Page 66 of Prince of Demons
Kirigan’s gaze narrowed, returning to Kesh’s. “What happened to the child? After it was rescued?”
Irritation bubbled up Kesh’s spine, partly from being grilled on the less-than-ideal decisions he’d had to make in a less-than-ideal situation, and partly from the reminder of how thoroughly he’d been manipulated by Georgia and his ridiculous instincts to please her. “I took it back to its mother. Can we perhaps return to the slightly more important issue of a fucking god having stolen a Stone of Power right from under our noses? What kind of havoc can they wreak with that? Because I assume we’re all thoroughly fucked.”
“I’m not certain. The three stones are forged with ancient, demonic magic. A divine creature would run into some trouble wielding one, I would imagine. However, for them to risk the theft, they most certainly will have a plan to use it. Whatever havoc they’re planning, it will be bad.” Kirigan paused. “You say you took the child back to its mother? And there were no… irregularities in the handover?”
What was everyone’s obsession with that fucking girl? First Georgia, and now his father. Who, he knew all too well, didn’t possess a protective bone in his body when it came to human children. “No. Except from us nearly losing the entire fucking Eastern Seaboard to a concealed Stone of Power—which is apparently now in some god’s hands—and me having to bring a Breeder to a battle with the Europeans because Kain can’t tell Selma ‘no’ which made it somehow my responsibility to play matchmaker to a wayward female, everything went smoothly.”
“And she is proving... troublesome, is what I understand from your brother?”
It was unlike Kirigan to display any kind of tact. Which meant Kain would have passed on Mallorn's aggravating presumptions about Georgia, and any territorial instincts Kesh may or may not be displaying for her.
He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “No more than any Breeder would, given the circumstances. Once I’ve dealt with… a minor complication… and she’s picked a mate, I’ll be able to return my full focus to the war. Whatever else you may have heard stems from my men's growing agitation with the presence of an unmated Breeder, nothing more.”
“Minor complication?” Kirigan raised an eyebrow in interest.
“The kind it would be better if her suitors didn’t know too much about. She sold her body to a demon, ended up in a brothel… And the contract’s technically still active. Not much more than a bump in the road, once I… convince… the demon who owns her that it would be in his best interest to surrender his claim willingly. But I can’t bring her back to the brothel now that her presence in my territory is known, and I can’t leave her here while I go deal with him, for the same reasons I couldn’t leave to handle the Maine situation without her.”
“So leave her with me.”
Kesh blinked. “With you?”
“You think I might forcefully try to claim the girl the moment you turn your back, like your men?” Despite Kirigan’s dispassionate tone, he still managed to make the idea sound as preposterous as it was.
Heat touched Kesh’s ears. “No.” Only a moment’s hesitation there. “But your behavior with Selma these days is… a little concerning. Georgia is my responsibility. If something were to happen to her, especially at the hands of my own father… The ripple effects would be enough to take down our entire family.”
Kirigan’s eyebrow arched higher. “My behavior with Selma is cause for concern?”
Kesh sighed irritably, wishing his brother was the one to have this conversation, not him. “You follow her to the bathroom. That’s not normal. You know that, right? And you… hover. To a disturbing degree. I’m frankly surprised to see you here, this far away from her and the baby.”
A shadow passed over his father’s eyes, and for a second, dread clutched at Kesh’s gut. If he’d pushed him too far?—
“I hover because, if she dies, Kesh… so does your brother.” The words came out stilted; like they were too sharp to comfortably pass through his throat. “Women are… delicate, after giving birth. To a degree neither you nor Kain can fully comprehend. I am only here because no one else can be. But while I am, utilize me. If taking care of this complication will mean the girl can be mated and you can return your full focus to the war sooner, then trust me to guard her while you are away. She is not Selma; my… instincts… won’t be on edge with her. And we need your attention on the kingdom, especially now that the gods are getting involved.”
A long moment of silence passed between them. It was, perhaps, the closest his father had come to acknowledging how much their mother had hated them, and the shadowy talons raking at his guts in response were acid.
It didn’t matter. She was long dead, and he’d known the truth since he was young.
Kesh forced a slow, even breath through his lungs, forcing his focus to what did matter. “Very well. I will leave Georgia under your care while I deal with the lowlife who owns her contract. I will be back shortly.” He paused, giving his father a firm look. “But keep your distance. I don’t want her traumatized.”
34
Georgia
The sound of the front door slamming shut made Georgia perk up.
Finally.
It’d become very swiftly clear to her that the lunatic attacking her out of nowhere was Kesh’s father—which hadn’t made the situation any less tense. For the rest of her life, she would remember the tight clenching low in her gut as the big, brutish demon prince cried in her arms while he divulged the horrors his father had committed, and the devastation they’d led to.
She hadn’t anticipated ever seeing him in the flesh, and now that she had, she was glad the experience was over. Even without shooting black magic at her and accusing her of being a goddess, of all things, it’d been obvious that there was something not-right about him. He’d looked like a human to her, in the same way that Kesh did now she’d been marked—slightly too big, ever-so-slightly off—but even so, his eyes had given away what even Kesh’s recounts from his childhood couldn’t quite capture: something fundamental was broken inside him.
Georgia shuddered at the memory of those black eyes, so similar yet so entirely different to Kesh’s, and then resolutely pushed it aside. Whatever was wrong with him, it wasn’t her problem. In a week or two, she would likely never see the demon prince again, let alone his unhinged dad. And that was absolutely fine. More than fine.
She pushed open the door and walked through the hallway into the living space. Kesh stood staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to her, black hair tumbling over his shoulders.
“Well, you weren’t kidding. Your dad’s certifiably insane. I’ve never been called a goddess before, but blasting magic at me seems like a wild overreaction. I see where you get your charming temperament fro—” Her snarky voice died on a wheeze when the demon by the window turned toward her, and dark, dead eyes pierced her to her soul.
“You feel comfortable mouthing off to my son? And he feels comfortable enough with you to touch on my… instabilities?” Kirigan looked at her with what seemed like nothing but polite interest. Georgia still took several steps back toward the hallway, her mouth turning dry with abject horror at her mistake.
