Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (19 page)

“Well, I’m the one that has to train,” Alex said, her hands on her hips
, “and I’m the one that has to fight them, so I get to choose.”

“What your darling little prince
is not telling you,” Azi cut in, “is that he is betrothed to the Asur princess.”

Alex was stunned to silence at the revelation.  The pain that grabbed a hold of her heart was almost too much to bear.  It took everything she had to not start crying.  She knew
it was customary for Balthazar to have multiple wives.  It was another annoying little fact she was trying to suppress.

“That will not happen,” Balthazar said softly
to Alex, clearly aware of the hurt that she was trying so hard to hide.  As Lord Sultan he was expected to have a harem full of demon brides that would produce many heirs.  Mostly because the Devasi were a particularly violent race of demons and many of the princes wouldn’t live long enough to become Lord Sultan.  It was a numbers game for them.

“This isn’t the time to talk about it,” Ale
x said, shaking her head to clear the thought.  She knew she would have to deal with it eventually, but in that moment they had far bigger fish to fry. 

“If the Magi cannot find them,” Kaveh cut into the conversation, “how are we supposed to?”

“I am a dragon, boy,” Azi said as he puffed out his naked chest in pride.  “It is a simple task for me to see through their barrier.”

“Then it is settled,” Alex sai
d.  “We will go to Asur so I can train and defeat these bastards once and for all.”

They were not welcomed into Asur, as Balthazar had suspected.  Immediately upon crossing into Asur territory, they were greeted at spear point by a security detail and escorted to the Asuri palace.  They were brought before the King of Asur, were they now stood, hands tied behind their backs, Lord Krishna glaring down at them from his throne.

Alex found
herself mesmerized by the sight of the Asuri king.  His skin was a pale blue, and he had black-scrolled tattoos covering his body.  His head was bald, and even sitting down Alex could see he was a giant, at least ten feet tall.  She felt like she recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn’t quite place where.  She knew she had certainly never met him before, she definitely would have remembered such a thing.

The palace was nowhere near as lavish as the Devasi palace. 
Alex was surprised by the simplicity of it.  The throne room was small, about the size of an average living room, and sparsely furnished.  There was a simple wooden throne, were the king sat, a couple of wooden chairs along the bare brick walls, and one tattered old rug that covered the wooden floor.  There were glassless windows placed on either side of the throne that lit the room. 

“What an odd assortment of beings,” Lord Krishna finally spoke, after
thoroughly inspecting his captives.  His voice was the deepest, silkiest thing Alex had ever heard.  “A demon and a dragon is strange enough, but is that a human I see with you?”

The small gro
up looked at each other.  They hadn’t really expected the king to know what Alex was.  They had, after all, not known what she was until she had told them.  And even then there was a mild disbelief, as humans were widely thought to be mythological creatures. 

“Lord Krishna,” Balthazar spoke up.  He figured he had the best shot at reasoning with the demon, being that they were technically of the same position, and somewhat allies.

“I do not recall telling you to speak, boy,” Lord Krishna said, cutting off any further words from Balthazar.

Balthazar
bristled at the insult, suppressing a growl of irritation.  He wanted nothing more in that moment than to rip the old demons throat out.  He was certainly fast enough, and strong enough.  The Asuri were massive in form, but the Devasi were far better fighters.  The Asuri were only good at running and hiding.  But killing the king would do them no good.  He hated to admit it, but they needed the skills of his people. 

“Why have you come to
my kingdom?” Lord Krishna demanded, his voice booming around the room.

“We need your help,” Alex spoke up.  “I’m sure you know about the Magi.”

“Yes,” Lord Krishna said, his eyes focusing on Alex.  “I am aware of them.  My people have chosen not to involve ourselves in the problems of the other kingdoms.”

“It will soon be you
r problem as well,” Azi said.  He was utterly annoyed with the fact that his hands were tied behind his back.  It was utterly silly to think that any form of security this demon king had would stop him.  He was a Dragon King for crying out loud. 

“I highly doubt that,” Lord Krishna scoffed.

“How long do you think you can hide,” Alex said, hoping to sway the demon king to see things their way.  Lord Krishna glared curiously down at her.

“You certainly are a brave little th
ing,” he said.  He knew he could not keep up his kingdoms barrier forever, but he would never admit that.

“You have no idea,” Balthazar said, looking over at Alexandra.  He had learned first hand that she was so brave it bordered on
stupidity, and often crossed that line.  He had also learned that she had a strange knack for getting out of sticky situations. 

“Look,” Alex said, shooting
a sideways glare at Balthazar.  “These things came for me in my world.  I guarantee they will be able to come for you.  Maybe not right now, but eventually. I plan on putting an end to them.”

Lord Krishna belted out a short gruff laugh.  He stood from his throne
, and walked over to Alex, circling around her while he inspected every inch of her.  If their situation hadn’t been as dire as it was, he would have enjoyed a long laugh at the girl’s brazenness.  She barely came up to his torso, had no claws or fangs, and looked like she would have trouble fighting against wet paper. 

“And how, little human, do you expect to accomplish such a task,” Lord Krishna said, noticing the odd protectiveness over her that Balthazar was radiating. 

“That’s easy,” Alex said, raising her chin to look up at him.  Alex tried to look strong and confident, but that wasn’t an easy thing to do when a giant blue demon was glaring down at her.  “I am the only one that can defeat them.  It is what I was meant to do, it is my destiny.”

“She is the protector,” Azi said
to Lord Krishna.  “We have come to your kingdom seeking asylum so I can train the girl in her powers.”

Lord Krishna
contemplated the information.  He understood perfectly well the implications of the statement, and he knew there was no way he could turn them away.  He couldn’t hide forever, and he was otherwise helpless in the face of the Magi.  They had easily decimated three of his outlying counties before he had time to erect a barrier.  He needed Alex just as much as she needed him.  He sat back down on his throne.  What little energy he had managed to muster up was now almost depleted.  He would not show his weakness to his new guests, and he couldn’t maintain his façade much longer.

“I will allow you to dwell in my kingdom,” he said finally, motioning for one of the guards to untie them. 

“Thank you,” Alex said, bowing awkwardly to the king.  She wasn’t sure what the protocol was in this place, and she wanted to fully express her appreciation.  Things were starting to look up, she thought happily.  She had Balthazar, safe and unharmed, with her.  Tavi was happily reunited with Yashmina.  Nila was enjoying being with Kaveh.  And they now had a safe place for her to train and finally defeat those awful creatures.  The idea of learning how to really control her powers was even a little exciting. 

“Oh, and Balthazar,” Lord Krishna called after the group as they were
being ushered out of the throne room.  “Your betrothal to my daughter is still valid.”

Balthazar had held his tongue as long as he could.  He may be a guest in this demons kingdom, but he would not be ordered around, and he would not be forced to marry either.  He had come too far with Alexandra to allow her to slip from his grasp.  He could feel her eyes on him, could sense the turmoil rising in her aura. 

“That is not going to happen, Krishna,” Balthazar spat.  “It is unfortunate that my father mislead you into thinking it would, before one of your kind assassinated him.”

“What did you say?” Krishna snapped, his eyes
narrowing on Balthazar.  He had expected Balthazar to protest the wedding, and he was prepared to counter his arguments.  But this was the first he had heard of his people being the source of Sami’s assassination.  He had a massive amount of respect for the late Lord Sultan and had been deeply saddened to learn of his demise.

“You heard me,” Balthazar spat.  “We may need your assistance, but your kind k
illed my father in his own bed.  I will never mate with such cowards.”

“I had a great deal of respect for your father,” Lord Krishna said, clearly disturbed by the news.  “I was unaware of such a thing.  I assure you, I will apprehend the culprit and put him to justice.”

“You will turn the fiend over to me for justice,” Balthazar said.  He didn’t trust Krishna to carryout a proper punishment.  The Asuri may look imposing, but at heart they were softies. 

“Very well,” Krishna agreed.  In all honesty, he wanted to remain allies with the Devas.  It was the entire reason behind his push for this mating.  He truly did have respect for the Devasi as a people.  And he could understand the anger of Balthazar for his father’s murder.  If he could smooth things over by handing over the assassin he would in a heartbeat.  “But you will still wed my daug
hter in two days.”

Alex hadn’t said a word since they left the presence of Lord Krishna, and Balthazar knew exactly why.  They had been shown to a guest room in the Asur palace, with two small, wood framed beds.  They weren’t as plush or as comfortable as the beds in the Devasi palace, but they were clean.  There was only one other piece of furniture in the room, a beat up wooden chest shoved into the corner.  The room was windowless, with only a few candles lighting the room and casting a warm glow on Alexandra’s face.  She was sitting on one of the beds, refusing to look up at Balthazar. 

“I have no intention of wedding the
princess,” Balthazar said, sitting next to Alex on the bed.  He reached out for her, but she turned away from him. 

“He will make you
,” Alex said, fighting to hold back tears that were quickly forming. 

“Alexandra,” Balthazar said softly, hooking his finger under her chin and pulling her face to his.  She pulled away from him again, much to Balthazar’s disapproval. 

“Look at me,” he said, his voice hardened with the sting of her refusal.

She complied with a heavy sigh, and the pain was apparent
in her eyes.

“You should know by now that no one forces me to do anything
,” Balthazar said.  His face betrayed no emotion, but Alex knew him better than that.  There was trouble behind his charcoal blue eyes. 

“W
hat about your harem?” Alex asked, sniffling away the tears that stung at her eyes.  It was something that had been bothering her since Ashdad had mentioned it to her.  She had hope that she would be enough for Balthazar, but deep down she had her doubts.

“Alexandra,” Balthazar said, taking her hands in his much larger ones.  He ran the pads of his thumbs over the soft skin, enjoying how delicate she felt.  She was such a paradox. 
Seemingly so fragile, but underneath her delicate exterior lay a power that he could scarcely even fathom.  He wanted her, and no other.  He had realized that long ago.  It was difficult for him to discuss the way he felt about her.  But he knew he could never be without her.  She looked up at him, her beautiful green eyes wide with uncertainty.

“There will never be any other,” he said softly.  “You can never be replaced, and there is no substitute for you, Alexandra.”

He leaned forward, his lips pressing urgently against hers.  He needed a way to reassure her, and he knew his words could never fully express how he felt about her.  His body ached for her, ached to touch her, to hold her, to feel her beneath him. 

Alex leaned into the kiss, unable to refuse him.  No matter how much her mind told her being with Balthazar was insanity, her body wanted him and she could feel it
instantly responding to his touch.  A heat smoldered in her stomach, slowly growing as his kiss grew more passionate.  His tongue reached into her mouth, searching for hers as his hands wrapped around her, pulling her closer.  He lifted her legs, pulling her flush with him, straddling his lap. 

Alex felt the
hardness of his manhood pressing so sinfully against her and she could feel her body tingling with her desire for him.  She bucked her hips against him, reveling in the light friction from the contact with his hardened member. 

Balthazar was
quickly loosing his mind.  Alexandra’s arousal floated around him, and her body rubbed so willingly against him, it made him want to tear her robes off and ravish her.  He had only meant to comfort her with a simple kiss, but the taste of her on his lips egged him on and now he was entirely lost in the moment.