Princess of the Damned (26 page)

“
He is Alex.” Trent introduced. “He is mother’s adopted son.”

Alex held out his hand to her, but she did not know what he wanted. He took the initiative to take her hand and then shake it. “It’s how we say hello back in my time.”

She knew instantly that he was human. “That would make you my brother, wouldn’t it?”

Alex stole a glance at Trent. “I think so...”

“
It is nice to meet you, brother.”

“
I will prepare some warm tea. Even though it is spring in this country, the nights are still so cold,” Alex said and then headed toward the door in the back. He walked past a cloaked figure sitting by the table. The crest on his hood was the same as the man in her memory.

“
You…”

Nala impulsively pulled the hood from his head to reveal his face. His green eyes glared at her. He stood up and before she knew it, the slap of his hand sent her to the wooden floor.

“
Are you going to seduce him too?”

“
Noctiam…!” A female voice shouted out. A beautiful woman with long and silky black hair sheltered her. Nala looked up. The woman’s dreamy violet eyes were strikingly bewitching. “Noctiam, control yourself!” She wrapped her arms around Nala and gently stroked the back of her head.

Trent’s sword pressed against the ambassador’s neck. “You stay here quietly or I will force you to leave.”

The ambassador mockingly chuckled. “Is today the first day you know her, Trent? Have you forgotten what mischief she is capable of? How do you know this is not another one of her personas that she has made up to fool you?”

He laughed as he sank into the shadow.

It felt warm.

Nala’s heart felt nervous and was beating wildly inside her chest. She was overwhelmed with mixed emotion when she noticed something was so very familiar about this woman; that she had completely forgotten about the shock of being slapped. It was her scent, but it had nothing to do with sense of smell. It was her warmth, but it had nothing to do with sense of touch. Could it really be possible?

“
Are you my mother?” Nala softly asked.

She nodded and then held Nala’s face between her palms. “You and Trent are one, so I suppose I am.”

“
You don’t look any older than me or Trent.”

“
If I looked my age then I would be a pile of dirt,” she smiled humorously.

“
None of us do,” Trent added.

“
Are you really my mother?” Nala needed confirmation.

“
I am Trent’s biological mother. Actually, I am not his biological mother. Well…it’s a complicated story.”

Nala knitted her brow to express her confusion.

“
She is our mother,” Trent placed a firm hand on Nala’s shoulder to assure her. “Unlike we who are born demons, our mother was a mortal human. She gave birth to us while she was human. Our father’s subjects objected to the union and plotted against her. One of the plots involved switching her soul with a demon’s to deceive our father. The vessel you see before you is not our biological mother, but her soul is. Do you understand now?”

Nala nodded. “I think I understand a little. What about us, Trent? I don’t understand how we were one person.”

“
I apologize if I didn’t explain thoroughly enough in the beginning. You see, Nala, every demon is born with an instinct. A demon’s instinct is very similar to that of a human’s primeval instinct. Its only motivation is to survive and gain control over its host. You were my instinct, but you were special, Nala. You had the ability to think freely and independently. You were fully capable of being selfless. You voluntarily separated yourself from me and traded yourself to save our mother.”

“…
Into this body?” Nala placed her hands on her chest. “So this body is not mine?”

Alex came over with a tray of tea to offer everyone. Nala politely shook her head.

“
No, it is yours. They implanted you into an inactive demon egg and the gender just happened to be female. I was quite shocked about that. Since you borrowed my image when you were with me, I always thought of you as a brother. You probably don’t even have your own instinct, since it is only an empty egg.”

“
What do you mean, I borrowed your image?” Horror crawled onto her face. “I was a
man
?”

“
I did not say that. You don’t have your own physical body, so you manifest yourself to look like me.”

“
Did it…feel weird when there was another person inside your mind?”

“
Honestly?”

She nodded.

“
It feels more unnatural now that we are separated. It is as if someone has ripped out half of your heart and still expects the other half to function property.”

“
Is that why…” Nala abandoned the sentence. It was not the time to talk about it.

“
When will you be coming home with us?” Alex asked. “Most of the demons don’t bother themselves with the human world. I imagine it must be very lonely by yourself.”

“
I have something I must do first before then. Believe me when I say that I look forward to coming home.”

“
What do you need to do, Nala?”

“
I must help someone reunite his nation. I owe it to him.”

“
I am bored out of my mind. Maybe I can lend you a hand.”

“
Are you sure?”

A smile tugged on Alex’s face. His hands unconsciously held the handles of his twin swords. “Hell yeah! I have been perfecting my skills for an opportunity like this! It’s going to be like the most epic MMORPG ever!”

“
Don’t get too excited, Alex,” Trent said. “She doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Plus we are talking about real human lives here.”

“
I may not have lived through as many wars as you have, but I’m already desensitized to death by now. I’m helping out family and it is for a good cause, right?”

Nala turned to her mother. “I have so many questions I want to ask you, mother. When will I be able to meet my father?”

There was a hint of sadness in her mother’s eyes when Nala asked that question.

“
He will be awakening soon,” her mother said while forcing a smile. She could not hold the smile, so she broke into tears. “I hate that I love him so much! I just hate it!”

“
I’m sorry, mother. I didn’t mean to make you cry!” Nala held her mother to comfort her. “Please, I feel horrible for making you cry at our first meeting. Trent, do something.”

Trent and Alex stood frozen with a helpless expression on their faces.

Noctiam leaned against
the frame of the glass window and stared out into the early dawn. It was also early dawn on the streets of Egypt when he first met her. He was still very young at the time and still very curious about the human world. He dwelt among them and took pleasure in all of the good wine and sex the humans had to offer. He often wondered why the other demons did not have any interest in living in this realm.

The first demon he encountered in the human world was a little horse thief with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. The second thing he noticed about her was that she was only a hatchling less than a few decades old. Her strength was not that much different than a normal human’s. He was one of the youngest among the demons and he was already fifteen thousand years old. Encountering a hatchling was more than just a rare occurrence.

He was very curious about her and later, when he thought about it, he shouldn’t have been. He should have just given her the damn horse and sent her on her way, but he didn’t do that. He didn’t do what he should have done. He misplaced his heart and then he had to pay for it. He had been paying for it ever since.

There had always been only one person inside her heart.

There was a time when he thought he could change that. He thought he could make her fall in love with him. He thought he could win against whatever it was that was pulling her and her other self together. She had tried everything to be with the person she loved and he had done the same. How unfortunate that neither of them succeeded. The only thing they got out of it was heartache and more heartache.

Unlike her, he knew when to give up. He admitted defeat while she still relentlessly tried to make Trent fall in love with her. Little did she know that it was not Trent’s heart that she needed to win. It already belonged to her.

He admitted defeat, but only to Trent! He admitted defeat to the hands of fate, but not to some lowly human!

Noctiam turned to watch the human king sleep soundly in his bed. Her scent was on the linen and even on the tip of the bastard’s hair. Noctiam knew how little effort it would take to kill a human, but he would not do that. Nala would hate him for destroying her precious little toy. He would make Nala hate this bastard instead. That would be a deserving punishment, wouldn’t it?

But this man is not just a mere toy to her. Nala had never allowed anyone, but Trent to take her. Not any of her lovers and definitely not him. Her face was soaked in her own tears when she came asking him for help. She offered herself, her body, in exchange for him removing her core. She was in so much torment that he did not want to put her through any more despair. He helped her without asking for anything in return.

He could not forgive her for letting this lowly human taint her. He could not forgive any man for achieving what he could not. If her heart was unwavering toward him, then she should be fair and not let it waver toward anyone else. If he could not win over fate, then how dare this human attempt to.

Noctiam mouthed a spell and then placed his slender fingers on the king’s head. “You will not find comfort even in your dreams, human. Abandonment is what you fear most, isn’t it? She will be torn from your arms night after night, so that you can never be secure in your happiness. I will drive you to the edge of your sanity before taking your insignificant life. This shall be your punishment.”

Noctiam sank back into the shadows and vanished.

“
The Spring Festival
was one of the most important days for the people of the Northern Kingdom. It celebrates the end of a long and harsh winter and welcomes Daime, the goddess of spring and fertility. It is essential that you, the future queen, attend the ceremonies and ask for a blessing from the goddess.”

Nala let out an irritable sigh. The servants had been grooming her since that morning and she was adorned with so many jewels that she wouldn’t be able to move if she were a normal human. They dressed her in a thin white silk gown with decorative gold pieces on top of it. It made her movement feel incredibly stiff.

“
Where is His Majesty?” Nala asked. “I have not seen him for the past three days.”

“
His Majesty is currently living at the Goddess’s temple. Custom demands that he undergo three days of purification ritual before he lies with the goddess.”

“
Lies with the goddess?”

“
I forgot that your ladyship is not originally from our kingdom. The priestess Miya must undergo the same purification to receive the goddess into her body. That is why to lie with her is the same as lying with the goddess herself.”

“
I see,”

She had heard of this before while she was traveling with the caravan. The priestess of the goddess of Diame must be a virgin and can couple only once with the King on the night of the spring festival. She must not take another partner for the rest of her life or suffer the penalty of death. If she were to conceive, it is said to be the blessing of the goddess. The current queen must take the child in as her own. Does that mean there is a different priestess every year? If that is true then it is such a pitiful life for the priestess.

“
Is it possible for me to meet the priestess?” Nala asked.

“
I can escort you into the temple, my lady, but it is the priestess who decides.”

“
Forgive me, but this is ridicules!” Nala ripped out the elaborate gold pieces in her hair. She then strips her wrists and ankle of bracelets and bangles.

“
My lady…” the female servant sighed. “Follow me then,”

Nala followed the woman out of the palace and was escorted to the temple of the goddess Diame. The guards in front stopped them at first, but then bowed to her when they were informed of her position as future queen. The title helped her move around so much easier within the kingdom. She waited out in the hall for permission to see the priestess.

“
Please go in, my lady,” said the female guard who helped her to deliver the message.

Nala entered into a gloomy private chamber lighted by hundreds of candles. There was a young girl with very light brown hair and shy blue eyes waiting for her inside. She was dressed in a simple white gown, but simplicity could not hide the girl’s true beauty.

“
Are you the priestess Miya?” Nala asked.

The girl nodded. “I am. Have you come to frame me of some indecent crimes so to make me unfit to be the priestess of this spring festival? Like my predecessors, I cannot defend myself if that is your intentions.”

That is rather a grim view. “Not really, I just came by to have a little talk.”