Page 84 of Prince of Demons
Lord Maell remained at the foot of the dais, hands clasped behind his back—clearly left in charge of the rest of her courting.
With a deep breath, she turned back to the demon who thought she looked lovely in blood. “And who might you be, then?”
After eight lords, it was becoming clear that Lord Iye was accurate in his prediction. So far she'd asked them all, point blank, what would happen if she turned down their advances once mated, and thanks to the rules of the courting ceremony, they answered her honestly.
Every single one confirmed that a ‘no’ from her when it came to sex would be ignored. They wrapped it in pretty words and promised she’d enjoy it, but at the core of each answer lay the same, inescapable truth: she would be raped. Repeatedly.
For the rest of her life.
The fire that had brought her into the room, head held high and determined to choose her own fate to the extent she could, faded a little more after each dance.
What choice was there to be had if the outcome would always be the same?
The queen may have done her best to lessen the trauma that came with being a demon’s Breeder, but even she was not powerful enough to change their very nature. Whichever male she chose, he would never view her as a person. Just a Breeder.
She looked up at the many faces eagerly vying for her attention and desperately tried to cling to the strength that had allowed her to face them before. It crumbled the harder she grasped for it. The faces began to blur—turning into one looming mass of black eyes and smiling mouths concealing sharp teeth behind pretty promises of devotion.
This was her life. There was no way out.
“Georgia?”
She jolted when someone gently wrapped a hand around her wrist. When she looked up, a familiar face frowned down at her.
Mallorn—Kesh’s Second.
“Kesh needs to see you. Now.” The last word was growled at the nearby lord, who’d been about to step in for his turn to court her. “She’ll be back shortly.”
“What’s the meaning of this? We’re in the middle of the ceremony! This is preposterous!” her would-be suitor snarled.
“You should bring that up with the prince, then. But I’d suggest you don’t—unless you also want to lose a limb. He’s in a foul mood today, which should be pretty fucking obvious. Or you can wait for twenty minutes, then get your chance to court the lady with your eyeballs still intact. Your call. Georgia, let’s go.”
Relief flooded her body. A small respite from the mass of males. As little as she wanted to see the prince right now, whatever Kesh wanted, it was serious enough to send the warrior he’d seemed like he wanted to murder only yesterday. And she was grateful for the intermission.
“Alright. Take me to him, then.”
His grip on her wrist tightened. Without another word, he led her out of the hall and away from the lords.
42
Georgia
Mallorn’s grip on her wrist remained gentle as he led her through the double doors and down a wide corridor. They passed several guards, each of them frowning at the demon by her side, but before any of them could open their mouths to ask, Mallorn growled, “Kesh wants to see her. Immediately.”
No one interjected as he guided her around the corner and into a room that looked like it had once been an office. A few dusty filing cabinets still sat abandoned in one corner, but outside of that, the room was empty.
Georgia frowned and turned back to Mallorn as he closed the door behind them. “Where’s Kesh?”
“He’s gone.” The demon finally released her wrist and went over to rummage through one of the filing cabinets.
Her heart did something strange in her chest. Lifted and dropped. “Gone?”
“He left. Alone. No guards. No backup.” His voice was tight but controlled. “He asked me to bring you to him. Quietly.”
Georgia stared at his back. This made no sense. The way he’d treated her, the way he’d given her up like she meant nothing to protect his family… “He… he asked you to, what? Smuggle me out?”
Mallorn paused in his rummaging. His shoulders tensed for a moment, then relaxed again. “Yes. Now, before it’s too late. He couldn’t do it alone—he’d never make it past the other lords with you. But I can. He asked for my help in getting you to him.”
“But… why?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
