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Chapter 51
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The Demon Chapter 52
As hard as Tevarr was trying to earn my favor, it was as cold as my homeland of Radenor was toward me upon my return. One more scene from a classic tale of chivalry.A procession approached, and king and queen, dressed all in black, fell on their knees before Andre’s coffin without deigning to look at me.“My son...”“My dear child!”Crocodile tears in their eyes, or at least in Abigail's. Her hope for ruling the country was gone, even if Rene had informed me that powerful life mages had been summoned to the castle.I really didn’t like it. A powerful mage meant a practicing mage, and who knew what they would discover? Yes, I was half-human, but sometimes, my demonic nature awoke inside me, and chaos reigned.During such moments, I couldn’t control myself, and I had no intention of announcing my half-demonic nature. Fine. Let them come, and I’ll find a way to deal with them. Maybe they won’t even accept the invitation.Rudolph did portray himself as the Templars’ loyal son, and they w
The Demon Chapter 53
The wedding was to take place in three days.Why so soon? We had to prepare for war, and Tevarr could help us only after the marriage. Therefore, the wedding would have to be quick and small-scale.Lavinia never left Abigail’s side, and the latter seemed quite affectionate. We could speak in private only when we danced, and even then...“She lied about being pregnant.”“I know.”I was sure of that myself, but getting a confirmation from a vampire was nice.“Are there pregnant women in her entourage?”“Yes. Two, both at early stages.”I nodded, my suspicions validated.“Why would she need to give birth herself, really?”Lavinia lowered her eyelashes. She realized everything as well. The baby would be presented as a fruit of Abigail’s loins.She didn’t give a damn about that child having any royal blood. She just didn’t want to go back to the dirt she had climbed out from. And again, if I had a baby cousin, could I ever hurt them without earning the hate of the entire country?A child k
The Demon Chapter 54
The court was buzzing with wedding preparations. I was busy as well. I had to leave the capital for two days to chase the Riolonian ambassador. I didn’t really have any choice; when the coffin with Andre’s body was delivered to Alethar, Uncle went into a frenzy.He obediently ate the bullshit he was fed and declared war on the Riolonians. The ambassador heard him out, tried to purge Riolon of suspicion, got a vase thrown at him, managed to dodge it, and ran away. He made the right call, really.Enraged, Rudolph could easily attack him with a sword. I caught up with the “Riolonian schemers” in two days’ journey from the capital.My horse could barely move, but that was worth the cost. The eyes of the Riolonian ambassador upon seeing me were enough to compensate me for all my misery, including my butt, sore from riding in the saddle.They were huge and wide with shock. Without thinking twice, I threw the reins to a servant and sat down near the campfire.“I come on business. Or will you
The Demon Chapter 55
I woke up to a hand touching my...private parts.Lavinia clearly wanted to consummate the marriage. I had to tear her wandering hand away from me and give her a brief clarification.“I’ll rip your fangs out.”The vampire hissed viciously, but I was as unrelenting as a righteous man.“For now, I’m putting you on short ration. Later, we’ll see.”“What about children?”“From you!?”Don’t get me wrong. I had been willing to have children with Carlie, and if I married any ordinary girl, I wouldn’t be against.**I got just three days to enjoy my newfound domestic bliss. After that, Uncle declared war on Riolon and summoned me.“So, Alex, if you couldn’t protect my son...”I raised a deep sigh that I had prepared in advance. I really couldn’t, because I wasn’t trying to. But I’m grieving it so much.“I entrust you with the army. I hope you won’t fail me.”Yeah, right.Make Lavinia pregnant and die soon?Don’t count on that. Still, I accepted the army. On the first troop review, I swore like
The Demon Chapter 56
“Alexander! Glad to see you, my boy!”Holy crap... Mikael himself!Wonderful!Did the king of Tevarr have enough gall and belief in my stupidity to lead the army himself?But no. His next words explained his coming.“I hoped that my son would head the army, but alas, Kristof broke his leg!”I nodded, sympathetic. That’s right, his eldest son was a bit older than me, twenty or twenty-two. The youngest wasn’t even fifteen yet, a snotnose.Would Mikael really entrust a duke with his army? What would keep that duke from using it later, at home, thinking that the crown became him...No way.The army was something that a smart king couldn’t lose hold of. A prince, on the other hand, could very well sit on the throne while the father was at war. It wasn’t that complicated, and he would have to gain experience and independence.I chuckled, thinking that I even felt some pity
The Demon Chapter 57
By the next night, I was in the camp once again. Tom had covered for me as well as he could, but Mikael had started to worry anyway.Thankfully, there was water in the tent. I poured some on myself, changed clothes, and came out.Where was I?Yep, I went to check the carts that had lagged behind, find out if they had lost anything or bartered for drinks. Was it ununworthy of a prince? Maybe, but at least I would be sure of everything. During wartime, supplies are everything.Troop deployment? I defer it to you.How about we put heavy infantry in the center, cavalry on the left, the ground there is nice, and the contingency force on the right?There’s a forest there, they could hide there.Offense? No way.If the enemy wants to come to us, let them. We’ll wait. Fine, we can advance on them, but later. I’ll rest a bit and then let’s go.When? Well, next morning, or better yet, evening. I barely brou
The Demon Chapter 58
“Alex!”Tom saved my life, pushing me away from a blow. Those creatures weren’t as dumb as they seemed. The devourers knew who had summoned them, and had no desire to leave.To remain in our world, green and full of people, the food for their fangs and claws, full of power—wasn’t that a demon’s dream? While I was busy with the second pit, the tentacles from the third one got to us.Tom pushed me aside...and took the brunt of the blow. He tumbled along the ground and stopped motionless, lying like a broken doll.“No!”I didn’t even realize at first that it was me who had cried out.Was he dead?No, his soul wasn’t flying away! And even if it was, I would get it back.I was a necromancer, dammit.Rage and desperation flashed inside me, and my other half got the upper hand. Instead of banishing the devourers with my necromantic power, I immolated them with a stream of scorching flames. It didn’t really matter anymore, though.The second pit closed up with a moist slurp, and I burned the
The Demon Chapter 59
After those events, the Riolonians wanted to continue the war about as much as we did. And so, we sat down to talk: me, Darius...Nobody else had survived. Not even a crown remained from Mikael. No surprises there.I had released enough of my power to burn even his bones to ash and then incinerate the ash as well, even if that was a pretty tricky thing in general.There were two Tevarrian generals left. The talks took place in the view of the entire army.Why?Nobody had wanted to set up camp here, bunk down... As a matter of fact, devourers tend to exude certain emanations, and they are particularly persistent, like cat pee in your boots.The stink would linger long after everything had dried out, and no washing, err, cleaning, would eradicate those emanations from the area. You could try and force yourself to remain in such a place, of course, but it would only end up in your nightmares, heart pains, or worse. And I would definitely discourage you from sleeping without a ward circle
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