped unceremoniously over my head, filling my open mouth and drowning the scream building behind my lips. I choke, clawing blindly at the demons around me.

I blink the water from my eyes, sputtering and gulping down heaving breaths as I take a good look at my new captors. They are, as I initially noticed, at least more human looking, but when I finally take a good look at their faces my blood comes to a standstill in my veins.

Where their eyes should be, there’s nothing but a deep, empty gouge, as though a shovel was dragged across their eye sockets. Patches of ill-formed, scarred skin stretch blankly over their empty sockets, and a new, feral type of fear grips me.

Are they going to take me to whoever did that to them? Is that what they might do for me?

Primal terror grips me, and I begin to try and fight them off again, kicking and snarling and snapping anytime their hands get near. One of the demons manages to grab me by the back of my head, their long fingers winding into my dark hair and holding me steady.

“Behave,” the demon behind me scolds sharply, as though I were merely a petulant child throwing a tantrum. I scream my frustration, fighting against the hands wound into my hair harder, but my struggle only earns me a sharp, blinding pain across my cheek. Stars dance across my vision, and for a moment, I can only sit stunned in the bathtub.

“If you do not behave, we will be forced to bind and gag you. Do you understand?” The demon snarls in my ear. I nod, trying not to wince at the pounding ache radiating across my face. If they bind and gag me, I’ll have no way to defend myself- so, at least for the time being, I have to sit still.

I only hope another opportunity for escape presents itself before it’s too late.