Chapter 1
Azul’s POV
Trapped in this chamber forever, I am visited by a mighty warrior.
“What have you brought for me today, Mirat?” I stand from my nest of cushions in the dancing hall. I approach the purple-green tinted eyed warrior with neat blonde hair, dressed in heavy armour.
To cross the Monster Lands you need to be a scary warrior like him to visit, and he’s got the key to enter those gates. The Ring of Mal sits heavy on his finger – a winding snake that matches the black mamba that slithers along my arm as I reach out toward Mirat’s hand.
Before I can grab what he’s brought, he turns the leather bag to drop the gift in front of me.
A new pair of soft gold dancing shoes. Mirat steps back from me, creating more distance from the Maleficent being who protected me.
My black mamba did not like anyone but me.
“I will bring replacements for the mirrors,” Mirat tells me, “And a new dress is in the works by the head seamstress. Gold to match the shoes.”
The black mamba inspects the shoes as I put them on my lap, kneeling on the cold stone floor. I now look up as Mirat is already leaving.
“Mirat?” I notice he’s wearing a gold crown this time, which means he really did it – he killed the Clandestine King, Breem, and took his place ruling the Mal Kingdom, “Congratulations on your ascension…” I gulp as the mighty Daemon Slayer turns to listen to me, although irate. No grown man can linger too long in this place, they are a threat to me, as I am eternally only 11 years old and cursed to be so by my pet snake, “Breem could not fulfil this request, perhaps you can? I’d love to… make a friend,” I whisper this, “Human, um –” I had to be careful or the black mamba would get jealous. I couldn’t say directly that I wanted to escape. But the only way to escape was –
“You know a child your age is the only one who can walk you out of here,” Mirat speaks the plain truth, “No child will be brave enough to traverse the Monster Lands. Those before have gone insane under Breem’s command, at your request.”
“No one told me that it had been attempted, or that they all went insane,” I whisper, trying not to cry. That would explain the children’s cries I had heard over the centuries.
“Azul, accept your fate is eternal,” Mirat is cruel but only a truth teller all the same.
As he turns and leaves, I drop my forehead to the new shoes, which smell divine and would be lovely to dance in. However, I am sad. Sad and forever stuck here with the Mal spirit.
Ever since that day I was entranced by the Mal spirit and mistakenly picked up the evil thing and danced with it. I enjoyed it, I liked it. My pet.
But then the black mamba cursed me with being it’s guardian and friend – cursing me immortal, 11 years old for the last three hundred years.
I used to dance throughout the Kingdom of Mal, until I was tucked away out of sight, in the Monster Lands. Forever stuck by the Ring of Mal, which trapped me in here with the black mamba.
So I danced alone, making up new dances every single day.
It’s all I could do, until some child my equal, brave enough to save me, could prove to the black mamba that they would do a better job being my friend than the Mal.
It was all up to the judgement of the black mamba.
The Mal had to approve my saviour.
Someone who would love me more than the snake could.
Which was hard to imagine, as although the black mamba could not speak and could not shift, it’s eye was only for me and I was it’s world.
I loved and hated the Mal.
But I could not escape alone – I needed help.
Anastasia’s POV
“Damion jnr,” I snap, “Can you stop using that sling shot to terrorize my Crows before they gut you – do something useful, can’t you use it to kill dinner – like a fat peasant or a fat rabbit?” I roll my eyes as I lie back against the rolled sleeping sack, while I shiver in front of the fire Rurx just lit.
I was cold and miserable! I hated travel! I thought it would be a fun adventure, but after riding a horse for seven hours, my ass was sore beyond repair and everything hurt.
Axe and Damion had been trying to bathe in the nearby river, only to get pelted by Damion jnr’s sneak attacks with the sling shot.
They’d already threatened to beat him silly, which was all empty threats – since they adored the young 12 year old squire like a son.
“I have some bread and cheese?” Krystoph sits nearby me, offering me a slice.
“If you offer me that one more time, I’m going to scream,” I groan, since Krys had offered it to me many times throughout the ride when I started to complain.
“Suit yourself. We have no chef out here, princess,” Krys chuckles as he eats the bread and cheese for himself.
“Eating something will make you feel better,” Rurx sends me a sexy glare – his long beautiful curls are somehow untouched by the long journey. No dust, no bugs, just perfect silky brown locks to his waist. Rurx sees me glaring at his hair and he just shakes his head as he takes out an axe and keeps chopping up wood.
“I’ll get six rabbits,” Damion jnr finally jumps out from the reeds and runs over to the fire, facing me, “One for each of us – I’ll get them all before sundown,” he checks the reeds and the river not far beyond that, “Ah – I better go now…”
“No need,” Damion yells out as I hear him getting out of the river, “We’ll just roast you for dinner.”
“Run kid, you better kill six or I’ll skin you alive,” Axe yells out as well, and Damion jnr turns and sprints into the trees, energy boundless.
“Augh,” I groan as I sit up, “My ass. Hurts.”
“Drink some blood,” Rurx tosses me my flask he was carrying for me and it smacks me in the stomach.
I grab it and take my fill of blood.
I could still eat food but blood was what I needed most as I was a vampire now and I had an appetite for that kind of thing.
After I swallow a mouthful, I feel immediately better.
I hold the flask with both hands as Axe and Damion come through the reeds, with red pocked marks on their chest and arms.
“My gosh, that sling shot does some real damage,” I am aghast. They were bleeding!
Damion and Axe are freshly clean as they put on their britches and fresh shirts.
“You want the tent?” Damion asks me, narrowing his eyes, expecting more complaints.
They had brought a tent for me, as even after I insisted I could sleep on the ground like them, they thought I’d change my mind.
I said I wouldn’t.
Damion brought the tent anyway.
Now – I swallow my pride and I nod, saying with grit teeth, “Yes, please.”
“Three more nights, you won’t complain tomorrow,” Damion states facts, “You’ll be too sore to bother,” he reaches into his bag and takes out the tent.
“I can help?” I start to move and Damion quickly glares at me.
“Stay where you are, rest your precious ass, you brat,” Damion snarls, he’s definitely still angry at me.
To be fair, I had complained every ten minutes about some kind of pain or ailment that afflicted me on the first leg of the journey.
My Crows had it up to here with my entitlement.
I had lived my life in a warm library and bedchamber and castle.
I had never travelled a day in my life.
Reading about it in the romantic adventures I would binge made it sound so pleasent.
Now I am just sore and grumpy and exhausted.
“I will bathe, actually, now that jnr is off somewhere else,” I grumble as I stand up and Rurx comes with me, taking my wrist in his hand, since he has not bathed yet either.
He helps me through the reeds, and at the water’s edge, I see it runs crystal clear over smooth rocks.
Rurx helps me undress, and then I tip toe into the water with my arms crossed over my chest, expecting it to be freezing.
Strangely, it’s pleasantly cool, not ice cold.
I turn around to see Rurx stripping and coming forward to join me.
As he walks, I notice his eyes flash from brown to crimson red.
And then they stay red in the setting sun.
I bite my lip as I wade backwards into knee deep water, dropping down to kneel so it’s like I’m in a bath.
Rurx has let the Daemon inside his soul out. The Dark Prince. I should be worried but I’m peculiarly calm.
“What do you want?” I ask the Dark Prince carefully as Rurx drops to his knees with me and he embraces me in a hug.
His whole body is fever hot with Daemon blood.
“I hear you’re uncomfortable, my Queen?” the Daemon drawls over me, “I agreed to come forward to warm you so you’re not so sore. You are my wife, after all. I can show due care when needed.”
I slowly wrap my arms back around him and I rest my cheek against his warm torso.
“Thank you, my special, gentle, understanding arachnid,” I chuckle a bit hysterically as my mind feels heavy with sleep, “I am so, so exhausted. I am so, so tired. I am oh, so, done with it all. I have no pretty dresses out here. No books to read. Just bugs I swatted at all day. The flies were pestering me. Then a bee almost went up my nose when I smelled a flower on one of the breaks along the way,” I sniffle as I start to cry, “Oh, Rurx, I hate this.”
Rurx comforts me with silence, just listening to my woes.
Eventually his heat makes me so tired I fall asleep for a moment.
When I wake up I’m placed on the riverbed pebbles as Krystoph pushes through the reeds and dresses me in a new pair of britches and a large shirt. I don’t know why I insisted I ride in a dress earlier.
Just cause it was nice weather and I wanted to ride out in style, to my Crows’ horror.
I accept the new change in outfit, then Rurx lifts me into his arms and takes me back to the camp.
“I’m awake now, and I feel better!” I grin as I jump out of his arms and I settle on one of the logs next to Axe, linking my arm in his as he melts cheese on the bread in front of the fire.
I lick my lips as he makes it bubble.
“Not a chance,” Axe gives me his Soul Swiping eyes, “You and Damion jnr. can go to bed hungry.”
“So mean,” I whisper up at him, leaning up to his ear, “You just need my warm legs, tangled around you tonight… don’t you, Axe – to feel better?”
“You can have half,” Axe grumbles his change and I lick my lips again as he brings the bread and cheese back to his lap, ripping it in two pieces. He hands me one and I lean into his side, kissing his cheek.
Damion has been hard at work setting up the two man tent, and he walks around it to see me snuggling up to Axe with dreamy eyes.
“Should I be surprised?” Damion mocks me with an angry smirk, “You’ve already turned into a camp who–”
“I got a fat one!” Damion jnr comes sprinting into the camp, holding up a dead adult rabbit, “Look! First go! All thanks to my practice shots,” he slyly glances at larger Damion.
“You were saying?” I whisper at Damion.
“Get five more, kid,” Damion pats Damion jnr. on the back, encouraging him.
He springs back off into the trees after delivering the rabbit to Rurx and his skinning knife.
“Camp whore,” Damion finishes, grinning as he comes around and takes a seat on my other side, slipping an arm around my waist, he pulls me from Axe and sets me on his lap, “I set up the tent, you can share it with her tomorrow,” Damion talks down to his brother.
Axe says nothing, instead, he just cocks a brow at me.
He’ll come for me later, no doubt.
I place a hand on Damion’s large chest, stroking over his shirt, “Thank you for setting up the tent, my lovely, handsome, strong warrior.”
“Cute,” Damion turns me to sit back against him, hugging me around the waist, his chin resting on my shoulder as he looks into the flames with me, “Now, Fire Seer – tell me what you see?”
“I don’t want to look…” I complain, “I might see the other Daemon Slayer and he’ll know we’re coming.”
“I want him to know we’re coming,” Damion drawls deeply, “And I want him to see me, right next to you, so he knows who he’s challenging – you’re not his Queen, you’re our slut,” Damion says it with love, he just has a foul mouth. He kisses my cheek and holds my throat with his large and gentle hand, “Look with me, princess. Be brave.”
“Fine,” I sigh, “Just one quick peep.”
“Good girl,” Damion waits for me to focus on the fire, while I close my eyes and breathe in deep.
Last time I looked, I saw Mirat.
He basically issued a warning of an incoming war.
It’s why we were going to the Kingdom of Mal, a day behind Prince Soren and Prince Fanguard. We were going to work out what exactly Mirat wanted.
I knew he wanted me, since I held the Cren under my command. My Crows. Their inner Daemons. They were my knights, my personal weapons, under my spell as long as I could satisfy their Daemonic desires.
Now, I just have to be brave. Together, we can take on Mirat.
Mirat had been the one to almost destroy my Kingdom, after releasing the Boned spirit and the Mal spirit.
He clearly wanted every evil spirit to be under his thumb. A king of it all.
I have to open my eyes and show him.
The Cren. They’ll never be his weapons.
The Cren, whom reside in my Crows. They belong to me.
I open my eyes.
Searching for our enemy.
