by Dove, Raquel
“Prince Balthazar,” Carolina reminded her in a whisper. Personally, she did not care if the girl felt close enough to address her son as such, but the last thing she wanted was to cause a scene with the other ladies in the kingdom. They certainly were not used to such a thing, particularly with someone like Balthazar. He was known to be a prince of strict conduct and protocol. His short time with Alexandra had changed him fundamentally, though Carolina was one of the few people to know it.
“Where is he?” Alex asked, craning her neck around the other nobles sitting by her, trying to catch sight of him. She knew he would stand out from the crowd, he always did.
“I do not know,” Carolina said, trying to maintain her aloof poise. She was deeply concerned that the crown prince was missing from the assembly. No one knew exactly why this gathering was called and she was beginning to get a sinking feeling it might have something to do with a punishment for disobeying Lord Ashdad’s orders and seeing Alex. Maybe Lord Ashdad wanted to make a statement. He was returning after a very long absence, and needed to assert his dominance.
When the royal executioner entered the room Carolina became visibly flustered. Alex picked up in the shift in demeanor of the usually composed Lady and it made her very nervous. The murmur than ran around the room increased her anxiety.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked, but she received only a blanched, blank stare in response.
“Tell me,” Alex said, looking around the room with worried eyes, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Its…” Carolina tried to say the words, but the fear for her son was too great. If what she thought was about to happen, were to actually happen, she had made a massive mistake. She was regretting her decision to let the two lovers see each other.
“Lady Carolina,” Alex said, the worry thick in her voice. She had never seen the lady so flustered and it really scared her. “Please tell me what is going on.”
“It is the royal executioner,” she said with a thick swallow that did nothing to remove the lump that had risen in her throat.
Alex felt her hands and feet go numb. Was she going to be forced to watch while the demon she loved was put to death for the simple act of speaking to her? The thought was too much to bear. When Balthazar finally entered the room, following behind Lord Ashdad, her heart did back flips in her throat. The sight of him made her hopes soar, but the thought that it would be the last time seeing him made her want to be sick. The breath stuck in her throat as her eyes caught his from across the room.
The sight of Alexandra, once again dressed in the garments of his people twisted his heart in knots. It was the strangest sensation he had ever felt. For once in his life, he cared more about someone else than himself. She was beautiful and he couldn’t take his eyes away from her. The distress in her aura was palpable even through the thick crowd of people between them and he wanted nothing more than to rush across the room, scoop her up in his arms and spirit her away until her fears were gone.
When the Lord Sultan took his seat on the throne at the head of the room, and Balthazar took a seat just behind him to the side, Carolina released the breath she had been holding. She knew her son was in the clear.
“It is alright,” Carolina said quietly to Alex, her relieve evident. “It is not Prince Balthazar who will be punished this day.”
Alexandra felt the relief wash over her. She didn’t think her heart could bear the sight of Balthazar dying. She had become so attached to him it was terrifying. She knew there was this supposed bond between them, but this was more than that. This was something so deep, it reached down into her soul and touched her in a way nothing ever had.
Everyone in the room grew uncomfortable when the doors at the end of the hall swung open and a hunched, wrinkled, old demon was dragged before the court in chains that likely weighed more than his entire feeble body. It was unnecessarily rough treatment, and Balthazar’s eyes immediately snapped up to Ashdad.
Salaman was fully prepared to die. He knew it was coming. One did not come to his position without certain abilities, and incredible foresight was one of his hard earned talents. He would go to his death knowing that it would be the eventual downfall of Ashdad. The demon was a wolf in poorly fitting sheep’s clothing, and his actions, beginning with Salaman’s own death, would expose him for what he truly was. Hushed whispers ran through the crowd as he was presented to the executioner, his neck bent over a wooden block and left open for the axe to come down. Every demon in the room understood the implication behind this situation and what it meant for them. Ashdad was making a very clear and forceful statement. Salaman had openly endorsed Balthazar as Lord Sultan over Ashdad.
“Let this be an example,” Ashdad spoke, hushing the crowd of royals, his voice cold and hard like the marble that surrounded them. “I will tolerate no disobedience, and no rival to my supremacy.”
Salaman closed his eyes, making his peace as he drew in his last breath. He had lived an extraordinarily long life, and it was simply his time to pass. As the axe came down, severing his head from his withered body, one last thought flashed through his mind. His death would bring about a change to this kingdom the likes of which none could have ever imagined.
Chapter Thirty
Nila snuck soundlessly back into the palace harem after another day spent with Prince Kaveh. The atmosphere in the palace had become oppressive since the execution of Salaman, she found it so much easier to escape with Kaveh, and enjoy the day with the physical pleasures he showed her. It was actually easier to sneak around, at least in the harem. The ladies had taken to hiding in their individual apartments, not wanting to risk the anger of the new Lord Sultan. The wide, pink marble halls were eerily empty. She came to the doors of the apartment she shared with her older sister Azira and stopped just as she reached a hand out to the gilded doorknob.
Voices echoed from behind the carved wooden double doors. It was her sister and a male. Her heart leapt into her throat, thinking her husband, Tavi, had actually decided to visit his wives. Her mind worked to think of an excuse for her absence. It was incredibly bad form to be absent when one’s husband came for a visit, even if it was unexpected. She quickly decided on a relevant reason, took a deep breath and swung the door open, prepared to greet Tavi and her sister with a casual smile.
The sight that met her eyes made her freeze. It wasn’t Tavi that was in their apartment with her sister. It was Prince Hasan. Her skin began to crawl the moment she saw him. She had never liked him, even before he tried to seize the throne from the rightful Prince Balthazar. She liked him far less now. No one in the kingdom wanted to associate with him, despite the fact that Lord Ashdad had restored his honor, as well as his missing body parts.
“Sister,” Nila gasped, the shock apparent on her face as her lavender eyes darted from Azira to Hasan. “What is going on here?”
“Nila,” Azira said casually, adjusting her robes. Judging by the disheveled appearance of the typically meticulously dressed demoness, Nila could discern exactly what had been going on. The smirk on Hasan’s face further confirmed her suspicions. “Don’t act so surprised. I am a woman, with needs. And our husband has chosen to ignore those needs.”
“But sister,” Nila tried to argue, but she came up short, realizing that she had not been the most faithful wife either. What she truly had issue with was not the fact that her sister was being unfaithful, everyone in this marriage knew it was a sham. Her problem was the demon her sister had chosen to lay with.
“Don’t be such a hypocrite,” Azira said, waving her little sister off. She wasn’t in the least bit worried what Nila thought. She had always held complete control over Nila, and that wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Even if she did decide to run and squeal to anyone, Azira would reveal the affair with Kaveh that Nila thought she was hiding so well.
“I have business to attend to,” Hasan said, his eyes glaring at Nila with a taunting twinkle, daring her to cause a scene or speak any words against him. His position was
far above hers, now that his honor was restored. He answered only to the Lord Sultan, and he could easily have the little demoness put to death if he so desired.
Hasan wrapped his arm around Azira’s waist, his eyes still locked on Nila as he pulled her into his body. His hand trailed down and grabbed her buttocks, over exaggerating the gesture for shock value to Nila.
“I will return,” Hasan said, a chuckle at Nila’s agape mouth and wide eyed stare at the entirely inappropriate gesture. “And perhaps I will taste both of Tavi’s wives.”
The demon prince disappeared before Nila had time to respond to the brash remark. She would sooner rat on herself as well as her sister to Tavi before she allowed Hasan to lay a single traitorous claw on her.
“How could you, Azira,” Nila said, her eyes narrowing in accusation.
“Do not play innocent to me, little sister,” Azira said venomously as she stepped in closer to her sister. She stopped just a breath before her, the proximity intimidating the younger demon into stepping back. Azira let a smirk spread across her lips. “I know exactly what you have been doing, Nila. I can smell Kaveh all over you, even though have tried to hide it well, bathing before your return.”
Nila was taken aback for a moment. She had thought she was being incredibly sneaky. She had assumed her meetings with Kaveh were well thought out, leaving little possibility of her getting caught.
“I may not be faithful to Lord Tavi,” Nila said, struggling to gain some confidence in the face of her elder sister, “but at least I am not lying with a traitor like Hasan.”
Nila felt rather pleased with herself, for once in her life standing up to Azira. That pleasant glow quickly faded as she saw the hatred and raw evil that glowed behind the purple eyes of her sister.
“You would do well to address him properly,” Azira said, her voice low, “he may well be your Lord Sultan one day.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Nila scoffed, even though she was terrified on the inside by her sisters display. “Prince Balthazar will be Lord Sultan again, and then he will put the traitor back in his place.”
Azira stepped forward, once again closing the gap between her and her sister. Nila’s back was pushed into the cold marble wall behind her as she tried to get away. Azira lifted a manicured, clawed hand to the silky silver hair of her sister, running it casually through the thick mass.
“Yes,” she said softly, darkness shining in her eyes. “Just keep telling yourself that.”
Chapter Thirty One
Nila roamed aimlessly around the harem. She didn’t know where she was going, she just knew that she couldn’t go back to her own apartments. She couldn’t bear to be in the room with her sister a moment longer. As she made her way down the long, empty halls, her nose caught a very particular smell. It was such a foreign smell, so deliciously different, it made her nose tickle. She knew exactly what the smell was, had smelled it before. She made her way to the doors of the apartment where the scent was coming from.
Nila knocked softly at the door, and waited. After a few tense moments of worrying that her presence would not be welcomed, the door slowly creaked open and a curious face poked out.
“Alexandra,” Nila said softly with a short bow, still unsure of what the human’s reaction would be.
Alex was shocked, to say the least, by Nila’s unexpected visit, and a little cautious. She remembered the silver haired demoness. Remembered how her and her sister had hurt Yashmina so much by wedding Tavi. Her immediate reaction was to slam the door in her pretty little face. But then she noticed the well hidden, but still visible distraught on her face, and Alex just couldn’t turn her away.
“Nila, right?” Alex said, to which she received a polite nod.
“I apologize for disturbing you,” Nila said. She opened her mouth to further explain her presence, but shut it again when she realized she wasn’t entirely sure herself why she was knocking on Alexandra’s door.
“Do you want to come in?” Alex asked, a little confused at the uncertainty of the demoness.
“Could I?” Nila said, perking up. She had half expected the human to shun her without even a chance, and the simple fact that she would allow her into her private apartment gave Nila hope that she would soon make a new friend within the palace walls. She knew all the other ladies already hated her, mostly due to the reputation of her sister that had reflected onto her.
“Sure,” Alex said, opening the door a little wider and moving to allow the demoness to pass through. Nila was instantly impressed by the luxuriousness of the apartment. All the harem apartments were well appointed, but this one was exceptionally so. The finest silks in the most envious of colors were draped throughout the apartment. The expansive rooms were filled with the most expensive carved wooden furniture, all covered with a thin lacquer of gold leaf. Nila was truly impressed, and considering she had been raised in luxury her entire life, that was saying a lot. It was very clear to see how much Balthazar treasured Alex, he had spared no expense on her private quarters.
The two women settled into a pile of silky cushions stuffed with soft feathers. A eunuch, one of the many that had been appointed to serve Alex, brought in a light meal of sweet cakes and various vegetable pastes for the ladies to pick at. Alex picked timidly at the food, waiting for Nila to say something. The demoness could tell there was something bothering Alexandra. A scent of deep sadness tinged her aura. Nila wondered if it was because she missed her home.
“So,” Alex said, after a long awkward silence, “Is there something you wanted to talk about.”
“I…” Nila began to speak, but found she just didn’t know what to say. She didn’t really know how to make friends.
“I’m sorry,” Nila said finally. There was really nothing else she could say.
“Sorry?” Alex said, her eyebrows scrunching together. “Sorry for what?”
“At the Taj festival,” Nila said, “I know my sister was not very kind to you. I do not wish my sentiments to be associated with her any longer.”
“Ok,” Alex said with a small smile. “I appreciate your apology.”
Nila felt instant relief. She had never met anyone more kind or accepting as this human, she decided.
“You are truly kind,” Nila said, picking up a lightly steaming cup of tea, “I can see why Prince Balthazar is so enamored with you.”
Sadness flashed across Alexandra’s face at the words, and Nila wanted to kick herself. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was she had said, but she felt terribly uncomfortable being the cause of such a reaction. Her nose twitched with a hint of salt and she knew Alex was on the brink of tears.
“Did I…” Nila began to ask, searching for words to stop the sudden mood shift.
“Oh, no,” Alex said, waving a hand. “It’s ok. I just…don’t really want to think about him right now.”
“No?” Nila said, her curiosity piqued. “Are the prince’s affections not returned?”
“No,” Alex said, her eyes falling into her lap. “I thought they were, but…”
“I believe everyone thought they were,” Nila said, wanting to suddenly comfort Alex.
“He says that he won’t see me anymore,” Alex said with a sniffle.
“I do not understand that,” Nila said, a sympathetic shake of her head.
Alex just shrugged, still avoiding the demoness’s eyes.
“I have seen first hand the affections he has for you, Alexandra,” Nila said. She rose from the cushion she was sitting on and moved closer to Alex, putting an arm around her. “I am sorry that he has made you feel this way.”
Nila’s mind searched for a way to distract Alex from her sadness and a thought crossed her mind.
“Come,” the demoness said, rising suddenly from her seat with an excited smile as she held a hand out to Alex. “I have something that will cheer you.”
Chapter Thirty Two
“Where are we going?” Alex asked, as she tried to keep up with the rapid pace set by the demoness.
“Can you slow down a bit?” Alex said, nearly panting from her exertion.
“Yes, of course,” Nila said, slowing down only slightly, “I forget you are slower than us demons.”
“How much further?” Alex said, asked. They had been roaming around the harem complex for a good twenty minutes.
“It is just around this corner,” Nila said. She held her clawed hand out to Alex, who cautiously put her own hand in it. Nila pulled her in closer to her with a smile, intertwining their arms. She was truly happy to have made a friend with the human.
They came to single, plain wooden door at the end of the hall after the turn. Alex had no idea where she was. The walls were a simple brick and the floors were wooden. It felt so out of place from the typical opulence she had seen in the rest of the palace.
“I believe you are going to enjoy this,” Nila said, reaching for the door handle and pulling it open. Alex was surprised by what she saw, although she couldn’t see why Nila had thought she would enjoy it. Beyond the door was a room filled with rows of cages holding falcon like birds.
“Ok,” Alex said, trying to be polite but the confusion was clear on her face.
“Not this, silly,” Nila said, pulling Alex through the room by her hand. The silver haired demoness led Alex to the back of the room, to another simple wooden door.
“This is what I wanted to show you,” Nila said, swinging the door open.
Alex gasped at the sight. There in the middle of the room, resting on a large nest of twigs and hay was Peta. The firebird squawked when she saw Alex, her one blue, one red eye focusing on her owner. She ruffled her golden feathers as she spread her wings out. She was much larger than the last time Alex had seen her, now about the size of an eagle.
“She has missed you,” Nila said, “she says that she is happy you have returned.”