Page 39 of Prince of Demons
He looked pissed.
Covered in blood and soot and chunks Georgia had no desire to study closer, he glared down at her clutching Suzanne tight. Even with the huge sword sheathed on his back, he still looked every ounce the demon warrior, and she couldn’t fault Suzanne for whimpering with fear and pressing closer into Georgia’s embrace, despite the girl not being able to see his monstrous features.
“What. Is. That?” He pointed at Suzanne’s cowering form. “I told you not to leave the fucking helicopter! Where did that come from?!”
“She can’t find her mother,” Georgia said, twisting her body to shield the girl from the prince’s angry stare. “I couldn’t leave her out there—she would have gotten hurt.”
Kesh’s black eyes widened with outrage. “And so you thought disobeying my orders and putting yourself at risk was the smart thing to do? Don’t answer that. Of course you did. You haven’t seen a wretch you wouldn’t martyr yourself for in a second, have you?” He scrubbed a large, clawed hand over his face. “I don’t have the fucking energy for this. Get rid of her—I need to get you home before you leap in front of a train to save a rat.”
“I can’t just leave her. She’s too young—I need to find her mother.” Despite the waver in her voice in the face of the prince’s clear agitation, she set her chin in defiance. “Is it safe out? I’ll be quick. You can wait here?—”
The metallic clang as Kesh’s meaty hand slammed against the side of the helicopter made both her and Suzanne jump, and she clamped her jaw shut.
“Are you insane? Do you not understand that I would rather fucking die than see you hurt, you insufferable human! No, you don’t get to fuck off on your own, like some idiot with a death wish! Now get rid of the girl, or I will do it for you.”
The prince’s anger was a near-tangible thing, the scent of aggression in the air thick on her tongue. Every instinct in her screamed to cower and obey, before his fury became violent. But she couldn’t do that. Not when a small, defenseless child needed her. “Please. I… I can’t leave her before I’ve found her mother.” She covered Suzanne’s ears. “Please, Kesh. I… I’ll make you another bargain. Just don’t make me leave her to die.”
The prince narrowed his eyes to slits. “You’ll make me another bargain?” he repeated, something akin to disgust in his voice. “And what do you have left to sell, little one? I already own you. That’s the problem with sacrificing a piece of yourself every time your heart bleeds. Very swiftly, you run out of assets to trade.”
Georgia swallowed thickly, the truth of his words making her gut tighten. “I…” She paused. He was right. For Larry, she’d bargained her body first, then her compliance. For the nameless woman in the abandoned building, she’d traded her energy. She opened her mouth to offer him the same for Suzanne, but his angry glare made her think better of it. She’d have to offer him something he couldn’t get elsewhere. Something he couldn’t just demand from her, either. Something he needed but would never think to ask for.
She looked up at him, at his battle-worn armor and streaks of dirt and blood littering his scaly skin. The idea struck like lightning—preposterous and obscene, but… if there was one thing a prince of demons wouldn’t think to ask for…
“I’ll take care of you,” she whispered.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll take care of you,” she repeated, more conviction in her voice now that he hadn’t immediately dismissed it. “You’ve fought. You’re injured. Tired. When we return to your home, I’ll take care of you. I’ll bathe you, dress your wounds if they need it… Help you relax. And if you need to consume more energy, well…”
The prince stared silently at her, his expression unreadable, and her gut tightened with panic, certain he’d deny her request.
“If you make me leave her alone and defenseless, I’ll never forgive you.”
She wasn’t sure what part of her had the audacity to snarl a toothless threat at the monster—possibly wherever blind desperation was stored—but it made Kesh arch an eye-ridge.
“You’ll never forgive me?” he repeated slowly, as if he couldn’t quite comprehend the ridiculousness of her threat.
Despair wormed its way through Georgia’s desperate fury at his disregard for a child’s life, but pleading had gotten her nowhere. She clung to her anger, jaw set tightly as she glared back at him. “Never,” she echoed.
Kesh held her gaze for another uneasy heartbeat. Then he huffed what could have been a laugh but entirely lacked the mirth and jumped back out of the helicopter. “Fine. Get the girl. But, little Breeder, once she’s been deposited with her own kind, I’m gonna collect on your bargain. And I don’t think you’ll enjoy it.”
19
Kesh
Forgiveness.
He'd made a lot of bargains with humans over the years. Not one had ever had the audacity to try to trade him their forgiveness, as if a demon would have even the slightest interest in such a ridiculous concept.
And yet…
He glared at the Breeder out of the corner of his eye as she walked by his side, the little spawnling on her hip. The creature was too heavy for Georgia to carry comfortably, but she refused to let it walk across the crumbling sidewalks on its own perfectly functioning legs.
He didn't care about her forgiveness. She wasn't his and would be out of his hair soon enough, off to breed some other unlucky bastard sons. He had no need to make her sweet on him.
But…
An image of Georgia flooded his mind. One of her clutching the child protectively, in defiance of his demand to abandon her. He clenched his hand to tamp down the roil of emotion attempting to force its way up his esophagus.
