Page 3 of Daughter of the Darkened City

Kaemon was alive.

After the attack that took her family and colony all those years ago, their oldest brother, Dryston, had sent out search parties for months to find him. All reports led them to believe he’d died. She remembered the funeral they’d held for him, how the priest had sent his soul off to the twin moon goddesses. How she and Dryston had wept, sure they were alone in the world.

A few months prior, Enid had heard rumors of a demon living in Nemus, near the Orc Realm. She’d told Dryston it was Kaemon, that he had survived, but Dryston had only given her that old look of concern and asked her if she was still seeing a mind mage. He hadn’t believed her and refused her pleas to search for their brother again, citing the tenuous relationship demons had with the beings of Nemus.

So she had run away in the dead of night.

Truth be told, she also hadn’t believed it was Kaemon either. But Dryston had given her bodyguards when she was thirteen, right afterthe attack, afraid that any movement would cause her to fall and break like a wine glass. And when she was young, she didn't mind much. It was just her brother being overprotective.

But it had never let up, and slowly she had withered, growing restless from her enclosure. Forced to stay out of the monthly hunts because of Dryston’s fear of another attack meant she didn’t get to take part in the bonding activity with her colony. She’d trained daily to be in the special forces, won every award she could at the war games, only for him to put her on cave patrol only. Under the ground, in the dark, always safe.

So she’d run, telling herself it was because Kaemon was alive and she wasn’t actually defying her brother who was also her Lord of Shadows. She was only looking out for her family. She had needed freedom. And she had needed to know she could survive out in the world, on her own. She had to figure out who she was because she’d never had the chance to. She still felt that itch for adventure, to plunge into the world and prove her mettle. For now, though, she had more important things happening.

Like the fact that Kaemon was here. And he had a mate, who was pregnant with a baby.

Enid had to look away, swiping a hand over her face to hide how her eyes lined with happy tears. She sure as the darkest pit wouldn’t let anyone see her cry. She had a reputation to uphold, and crying had no place in it.

Or it hadn’t.

Enid realized, not for the first time, that the reputation she had back in Medeis hadn’t followed her to Nemus. Some people saw her as a predator or a threat because she was a demon. Others saw her as merely a curiosity, as demons weren’t common in Nemus. But mostly, everyone just saw her as her. As Enid. Something she hadn’t been seen as for a long time.

She’d earned many names from the gossip pages: Daughter of the Darkened City (had a nice ring to it), Queen of Iniquity (badass but definitely an insult), and the uninspired rake.

So what if she was a rake? The title was played out. Old. Boring. Queen of Iniquity was far better.

She looked out over the horizon as they sat down to rest. Behind them stood the walls of the merchant city, Orc Haven, where they were staying. To the east were the woods that Kaemon had been living in before. Ahead of her, elves patrolled the roads, their ornate silver armor glinting in the sunlight.

Kaemon had been attacked twice in the last six months by Hunters, prompting Enid to act as an ambassador for the House of Shadows, and set up an alliance with King Leeth of the elves. In exchange, Leeth sent patrols to keep them safe while they waited on Dryston to come in answer to the letter Enid had sent him. She had wanted to take Kaemon and Melina back immediately. But they couldn’t just go back now. Melina was pregnant, and flying to another continent wasn’t a good idea.

“Any news from Dryston?” Kaemon asked, taking a drink as Enid handed the ladle to him.

She shook her head. Kaemon had asked every day for the first week, his eagerness to be reunited with his brother like a dog ready for its treat. But as the days passed, he stopped. This was the first time in over a month and she could see the careful way he looked out over the horizon, disappointment lining his features.

“Do you think…” His voice trailed off, and he swallowed hard, frowning.

“What?” she asked.

“Do you think Dryston hasn’t forgiven me?”

Enid grasped his hand in her own and he finally met her eyes, fear and anguish evident there. Kaemon had been young and inadvertentlygave information to a man who used it to betray them. Enid knew it wasn’t Kaemon’s fault. The humans had planned all along to kill them. But years of guilt and self-flagellation wouldn’t go away with a few kind words from Enid.

“I promise you, he’s not mad. And there’s nothing to forgive,” Enid said. Dryston was often angry and sometimes difficult to reason with, but he wouldn’t ignore their missives because of a grudge. “I’ll send another letter. There has to be a mix up somewhere because I’m certain if Dryston knew you were alive, he would be here in a moment.”

Kaemon nodded, then stood. “Should we head back?”

Enid stood and playfully rammed his shoulder with her own. “Yeah, let’s go. I promised Melina I’d take her to buy more fabric.”

Enid shouldered the packages Melina had purchased as they walked back to the Tipsy Tavern. Melina’s belly grew rounder each day, but that didn’t stop her from working. Her designs were taking off more and more with each new piece of clothing she created.

Melina walked beside Enid, her small hand ever on her lower belly, the glow of pregnancy ripe on her face. Enid pulled dried seaweed from her pocket and handed it to her.

“What’s this for?” she asked, sniffing before popping it in her mouth and munching on it happily.

“It’s good for you and the baby,” Enid said.

Enid had been stockpiling little foods like that, and she handed them to Melina throughout the day. She knew Kaemon was probably driving Melina nuts with his nesting and mate instincts, but female demons had foods and tricks they used to mother the pregnant female and Enid had caught onto it, even if she’d never even thought of having children. She wanted Melina to be healthy and happy, as well as the baby.

Melina was part of her colony now. The thought made her smile. Growing up, she had always wanted a sister. Having two older brothers was fun, but she’d seen the closeness of sisters and always longed for it.

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