Page 70 of Demonchild

“Really?” the maidservant gasped in disbelief.

“I forgive you,” Malissa repeated as she tightened her hold on the woman. “However, my baby does not.”

She took a step back, toward the flames.

“Wait!” Droanna gasped. “What are you—?”

Malissa took another step back, and another, pulling the maidservant with her. A murmur ran through the crowd. They were here to see a woman get burned alive, and now they were going to get what they’d come for.

A third step. A fourth. Malissa could feel the warmth of the flames caressing her wings. It felt nice, like sunshine on a summer day.

“No!” Droanna screamed. “Please!”

The woman was strong, and she writhed like a wild animal, but Malissa held her with ease. She took one more step back, and they were in the fire together.

The flames ignored Malissa, but they did not ignore her prey. The maidservant’s loose hair lifted for a moment on the rising heat, then ignited all at once, surrounding her head in a halo of whipping light. Her flesh seared and split like an overcooked sausage, and the air filled with the sickly sweet aroma of roasting meat. Her throat quickly became too charred to scream, but she continued to thrash for a long time after. By the time it wasfinally over, she was little more than a collection of blackened bones.

Malissa felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She turned to find Beliath staring down at her with an expression that could only be pride.

“That was nicely done, my angel.”

“Thank you, my demon.”

“So, that takes care of the doctor and the poisoner. Who’s next?”

“The king, I suppose.”

“And what shall we do with him, angel?”

Malissa turned to face the demon fully, and she pressed her naked body against his. She kissed his chest once, then tilted her head back and smiled up at him sweetly.

“Let’s make him watch.”

CHAPTER 37

Beliath’s heart swelled with pride for his mate, even as his cock swelled with lust. He had sensed for some time now that she had a wickedness inside her, but he had not realized until this moment just how deep that wickedness ran. He cradled her face in his hands and stared into her beautiful, dark eyes, which reflected the inferno blazing around them. Over the roar of the flames, he could hear the murmuring voices of the crowd watching from the edges of the courtyard, but he paid them no mind. His attention belonged to her, and her alone.

Great hell, what an incredible creature she was.

Beliath had to admit, he felt a twinge of guilt that he had not been present to protect her from the king who had tried to harm her and the unborn child inside her, but he was pleased to see she hadn’t really needed his aid. She had passed through the fire unscathed, and she had just murdered the poisoner without flinching. Beliath could not have found a better mother to bear his offspring.

She was perfect in every way.

He was eager to mate with her again, but he hesitated for a moment, simply drinking in the sight of her. She had always been beautiful, but now, in her new form, she was even more beautiful than before. Her long hair had been devoured by the flames, but in its place she now sported a pair of lethal looking horns, and the feathers of her wings shone like black silk. Her talons bit impatiently into the flesh of his chest, but the pain only sent his desire soaring to new heights.

“Come, angel,” he said, leading her back to the vertical wooden post at the center of the inferno. “Let me worship you.”

“Worship me first,” she said. “Then I’ll come.”

Beliath smirked at his mate’s impudence. He had half a mind to bend her over and spank her into submission right here in front of the so-called king and all his subjects. But there would be time enough for spanking later, with hands and paddles and whips. There would be time for all manner of delicious punishments. At the moment, however, Beliath simply wanted to taste her. Heneededit, the way mortals need food and water. For far too long, he had been deprived of his mate’s sweet nectar. Now he intended to have his fill of her.

He shoved her back against the post and dropped to his knees in front of her, sinking into the heap of glowing coals and charred wood. Sparks swirled around him, and flames licked at his bare thighs and aching cock, but he didn’t feel them.

The only heat he was experiencing now was coming from his perfect, pregnant mate. She had ignited something inside that was far more intense than any physical fire.

He smiled up at her.

“Hold onto me, angel. Your demon is hungry, and he may not be able to control himself.”

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