Page 21 of Demonchild

“Sir, I do not know what you mean.”

“Oh, I think you do, Your Highness. I am a man, and my features are not so dissimilar to the king’s. The difference is that I am younger than he is, and my seed still has some potency left.”

Malissa’s face flooded with heat. She took a big step away from Jaeger, then spun to face him.

“Get out,” she hissed.

Jaeger closed the distance between them. His expression was calm, his eyes dark and cool.

“I have in my laboratory certain potions which can accelerate the gestation of a child. The king would never need to know the baby is not his own. I am good at keeping secrets, Your Highness.”

“Well, I’m not. You had better hope, for your sake, Dr. Jaeger, that I do not tell the king about this. Now get out.”

Malissa immediately wished she had not said those words. She saw something flicker behind the man’s eyes. Something dangerous. For a moment she thought he might actually attack her. She drew a deep breath and prepared to scream bloody murder if the man so much as touched her.

There was a knock at the door.

“Your Highness?” Droanna’s voice came through the wood.

“Come in,” Malissa called.

The door opened, and the maid entered bearing a tray with Malissa’s midday meal. When she saw that the queen had company, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Oh, Dr. Jaeger,” she said, giving a slight bow. “I didn’t know you were in here, sir.”

Malissa wondered how the situation must look to the maidservant. Here she was, the queen, alone in her bedchamber with a man who was not her husband, and the laces of her bodice were undone. It was not a good image.

“Dr. Jaeger was just examining my bruises,” Malissa explained, and she placed a hand over her stomach. “He said the baby should be fine, isn’t that right, Dr. Jaeger?”

“Quite so.” He hesitated a moment, then added, “Please,rememberwhat I told you.”

He bowed and departed.

Droanna went to the table by the wall and set down the tray of food. Though the maidservant didn’t say anything, Malissa could see she was curious about the doctor’s last cryptic comment.

“He told me to refrain from riding until after the child comes,” Malissa said. “Just to be safe.”

Droanna smiled brightly. “Oh, that’s good advice, Your Highness! Here, let me tie up your gown for you…”

CHAPTER 12

Midnight found her once again traversing the dark woods alone. When she had first made this trek two nights before, she had been terrified by the vastness of the forest, and the depth of the shadows therein. Tonight marked her third such trip, and her fear, while somewhat diminished, had also become more focused. She was no longer afraid of the journey through the forest—she was afraid of what was waiting at her destination.

Tonight, if all went as planned, she would be mated by a demon.

Had she been traveling unencumbered, she might have turned back under the weight of the sin she was planning to commit. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it—tonight she also had a physical burden to help distract her mind from her fears and apprehensions.

The portrait of the king was not the biggest painting Malissa had ever seen. In the throne room, there were portraits of the king’s ancestors that were so big they required two men to carry them. Wulfgang’s was smaller than that, thank the Creator.

Still, it was no easy task. More than once, Malissa had to pause to catch her breath, and by the time she finally reached the clearing, she was sweating profusely.

She propped the portrait against one of the tall pillars of the darkstone ring, facing the central altar. In the moonlight, the king’s visage seemed to stare out of the painting at her, his eyes filled with reproach.

“Forgive me,” Malissa whispered.

She didn’t really mean it. She had no reason to apologize. It was Wulfgang who had forced her into this situation. The man had murdered twelve wives, and he would do the same to her if she didn’t take matters into her own hands.

She unshouldered her satchel and set to work preparing for the summoning. She lit the candles and arranged them atop the five shorter stones of the darkstone ring. Then she stepped out of the circle and stripped off her gown. The night air felt good on her damp skin.

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