Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

I n the days that followed, Malissa did not visit the darkstone ring, not because she did not want to—on the contrary, she wanted to go back so bad it hurt—but she and Beliath had discussed it at length, and they had both decided it would be best if she stayed away until the time of the equinox. There was less chance of her getting caught that way, and therefore a better chance of them both escaping together when the time finally came. It made for many sleepless nights, but Malissa managed as best she could.

She counted the days until they could be together again. Aside from her meals, which she continued to take in the kitchen, most of her time was spent in the library, leafing through her mother's books, but she found it difficult to focus on her reading. Her mind was continually wandering. Half the time she was daydreaming about the life she and Beliath would share together once he was finally free. The other half she spent thinking about what the demon had told her the last time they had been together.

Could it really be true? Malissa wondered.

Could she really be a cambion, a demon's child?

It was hard to believe… but not that hard after everything she had experienced over the preceding months. She had summoned a demon, had lain with him, and had fallen in love with him too. Was it so difficult to believe her own mother might have done the same thing with a demon of her own?

Malissa had to admit, it did fit with her father's icy attitude toward her. And more than that, it fit with her own nagging feeling that she was different somehow, that she didn't quite fit into human society the way she was supposed to.

But if Beliath was right, if she really was a demon's child, then what had happened to her real father? And what about her mother? Had she really died in childbirth, or had something else happened to her?

Malissa would just have to ask her father—or whatever Lord Herzog was to her.

First, however, she had to elope with her demon.

At last, the day before the equinox arrived. Malissa's heart was aflutter with excitement for the coming journey. No longer would she have to sneak around like a thief in the night. She and Beliath would be together all the time. They would be a family at last—demon, woman, and child.

That thought brought a smile to Malissa's face.

She stood before her wardrobe and looked inside. There were many expensive gowns in there. Some of them she had brought with her when she had come to Drachenval. Others had been gifts from Wulfgang, though she had sometimes wondered if his previous wives had worn them before they met their unfortunate ends. Malissa considered taking one or two extra gowns with her tonight, but decided against it. Her favorite black gown was all she needed. Beliath could conjure additional clothing for her to wear once they were far away. He could also conjure gold, so they could purchase any items his magic could not create. They would want for nothing.

Of course, the demon would need to recharge his magic from time to time by feasting on her pleasure and pain.

That was fine with Malissa. She was more than happy to do her part.

As a matter of fact, she was getting aroused just thinking about it. Her nipples hardened within her bodice, and heat throbbed between her legs. She was tempted to extinguish that fire with her fingers, just as she had been forced to do for so many lonely nights now, but she decided against it.

She would save all her arousal for tonight. She would unleash it on her demon as soon as he was free of the darkstone ring. That thought brought another smile to her lips.

Suddenly, a noise cut through the silence of the afternoon.

A trumpet blast from somewhere outside on the castle wall. The front gate, from the sound of it. After a moment, the first trumpet was joined by others. A choir of metallic voices singing shrilly in the early autumn air.

Malissa shut the wardrobe and crossed her bedchamber to the western-facing wall. She stood before the window and looked out. What she saw there put her heart into her throat. An army was approaching along the western road, raising a cloud of dust in its wake. The foremost riders were still a good distance off, but they were close enough that Malissa could make out the blue and red banners of Drachenval whipping in the wind.

The king.

The king was returning.

Malissa immediately went cold inside. What was Wulfgang doing home so soon? He wasn't due back for several more weeks. There had been no pigeons or riders carrying word of the king's early arrival. None that Malissa knew of anyway.

The cold feeling inside her shifted into hot anger. There probably had been letters. There must have been. Letters which Dr. Jaeger would have received, and which he had knowingly neglected to share with her.

But there was no use worrying about that now. What was done was done. The king was here. Now she needed to decide how to proceed.

She could try to flee. The guards' attention would all be directed toward the west and the returning army of the king. If she left the castle by an easterly exit, there was a good chance she could slip away without being seen.

But what if she was seen? What then?

And besides, the king would be within the castle in less than a quarter of an hour, and the first thing he would wish to do would be to look upon his pregnant wife. Her absence would soon be discovered, and then riders would be sent out to find her. Even if she managed to reach the darkstone ring before that happened, it was still many hours until midnight would arrive, marking the start of the day of the equinox.

A knock came at the door. A man's voice called to her through the heavy wooden boards.

"Your Highness?"

Malissa held her breath as she tried to decide what to do. She wanted to run, but—

A louder knocking.

" Your Highness? "

Malissa exhaled. Better not to rush, she decided. The fact that the king was home changed nothing. She would have preferred to leave without having to see him again, but she wasn't going to risk getting caught now that her freedom was finally within reach. She would stick with her plan and wait until night. Then she would slip away.

She went to the door and opened it. A pair of guards were waiting in the corridor. Tall men dressed in chainmail and the colors of Drachenval. They bowed when they saw her.

"Your Highness," one of them said. "Dr. Jaeger sent us to fetch you. The king is returning. We are to escort you down to the courtyard to greet him."

"Very well," Malissa said, forcing a smile. "Lead the way."