Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (13 page)

Carolina was becoming
increasingly worried about Alexandra.  She had returned from speaking with Lord Ashdad the night before utterly down trodden and refusing to speak with anyone.  She had crawled into the bed in her own apartments and remained there, alternating between bouts of crying and light sleeping.  On top of her concern for Alexandra, her concern for her son was growing.  She knew he would face strict punishment for disobeying the Lord Sultans orders so blatantly, but she had heard nothing of his punishment.  Rumors travelled fast in the harem, and not hearing any news meant very bad news.  She didn’t believe Lord Ashdad would execute him, he was still the first in line for the throne and there was no other in the kingdom that was even close to his equal. 

“A
lexandra,” Carolina said softly, entering her apartment and finding her in the bed.  “You must rise now.”

Alex didn’t respond.  She couldn’t.  She felt like someone had ripped her heart out and stomped on it, then placed in back in her chest.  Her body was awash in pain and numbness at the same time.  She didn’t
want to talk, couldn’t bear to say out loud what had happened.  She didn’t even want to move.  She could feel a fresh round of tears begin to sting her already sore eyes.  The thought of Balthazar turning so easily on her after everything was just too much.

“That is enough,” Carolina said, smelling the saltiness of her oncoming tears.  She had to do
something, she just didn’t know whatever was the matter with the inconsolable girl.  “You will tell me what is the matter, now.”

Alex rolled over
in the bed, looking up at the beautiful demoness.  Her icy blue eyes were staring down at her with so much concern.  Alex had come to know the Sultana well in the short time she had spent with her.  And the one thing she knew was that Carolina got what she wanted, one way or another.  Alex knew she would eventually have to tell her what had happened.  Even though she really didn’t want to, she figured she might as well get it over with.

“He doesn’t want me
,” Alex said, hoping Carolina would understand and she wouldn’t have to explain any further. 

“That is absurd,”
Carolina said, with a flick of her wrist and her face twisted into a momentary scowl.  Alex knew she was only trying to be encouraging, but it still made her heart sink.  Her eyes clamped shut and her lips pulled into a frown as the tears ran down her face. 

“No,” she choked out between sobs.  Carolina
sat on the bed beside her and rubbed at her back, trying her best to calm the girl.  She despised the smell of tears, and especially so when it came from one of her most favorite people. 

“Stop crying,” Carolina said.  “
I assure you, my son’s affections for you are true and strong.”

“No,” Alex said again, sniffling and wiping at her tears.  “
He’s decided to break our bond.  He doesn’t even want to see me.”

Saying those words felt like
someone had ripped open her gut and was slowly pulling out her insides.  The pain was unbearable.  Carolina’s face hardened into a scowl.  She didn’t know what exactly Lord Ashdad had said to Alexandra, but she hated him for it.  She had to correct this.

“Do you love him?” Carolina asked.  The words sent a shock through Alex, and her tears cut off for an instant. 
She still couldn’t bring herself to answer.  Just the thought brought a fresh pain, knowing that she did but he was now refusing her. 

“I thought so,” Carolina said, “a
nd I know my son.  He feels the same, of that I assure you.”

“But,
he doesn’t want to see me anymore,” Alex said again, throwing her hands up, the tears spilling once again. 

“My dear Alexandra,” Carolina said with a chuckle and a wave of her hand at the girl’s innocent naivety.  “Love will always find a way.  Now, get out of that bed.  We must wash you and
get dressed.”

“I don’t want to,” Alex said,
shaking her head and pulling the covers higher over her.  The last thing she wanted to do was make a public appearance.

“Unfortunately, we do not have a choice,” Carolina said, with a sigh.  “The Lord Sultan has demanded the presence of the entire royal court.  And that includes you, my dear.”

“I don’t care,” Alex said, “I’m not going.  He can do whatever he wants to me.  I’m staying here.”

“Prince Balthazar will be there,” Carolina said with a devilish smirk. 

“Really?” Alex asked, brightening slightly.

“Of course,” Carolina said, “the entire royal court will be there.  And you don’t want him to see you so disheveled, now do you?”

Carolina smiled when Alex sat up in the bed wiping at her tear stained cheeks.  She had come to look at the girl as her own daughter, and assumed she would soon become her daughter-in-law.  Carolina was determined to make that happen, even if she had to do her most active meddling, and risk her life in the process, she would see these two come together.

Alex peered around the massive Grand Hall of the palace, searching for a glimpse of Balthazar.  During the time it had taken to dress in the formal wear of the Devasi, Alexandra’s resolve had hardened.  She was hurt, deeply.  But she wanted answers.  She wanted to know why.  And she wanted to hear Balthazar himself tell her he never wanted to see her again.

The size of the hall alone was impressive, about the length and width of a football field.  Two lines of thick marble columns ran down the length of the room, holding up the vaulted, heavily carved wooden roof.  At one end was a raised dais with a gilded throne.  Groups of multi-colored thick cushions dotted the white marble floor, where the Devasi nobles sat waiting. 

Alex had only seen a crowd like this one other time, and that was at the Taj Festival.  She was looking for one Balthazar, but when she couldn’t find him in the mass of people, her heart began to sink.  Everyone was dressed in the finest formal clothes.  The men wore long silk robes that were left open to reveal well-formed, muscular torsos and silk pants that ballooned and bunched around the calf.  The women wore dazzling silk costumes that were embroidered with gold and silver threads and precious gems.  The tops were short, covering just the breasts, and the skirts sat low on the hips with a slit that ran up the thigh on either side.  Alex hadn’t enjoyed wearing the outfit last time she was here, and she wasn’t enjoying it now. 

“I thought you said Balthazar would be here,” Alex said
as she leaned over to Lady Carolina, who sat just to her left.  A couple of the demonesses in close proximity heard the comment and gasped at Alexandra’s casual address of the prince.

“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 t
o 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, t
rying 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 exec
utioner,” 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 disob
edience, 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. 

Nila snuck soundlessly back into the palace harem after another day spent with Prince Kaveh.  The atmosphere in the palace had become oppressive si
nce 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.

Voic
es 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.