by Dove, Raquel
“Sorry,” she said, her voice placating, “Prince Balthazar.”
“That’s better,” Ashdad said with a pleased smile. “Prince Balthazar is in seclusion. He has chosen to break the bond, and he will need to remain apart from you in order to do so.”
Alex wasn’t expecting to hear those words. Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach, and she could feel the sting of tears already forming behind her eyes. She couldn’t believe the words, even though she had heard them with her own ears. She felt like she had just been stabbed in the chest, and someone was twisting the blade around.
“No,” Alex said, her voice crackling, “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m sorry, Alexandra,” Ashdad said, “but this is for your own good. Prince Balthazar recognized that. You must as well.”
“No,” Alex said, shaking her head as the tears began to stream down her face. “He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t leave me.”
“Alexandra,” Ashdad said, rising from his cushion. He moved to the other side of the desk and took a seat beside her. His larger hands came to rest on her smaller ones, and when she looked up at him, he had shifted into his human form. “You must understand, this is for the best. Humans and demons cannot mate. It will never work.”
“We could make it work,” Alex argued, pulling one of her hands back to wipe at her tears.
“Maybe,” Ashdad said, “if Prince Balthazar was not destined to be Lord Sultan when my time is over.”
“What difference does that make?” Alex said, her mind still grasping for an argument. “If he is Lord Sultan, he can do whatever he wants.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Ashdad said. “The Lord Sultan must make many sacrifices for his kingdom, whether he finds them to his liking or not.”
“So?” Alex said, her face contorted in pain as the tears rolled down her hot cheeks.
“So,” Ashdad responded, “how will you feel when he takes another bride? Or many other brides?”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Alex said, realizing as soon as the words left her mouth that she didn’t know that to be true.
“He must,” Ashdad said, “it is only one of the many duties of the Lord Sultan. Even if he were to make you his Sultana, he would need to build a large harem, with many ladies that will bear him many sons. It is the way our kingdom works. It is protocol, and even the Lord Sultan cannot escape protocol.”
“No,” Alex said softly, the pain that gripped her heart wouldn’t allow her to speak louder than a whisper. Tears fell freely from her eyes. Her mind searched for another argument, but could not find one. She knew, deep down, that the words he spoke were true, but she simply could not face it. Not now.
“I’m sorry, Alexandra,” Ashdad said, “but this is only for the best. In time, the pain will subside. You will see the truth in what I speak. You will understand in time.”
Chapter Twenty Four
Nila poked her head around the corner of a hall in the harem complex. Seeing no one, she made her way quickly down the passage. She stopped near the end of the hall and, looking around cautiously, opened the door to one of the vacant harem apartments, stepping inside. The far end of the entrance hall was also the very back wall of the harem complex, and it was there she was going to make her escape from the gilded cage she had lived in her whole life. The harem was the height of luxury. With airy, columned pink marble rooms, dripping with the finest silks and an army of eunuch slaves to satisfy her every whim. But it was a cage nonetheless.
It had not been very long since her marriage to Tavi, Lord Advisor and younger half-brother of Balthazar, but Nila hated every moment of it. Almost as much as Tavi himself hated it. This was a marriage that few people wanted, done only to follow protocol and appease her father. She didn’t hate Balthazar for forcing the marriage, she understood what it meant to be in love. It was clear to everyone his feelings for the human, Alexandra. She didn’t hate Tavi, her husband either, despite the fact that he had never even laid a hand on her or her sister, Azira. But she did hate the person who, in her mind, had caused this. Azira was so bent on becoming the Sultana that she bullied Nila into joining her in the bedchamber of the newly anointed Lord Sultan Balthazar. Even though he had requested both sisters, Nila could have declined with little repercussions. He may have been the Lord Sultan, commanding the entire palace as he pleased, but he would never force a female to do something she did not truly desire. Nila could have declined him anytime, but she had feared her sister’s reaction. She no longer cared what her sister wanted, and in time she would get her revenge. That was something she had promised herself on the day her and her sister’s wedding to Tavi took place.
Nila pulled a golden trinket roughly the size of a pigeon egg from the pocket of her silk robe. She rolled it between her hands, feeling the words that were engraved in the gold with her fingertips. It began to glow softly as she spoke a short incantation. Her magic abilities were nowhere near that of her father’s, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve, and she had become rather practiced in this particular endeavor over the past week. She concentrated her aura on the golden orb, and it began to grow in her hands. As it reached approximately the size of her head, she released it. The ball flattened out and attached to the wall. It continued to grow, reaching the size of a small, narrow door. Nila stepped through the doorway to the outside of the palace. She turned around, shrinking the door back to its pocket size.
“Where do you think you are going?” a voice said behind her, raising the silver colored hairs on her neck. Her purple eyes sparkled as she turned around to face the man she have fallen in love with.
“Breaking out of this gilded prison,” she said, a smirk on her pink lips, “Do you know someone willing to harbor me?”
“I believe I can find someone,” Kaveh said, his lips mimicking the smirk on the Nila’s lips. He never would have thought that he would feel this way for someone, much less for someone like Nila. But her loyalty to him had touched him in such a surprising way. She was married, not only to a half-brother of his, and prince of Devas, but to the Lord Advisor. Sneaking out of the harem to meet another demon would likely see her executed, yet she fearlessly did it for a few moments alone with him.
“Come,” he said, holding his hand out to her, “I have a surprise for you.”
Kaveh was hoping his surprise would have the effect on her he intended it to. He had been waiting weeks to have Nila, in the way only a lover could. She had never been touched, was still a girl, in spite of being a married woman. It was a shame, Kaveh thought, that someone so beautiful as Nila should go untouched. But she was still uncomfortable with the thought of becoming a woman, though he hoped to change that soon.
No sooner had she placed her hand in his, than they were gone from the outskirts of the palace complex. She easily kept up his demonic pace as they made their way through the landscape of the wilderness that surrounded the palace. It was well groomed, maintained by the palace staff. Small, shrub like trees dotted the rolling hills of plush grass. Aromatic plants were strategically placed so that the air around the palace smelled lightly perfumed. In the growing distance, the Ashetero Mountains stood high and imposing. It was those rocky, snowcapped mountains that served as a natural barrier to the Devasi lands, guarding against would-be conquerors. When they finally came to a stop, Nila saw her surprise. On a grassy knoll, shaded by a few tall trees, was a blanket with a light meal laid out on it.
“You remembered,” Nila gasped, touched by the scene. It had been on one of their very first encounters, before she had even wed Tavi that she had told him something she had wanted since she was a little demon child. It was a simple wish. A picnic, away from the grounds of the palace. It would seem like such an easy request to fill, but her father was incredibly protective. In all her years, she had only been allowed off the grounds a handful of times, always under heavy guard and never with anytime to enjoy something as simple as a picnic. It just seemed like such a romantic gesture, and now Kaveh had given that to her.
She fell even more in love with him in that moment and she knew that her decision to make this meeting extra special for Kaveh was the right one. She would allow him to be her first, to show her all the pleasures that lovers experienced. But after she enjoyed the delicious meal he had gone through the trouble to prepare for them.
Chapter Twenty Five
“Can I get you another sweet cake, my princess?” Kaveh asked, his royal blue eyes watching her intently. He could smell the nervousness in her aura, even though she was trying her hardest to suppress it.
“No, thank you,” she said, wiping gently at her lips. She had eaten more than she meant to, a nervous habit of hers. She knew what was coming next, and she was trying to calm the butterflies that were fluttering about in her stomach. Kaveh reached a hand out, brushing a lock of silver hair behind a delicately pointed ear, lingering and enjoying the silky feel of her hair.
“You are truly beautiful,” Kaveh said. “It is a shame for you to be left so deprived by your husband.”
“I suppose it is,” Nila said, suddenly too shy to look Kaveh in the eyes. She didn’t know how to tell him what she wanted. The thought of lying with him brought a burning sensation to her belly that she simply couldn’t suppress. Kaveh picked up the hint of arousal in the air and leaned in, his lips taking hers in a chaste kiss.
“Do you think you are ready?” he asked hopefully. She said nothing but nodded shyly and Kaveh felt his desire begin to rise. He had been waiting too long for this day to come, but he would temper his passion and savor every moment of it. He brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek, lifting her chin and forcing her eyes to meet his.
“Do not be afraid,” he said with a smirk, “I assure you it will be a most pleasurable experience. Lay back.”
She did as he asked, watching his every move as he removed his silk tunic, revealing rippling muscles and a well-formed torso. His muscles twitched and bunched with every motion and Nila couldn’t help but admire him. He was handsome, strong, and royal. Everything a demon lady could ever want, and it felt like such a dream to have him want her.
Kaveh felt himself harden as he looked down upon the beauty that lay before him, ready to receive him. He closed in on her, his hand coming to rest at her waist as he kissed her gently. He could feel his manhood growing in anticipation, but he would take things slowly for her. He knew it would initially be very painful, his size was extraordinarily large, but he would give her all the pleasure that he could.
Nila pushed her tongue playfully against Kaveh’s, awkwardly testing the strange feel of it. The desire burned deep inside her, a desire that only Kaveh could fill, but Nila was scared. She was nervous. Her hands timidly felt her lover’s bare torso, the shifting of his muscles beneath her fingers heating her even further.
Kaveh slowly untied her silk robe, distracting her with his kissing. His hand reached for the soft breasts underneath. His fingers wrapped around the mound of flesh as his thumb found the delicate nipple in the center. He reveled in the gasp that left Nila’s lips at the contact. He planned on having her gasp so much more. His lips kissed along her jaw line and down to her neck, finding the crook of her shoulder and suckling on it, enjoying the sudden, intense spike in her arousal. He pushed open her robe, revealing her body fully to his view. His manhood ached with a need to feel her, and he reached his free hand down to adjust himself, rubbing through his silk pants to release some of the growing pressure.
Nila’s head was turned, her eyes trained on a spot in the grass as Kaveh leaned back to remove his pants. She could feel her cheeks heat as she caught sight of his manhood from the corner of her eye. She wanted to look, curious to see what a man looked like, but she was scared at the same time. Kaveh felt himself growing even larger at Nila’s innocence. A smirk crossed his lips as he wrapped his hand around his girth, stroking it gently.
“Look at me,” he commanded her softly. Nila took a moment to comply, still scared of what she would find, but when she did the most erotic sight greeted her eyes and her arousal soared to a frantic pitch. Her lips parted slightly in shock as she saw how large he was, and then she grew scared.
“Th…that’s too big,” she breathed, “it’s not going to fit.”
Kaveh felt himself swell with male pride at the ignorant statement.
“I assure you, my love, it will,” Kaveh said with a chuckle as Nila tried to scoot away, her eyes now locked intensely on his groin.
“Relax,” he said, following after her and positioning himself between her legs, “I will not enter you until you are ready.”
His hands once again found her breast as he lowered himself on top of her. His lips wrapped around a pink bud and Nila arched her back into him, reveling in the assault of pleasurable sensations that ran through her at his touch. Her hands dug into his black hair, pulling him closer to her. His kisses moved lower, trailing down her taut stomach while his fingers continued to massage her breast.
Kaveh paused as his lips reached a mass of perfectly groomed silver curls. He inhaled her arousal, thoroughly enjoying her scent, and wanting to lock the smell of her innocence in his mind forever. He would soon be tearing through it. He ran a hand along her side, enjoying the way she squirmed at the contact as it tickled her. He placed a hand under her bottom, lifting her hips and moving her into a better position. He grazed her womanhood with the pad of his thumb, and she gasped and squirmed at the contact.
Intense pleasure shot through her, pushing all other thoughts from her mind as her lover explored her body. The rough pad of his thumb hit her in just the right spots, massaging circles around her most sensitive part. He slipped a finger inside of her, gently so as to accustom her to the sensation. His tongue slipped past his lips and continued the work his thumb had started.
It was almost too much for Nila to bear. His touch was gentle, but firm. She could feel him holding back, not wanting to hurt her or go too fast. The pleasure was mind numbing as his tongue swirled around the bundle of nerves, his finger slowly massaging her inside. She could feel a pressure building and she shifted her hips, trying helplessly to release it. She ached for something but she didn’t know what. She needed to feel more, but she didn’t know how to ask. A whimper escaped her lips, a plea for her lover to give her what she couldn’t ask for.
Kaveh felt himself swelling to a point of pain. Nila was ready for him, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He lifted himself back up her body and his lips once again found hers. He hovered over her for a moment, positioning himself at her entrance. He sensed a hint of nerves in her aura as his tip played in her folds, finding the place he would soon break past. He allowed the head of his manhood to enter her. Her squeal of pain filled his mouth and he broke off the kiss. It took everything he had not to tear through her in a frenzy of desire. Every muscle in his body tensed as he tried to remain still, allowing Nila to adjust to the sensation before he entered her fully. Finally, unable to resist any longer, he pushed forward, breaking through the barrier of her womanhood. He could smell the hint of blood instantly and he searched the pain on her face to make sure she was alright. Again, he mustered all his strength to remain still. Nila bucked her hips against his, trying to stop the ache that suddenly filled her so completely. The pain was so incredibly pleasurable and she didn’t know how to handle it.
When he felt her relax he began to move his hips, pulling slowly back from her warmth and entering her again. She gasped at the sensation, trying to withhold the scream that wanted to escape. Her fingers clutched at his broad shoulders, the clawed tips drawing little droplets of blood.
“Are you alright?” Kaveh panted out. It was taking every ounce of strength in his body not to start pounding into her with reckless abandon
“More,” Nila struggled out. It was painful, but she loved Kaveh, and she wanted to give him all the pleasures that her body could offer him. The pain would subside, she knew, and then she would be able to enjoy herself. It didn’t take any more encouragement for Kaveh to comply with her wishes.
His hips pumped into her, slowly at first but increasingly more frantic. Nila tried to move her hips with his, but she lost control when he motions became wilder. He tensed above her, every muscle strained with exertion, as he let out a final growl of pleasure, spilling his hot seed inside her before collapsing. His heavy pants filled her ear as he kissed gently at her neck, cradling her in his arms, his manhood twitching inside of her.
Chapter Twenty Six
“My Lord,” Tavi said, stopping at the open doorway of the Lord Sultan’s office. Ashdad sat behind his desk, once again reading over the reports of his kingdom. He had a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of fixing what he considered to be Balthazar’s mistakes.
“You may enter,” Ashdad said, without looking up from the page he was currently on. A request from one of the many villages in his kingdoms asking for assistance. Balthazar had previously authorized the request, but now Ashdad would need to retract that. His treasury and resources were not meant to be spent so frivolously.
“I believe I have made a disturbing discovery, My Lord,” Tavi said, taking a seat across the desk from the older demon. His golden eyes watched Ashdad cautiously. He was still not comfortable speaking with him. Tavi was torn, knowing that Ashdad was now the Lord Sultan, but feeling his loyalty to his elder half-brother Balthazar.
“What would that be, Tavi?” Ashdad asked with a sigh. He was highly skeptical of Tavi’s ability to be the Lord Advisor. It was just another mistake he would need to correct in time. Tavi was far too young and inexperienced to retain such an important title. He was also of a lower class, his mother being a concubine. She was beautiful, Ashdad remembered. One of the many his son had wed, but she was not of noble birth, and could never produce a child that was worth anything more than a simple palace servant.