Demon-Lord’s Little Bride – Interlude

Yo! There’s a new chapter, and it didn’t even take me a month to get it up~ Yay~ The draft for this story has recently reached 60k, it’s the longest thing I’ve ever written in my lifeXD

This one’s a pretty special chapter, as you’ll be able to see in a moment.

Hope you enjoy it~

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Demon-Lord’s Little Bride

By HimikoChou

Interlude

An indeterminate time later.

Hador sat on the window-pane, gazing at the moon. Tonight it hung fat in the air, its pale white glow like a distant siren’s song. His own expression was probably just as distant as the moon.

“My Lord?’”

He turned his head at the intruding voice.

“What is it, Jesse?”

The newcomer was Jesse. Aside from the black set of clothing he now wore, he looked about the same, but If Adriel had been here, he would have gaped at how different the once gentle youth’s demeanour was.

Only the inklings of that once soothing presence remained, and a subservient expression now graced that pretty face.

“I’ve come to change Your Lordship’s bandages.”

Hador sighed “Get on with it then.”

He rose from the ledge of the window, and took a seat on the edge of the medium-sized bed that was in the room to give Jesse better access.

“You know, the wound is almost healed; you don’t have to be so paranoid about it. It’ll heal on its own.”

Hador commented.

Jesse’s expression did not change at the dismissive tone, and the youth calmly removed the used bandage that was wrapped around Hador’s chest. He checked the injury to make sure it was healing properly, and reapplied a new set of bandages.

The whole process only took a few minutes, after which Jesse stood in front Hador, his hands behind his back.

Hador could tell that the boy had something else he wished to speak about. He was not feeling particularly agreeable tonight, however, and he growled irritatingly.

“Just spit it out.”

Jesse didn’t seem fazed by his harsh tone as his expression did not twitch even slightly, Hador noted with a little bit of ire.

“We will be arriving at the border tomorrow, what is Your Lordship planning to do?”

Hador raised his brow. The brat sure had guts. Though, on second thought, it wasn’t really that surprising considering the gusto with which his little rescuer had whisked him away from the dungeon.

“You mean to ask me whether I plan to join up with your little rebel forces?”

He couldn’t help the note of mockery that accompanied his question.

Nobody could have been any more shocked than he, when Jesse – one of the servants that had been conferred to him by Hosanna herself – had entered his bedroom after a magic explosion that had injured the crazy woman had gone through the room, and had easily taken out both of her bodyguards.

He had never been suspicious of Jesse, foolish as did it seem in hindsight. So when Jesse had stood there over him who was chained against the wall, declaring himself to be a spy for a demonic faction from the Dark Marsh, Hador could admit he’d been left dumbfounded for a moment.

Not enough to not immediately order the self-professed demonic agent to remove that sodden ring from Hosanna’s hand and free him from the chains, but still.

Freed, he had not hesitated to tell Jesse he had something to retrieve before they could leave, and had not bothered to ask Jesse to relieve him of his collar. It would have taken time, and his first priority had been to find Adriel.

He had left the clean-up of his old cell, and dealing with that pesky woman to Jesse, and had gone to look for his little bunny.

Since he was still being supressed, he’d taken one of the dogs, Mars, with him to help deal with the guards that were going to be waiting for him outside the door of the cell.

Things had gone as well as they could have, he had even found Adriel without having to leave the dungeon, but then everything had imploded.

Hosanna had regained consciousness, and had somehow overcome Jesse, and had given chase to him. Hador could admit, but only to himself, that it had been his own hubris that had brought him down in the end. He was a more than thousand year old Demon-Lord – it would be impossible for a few dozen humans to take him down even if he was unable to use magic.

A grave miscalculation on his part.

He’d been about to go pick up Adriel and go back to his cell, so they could leave through the teleportation portal talisman Jesse had, when he’d been blasted by Hosanna’s magic.

If Jesse had not intervened, right now he would probably have been marinating in his cell, and being severely punished by that self-conceited female.

Ever since then he’d been recuperating, hiding from Hosanna’s men and slowly making his way towards the border that lead into the Dark Marsh with Jesse.

He knew not what was happening in the Holy Citadel now. He knew not what state his lover was in.

He did not want to consider it, but his common sense told him quite bluntly that Hosanna will most definitely punish the other servant boys in lieu of Jesse.

It made a dark cloud of his emotions.

When he’d first awoken, he had wanted to turn back, to return back for Adriel, but his injury and Jesse’s reasoning finally managed to restrain his furious heart. He had no means to rescue Adriel, and it was not like he could just capitulate to the nearest Royal Guard and calmly walk back into his cell, and that would magically make Hosanna forgive all the boys. Even if he would be hundred percent willing to do that if it would save Adriel.

So he was left no other choice but to move forwards, no matter how every night he would gaze at the moon and pray that his little bunny was safe.

His only hope now lay in Caleb.

When he’d been planning his own escape earlier, he had accounted for various scenarios, including if he and Adriel were to be separated. That’s why he had warned Caleb that if anything were to happen, the boy’s first priority had to be Adriel.

He’d even gone as far as to threaten his little minion.

Caleb’s expression had been quite comical when he had told him that “If you want to see me having any offspring in the future, you better protect your future mistress very well.”

He was the only remaining Demon-Lord, and very well knew that the continuation of the Demon-Lord line was of utmost importance to the old coots that stood behind Caleb. Only through that the demonic race could regain glory and be re-united under the rule of the fist.

In all honestly, he cared very little about what those old bastards, the rebels that sent Jesse or demons in general expected of him. He was no saint, and did not feel responsible for the state the demons had fallen to. If he decided to help them, it would be on his terms only.

But that was all talk he soothed himself with. In the end he will still be forced to rise up and lead the demons. There was no other choice. He needed power.

For now he’d go and see this demon faction of Jesse’s, see how good they are – if he could use them.

No matter how long or what it takes, he was going to get Adriel back.

This was…an unexpected discovery.

Hador thought absentmindedly as he gazed at a map laid out on a round table. The rebel leader, a grim faced demon, stood opposite him, explaining how by some stroke of luck they had acquired an ancient artefact relaying clues to the location of Dornham – the lost capital of the Demon race.

The city had been abandoned during the Great War between the demons and the Holy Empire, and sealed away so that the Empire would not gain access to the centuries of knowledge hidden within its walls.

This as can be imagined had come as a great boon to the relatively small rebel force that had risen in protest at another faction of demons whose heads had been swollen with pride, and who had been terrorizing territories not belonging to them, razing and  looting as they pleased. The local ruler was too incompetent and lazy to deal with the intruders, so the demons living in this territory had bandied together themselves fearing an invasion and take-over. It was a common occurrence in the lawless Dark Marsh. But in addition to defending themselves they also opposed the ruling force within their own territory.

So when they discovered that the artefact was connected to the Lost City as it was more commonly referred to in current times, they had thought this would be their key to victory.

Dornham was a legendary fortress city, hidden behind walls that never have been breached despite numerous attempts. Even during the war it had withstood several attacks. The only reason the Demon-Lords of old had left it was that they had been losing the war on all other fronts and so they had thought to preserve the city. Considering this the rebels had spared no effort to uncover the secret to locating the Lost City.

But this was where they ran into the two problems that were the reason Hador was standing here today.

They had calculated the approximate location of Dornham, and unfortunately it was within their enemy’s borders. And second, but most important was that even if they managed to penetrate into the enemy land, and reach that marked place, they would never be able to enter the city.

Only a Demon-Lord would be able to unseal Dornham.

And he was the only living Demon-Lord.

The connection was easy to see.

His rescue had been a plan the rebels had concocted in desperation upon learning that, and of whose success they had been less and less sure as time went on, and the war between the two demon factions dragged on.

Little Jesse as it turned out was part of this rebel faction, and not some hireling, which greatly amused Hador.

As the boy himself explained, he was born in White Blossom Village on the border, but had lost his parents and had been adopted by demons, and grown up in the Dark Marsh.

In fact, the general of this little force was his adoptive-uncle. So his loyalty had always been to the demons, and he had volunteered himself for the task of freeing the Demon-Lord.

Still, it had taken him years to first be accepted within the ranks of the Holy Maiden’s servants, learn all he could and then figure out a way to access the dungeon without losing his freedom. Being demoted had not initially been his plan, as it severely restricted his movement, and so had delayed any progress. This escape he’d orchestrated had actually been partially fuelled by desperation as his time as servant had been running out fast.

That’s why he had gambled all he had on this one plan.

But to be honest Hador was not truly interested in the woes of this little rescuer of his, but what he was curious about was why the boy had never revealed himself to him. Did the boy not think his cooperation would have come in handy?

Jesse had stammered and his face had finally cracked at that. Apparently he’d never been sure Hador would take him seriously, as his plan was half-hazard at best.

“And I wanted to avoid Caleb’s detection,” Jesse had added on for which Hador had to give him some points. Jesse seemed to have deduced that Caleb had also been sent to him from the Dark Marsh, just by a different force. Even Hador was not sure what Caleb’s patrons would think of Jesse’s backers.

Unlike Jesse’s little rebels, the force behind Caleb was both much more and less powerful. It consisted of the oldest living demons left in the Dark Marsh. Amongst them were some of the most powerful magic-users left. They did not involve themselves in power-struggles, so they had no political sway or territory but were obsessed with discovering and preserving the demonic culture and restoring it to its ancient glory.

In short, he as the last Demon-Lord was their Holy Grail.

Caleb was not the first servant they had sent to his side to assist him in escape, but he was by far the most competent.

The both of them had been making their own escape plan before this unexpected shitstorm hit.

But regrets were for small-minded people, Hador had work to do.

He cut off the rebel leader who was still blabbering on about the Lost City and the enemy forces and out-right asked him what did they desire from him.

The grim general did not seem to have expected to be interrupted but like a good soldier he bowed down to the stronger power and made a request of Hador in the most polite of tones.

Lead the army and help recover Dornham. That was essentially the supplication.

Hador gave it a moment of thought.

Well…a stronghold did not seem like a bad idea. And it would most likely prove to be a suitable home for him and his future little wife.

But to do that, he would need an actual army. These rebel forces would not suffice.

And he had just the idea. He had not been home for a long time.

Hador gazed at the sun, hanging high in the sky and radiating scorching heat like it was letting the world know of its wrath, his mood sour.

In front of him, behind him, everywhere as far as one’s eye could see was only sand.

The Western Desert. As sentimental as it might seem of him, a part of him had missed this seemingly barren place. It was the one thing that had not changed even after a thousand years. The sun was still hot, the sand ever reaching and all the wildlife striving for survival. The desert was a place that was fit only for the strongest.

Hador rode on the horse, constantly using his magic to counteract the heat.

A camel might have been a more apt choice for traveling over the desert, but Hador preferred horses and they had enough supplies to comfortably last the journey to the nominal Capital of the Western Desert – Ankbar.

The demons riding behind him kept quite a distance, wary of his temper.

The reason for the sourness of his mood despite in a way finally returning home was easy to understand for people in the know. Like Jesse who was amongst his companions for the trip.

They had finally received news from the Holy Citadel just before the trip.

And they were not good.

The spies that the rebel force still had in the city were all low-level which was why it had taken so long, but the report read that the Holy Maiden had decreed that all the servant boys that were in contact with the Demon-Lord were to be sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in the dungeon.

Hador had broken all the furniture in his room when he’d been informed of that. Afterwards he’d had to change rooms as even the floor and walls bore scorch marks.

Other than that the rest of his anger and frustration had been thrown over Jesse’s head. The boy endured it without complaining, surprisingly, even though Hador had not been particularly kind in his display of power. Maybe the little spy also felt a little bit guilty about his role in putting his once co-workers in such circumstances.

But after raging for more than a day, Hador had pulled himself together even if the core of his body still flamed up imagining Adriel suffering in a dreary cell. The image tore at him every time he closed his eyes, but at present he was still not powerful enough to do anything about the situation.

After the collar had been removed he’d regained control over his magic, but it was rusty, like a limb left unused for too long. A one man break-in would be too dangerous for the both of them. Hosanna had probably increased the security in the dungeon following his escape, and was monitoring the other boys, suspicious of any other spy.

From what he knew, Caleb had also been included amongst the imprisoned boys, and all Hador could do was put his trust in his minion that he would protect Adriel.

And work towards reuniting with his lover on his own end.

It still surprised him, how rapidly, easily and deeply he’d fallen in love. In these thousand years and more he’d had many lovers, some he’d even been particularly fond of, but none had been able to shake his heart like that.

Adriel had caught his eye from their first meeting, when Caleb had introduced them. Hador had always been appreciative of beautiful things, and the boy was one of the prettiest he’d seen even amongst the fair humans that the Holy Citadel was full of.

A round little face framed by pale blond hair. Big dove eyes. Pink lips. Slim, small and soft-limbed.

Hador won’t deny that upon seeing that face he’d immediately imagined how it would look like flushed and filling with tears of pleasure as he rammed his cock in the boy’s round little ass. He’d spent the entire first meeting entertaining himself with such fantasies, and by the time the boy had left he’d been more than half-hard.

The attraction had not subsided despite his growing suspicion about the boy’s true origins, and he probably would have tried to fuck the answers out of Adriel on that day Hosanna visited, if his hellhounds had not interfered.

Which though it might have seemed regrettable at the moment as his desires had remained unfulfilled had turned out better in the long run.

After that incident, he’d strived to get closer to the boy, to create an intimate air between them – it had been meant to be a slow seduction, but he had not been aware the boy had already fallen.

Or that he himself was already also beyond saving as well.

That sweet thing had charmed him completely without him being entirely aware of it, and when the little bunny had confessed to him with tears in his dark blue eyes, Hador had realized he was a goner.

Even now he could recall the taste those pink lips, that milky white skin and see Adriel’s dishevelled figure lying on the bed like a feast.

The fact he could not obtain the boy completely, mark him from the inside out with his seed had aggravated him, but he was old enough and experienced enough to still give them both pleasure outside of that.

Still it undeniably was one of the main reasons he’d become intent on escaping. That and the knowledge the boy would not be able to remain with him forever in his current situation.

But now, he was outside the cage, but alone, and his little lover was the one locked up, leaving him with only his own anger and left hand to comfort him. A cold comfort, so to say.

When they arrived in Ankbar under the cover of the night, he’d calmed down his mood as much as possible, bent of fulfilling the mission that had brought his group here as soon as possible. Their one and only destination was the most illustrious villa in the entire city. Even the city magistrate’s house was not that magnificent. Their spies had already contacted the owner of the property and arranged this meeting a long time ago, so their visit was expected.

Hador left his companions in the hands of the villa’s servants, and proceeded on his own. This was a conversation that needed to happen in privacy.

He was shown to a sitting room by a beautiful female servant that was dressed rather sensually, and Hador unabashedly gazed at the woman’s breasts jiggling as she bowed, enjoying the view. It seemed his host was a man of good taste.

Having his fill of female charms, Hador stepped into the opulent sitting room and the pretty female closed the door behind him.

That left him and his host in the room alone.

“Welcome. I hope your journey wasn’t too taxing.” A deep voice greeted him.

Hador did not speak, but observed his host. The man was languidly reclining on a settee, a wine glass in his hand. Even though he wore a robe-like piece of clothing as was fashion in these parts, the broadness of his shoulders and the firmness of his muscles couldn’t be hidden. If Hador had to guess he’d say the man was only slightly shorter than himself, which was rare for humans. Or most other beings.

His skin was a deep tan, but unlike most of the desert people who had dark hair, his was a pale almost silvery shade. His eyes were also the same shade. A very curious colouring for a man of the desert.

Hador had to admit he was a very handsome man. If his own tastes ran more to the muscular side when it came to the men he fucked, his host would be a prime target for seduction.

An amused smirk graced the man’s very masculine face. It made the corner of Hador’s mouth want to rise up in a smirk as well. It seemed his gracious host was not afraid of a tiger.

But well, it made sense. Fellow predators recognized each other.

“Not at all. It was nice to once again step foot in the Great Desert.” Hador finally replied.

The man’s mouth curled up further, and he gestured with his hand for Hador to take a seat opposite him. When he had sat down, the man resumed “What brings the infamous Demon-Lord to this little corner of the world? I was quite intrigued when I heard from your people that you desired a meeting. What could this simple merchant do for you?”

Hador resisted the urge to snort at such blatant lies. The man in front of him was certainly not just a simple merchant. It seemed the man wanted to play games. Let it be then.

“If the head of the Merchant’s Guild calls himself simple, who would dare to put themselves above him?” He asked, teasing.

That was the man he had come to make an alliance with today – Al-Amir Algazara, Head of the Merchant Guild, who oversaw all trading that went on in the land. In the Western Desert of Mung where money ruled, he was the one with the most of it. After reviewing materials on the current situation in the emerging Merchant Republic, Hador had no doubts this was the man who pulled the strings of the nominal rulers behind the scenes.

He was the head of the Algazara family, one the oldest and most well known in Ankbar today. The family had been around even before Hador’s capture, and even then they had been beginning to make waves as an infamous traveling merchant caravan who no robber dared to mess with. The family’s ruthless nature it seemed had remained true even up to this day, if the man in front of him was any proof.

Al-Amir chuckled. “Well, maybe not so simple then. But I am truly curious about the Great Demon-Lord’s presence here.” The man then paused theatrically for a second as if he’d suddenly realized something, and then gestured at the table “Unless, you would first like some wine. I apologize for being such a poor host tonight, and not offering some sooner. It’s rare I get such late night visitors.”

The man was a noble indeed. Exaggerated manners and all. But Hador did not decline the offer and directly poured himself a glass. Ankbar’s richest man’s wine collection had to be exquisite.

He downed the glass directly without any etiquette hoping it would tick the man, but the smirk stayed in its place, and the man only seemed more amused as he downed his own glass.

Hador was starting to like this guy.

“This is some good wine,” he began by complimenting the man’s taste, and then switched the subject “But in any case I’m sure the dear Chairman can guess the subject I wish to speak about very well on his own.“

“The Empire? Holy Maiden? Both? Or maybe neither? I’ve heard the Dark Marsh has been quite in chaos these past days since the news of your escape from the Holy Citadel were leaked.”

“Well, I would say all of them are quite inter-connected in their own way. Without Dear Hosanna’s blunder, the territorial disputes amongst the demons would never have reached this level. ”

“Yes, I suppose so. All the demonic groups seem to be scrambling to either curry favour with you, or throw down the first strike against you before you can rally forces to take them down.”

There was a flash of sharp teeth accompanying his host’s next words.

“Which, I suppose you are here for – rallying the forces, I mean. But is the fabled Demon-Lord really so weak as to not be able to take command of his own people?”

Hador grinned, but he was sure the smile was not particularly kind. The little Merchant Prince was now trying to tick him back. No place for two tigers on one mountain, indeed.

“If I wanted to do it slowly, sure, I could take out each of those insipid morons one by one. But I have more important things to do, so I need a well-trained army to take back a strategic location and overwhelm the opposition.”

Now that they had finally arrived at the topic at hand, Hador did not hold back.

“Of course, I am not asking for the Chairman to lend me men for free. A united demonic force in Dark Marsh would be of immense benefit to the entire Western Desert.  I am well aware of Hosanna’s growing hostilities towards your people. The woman is overly ambitious, yet has not been able to achieve anything significant during her reign. It’s clear that she sees a hostile takeover and conversion of Mung as the best possibility to prove her excellence, and remove a growing threat.”

He saw the look in Al-Amir’s silvery eyes darken, his mouth straighten into a line, and knew he was on the right track, so he aimed to emphasize his point.

“The Empire might have grown lax in the last few hundred years, but it is still the largest and most powerful country on the continent. The Western Desert would be able to hold out for a long time, I’m sure, especially under a leader as powerful as you, but not forever. Two mighty opponents in alliance would certainly do a lot to dissuade if not Hosanna herself, then the people below her – the ones who actually hold the military forces.”

Hador thought he’d showed enough of his hand, and stopped talking, focusing his eyes on his host. Silver met blood, as they unblinkingly looked at each other.

Mere moments or minutes might have passed by, before a smirk curled on the Merchant Prince’s face, and he reached out to refill his wine glass.

His next words made Hador own smirk curl up in victory.

“I’m listening.”

Hours later, after they had ironed out the details of their co-operation, Hador stepped out of the sitting room, full of vigour despite the late hour. Looking through the window, he could see that dawn was still a few hours away, and the moon still hung fat in the sky.

He was about to go try find his way back to his own room for the night which the maid had pointed out to him previously, when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

The figure had hidden itself immediately, but he was sure he’d seen someone peeping around the corner of the corridor.

Hador thought for a moment, and then decided to call out to the little ogler. He was not really sleepy, and this seemed curious.

“The little mouse hiding behind that corner should better come out by itself, or I won’t be lenient.”

That should be threatening enough.

Which it was as there came an audible gasp and a short figure nervously stepped out into the corridor.

Seeing who it was, Hador resisted the urge to whistle.

Now that was a little beauty.

The person who’d been hiding from him was a slim male youth, Hador could tell, though he was dressed somewhat effeminately. The illusion was further enhanced by the boy’s long, braided hair. And by long, Hador meant excessively long. The thick, black braid reached the boy’s knees. Hador didn’t think he’d ever seen a male who wore his hair so long.

But Hador could tell it was boy, as he wore no headdress as was custom of women in this land, though Hador could not recall if the rule applied to both when being outside and inside.

The boy was also pale as snow, and by that Hador could tell the boy was not a native of Mung. Skin that pale could not really be found here. It made him more and more curious about the boy’s identity.

The little thing looked like a spooked animal, as the boy’s big black eyes stared at him full of trepidation.

At that look, alongside curiosity, a curl of desire also rose in Hador. He’d not sought relief for his bodily lusts in quite a while and here was another little bunny that looked sweet enough to gobble down in one bite.

Hador spent a few enjoyable moments imagining taking the little beauty from behind while restraining the boy by his own hair. It was a very pretty picture. He could even feel the monster in his pants making a slight twitch. A pity it would certainly remain only a fantasy. He wasn’t the cheating type.

It seemed like the little bunny had had enough of Hador’s silence, and probably the slightly predatory look he was being given, and spoke out first, his voice shaking.

“Who…who are you?”

“A visitor.” Hador replied obtusely. The boy’s round face reminded him a little of Adriel, so he decided to tease him for a moment.

The big, black eyes narrowed for a moment, and the pink lips opened to retort, but Hador interjected before the boy could speak.

“I could ask you the same, who are you, little bunny? What is such a pretty little thing doing wandering around in the middle of the night?”

Even under the candlelight that lit the corridor Hador could see the reddening of those cheeks, which made him feel very self-satisfied. He gave the boy a flirty grin, and the red got even more pronounced.

The boy huffed, and his fists clenched.

“It’s none of your business,” the youth murmured.

The little beauty knew how to speak back, how cute.

Hador took several steps towards the boy, and the boy stepped back just as quickly. But Hador’s strides were much larger and he still managed to catch up to him as the boy hit a wall.

He put one of his hands on the wall, effectively caging the little bunny that seemed very well aware of it as the boy’s heartbeat rose audibly and a look of fear returned to his eyes.

Hador took a lock of the boy’s lustrous black hair between his fingers and rubbed it teasingly. This was quite fun.

“Now, will the little rabbit answer my question?”

Hador smiled, fully displaying his sharp teeth.

The boy gulped.

“What is happening there?”

A husky voice interrupted them. Hador turned around just enough to see who it was. As he had expected it was his host. Looks like the fun was about to end.

“Nothing much. I just caught a little ogler peeping at me from the corner, and was trying to…”

“Amir!”

As he answered, the little bunny must have seen his rescuer and exclaimed in relief. Taken by surprise, Hador’s arm slid down from the wall, and the boy took the opportunity to escape.

Straight into the merchant prince’s arms. His host caught the boy, and let him burrow his face in his chest. One of his hands slid along the boy’s back soothingly.

This gave raise to some suspicion towards the boy’s identity in Hador’s mind.

“Raya, what are you doing here?”

The boy whispered something too low for Hador to hear, but it made Al-Amir sigh. His eyes rose to meet Hador’s, and he seemed annoyed, but not angry.

“I’m sorry Raya annoyed you like that. This little wife of mine tends to be too curious for his own good, and it seems our nightly meeting caught his interest.”

Hador lifted one of his eyebrows. Wife, eh?

He’d guessed that the little beauty was the Merchant Prince’s lover, but it looked like the boy was an actual official spouse.

Amongst the rich in Mung, a male spouse was not wholly uncommon as those who could afford it often practiced polygamy.

Hador had not paid close attention to his host’s marital status, but he would not be surprised if the man had a female wife or two to continue the line and make alliances, and a little pretty male spouse for his own pleasure.

Hador gave the boy a once over, his gaze not hiding the fact he was appreciating the view, and then answered Al-Amir.

“It seems that the Chairman has even better taste than I thought. A wife as pretty as that is a treasure, you should keep a better eye on him, else one day someone else without their own little lover might come around to snatch him away.”

The man’s silver eyes widened a faction. Seems like he had not expected such advice. Or that they shared such common proclivities.

“Indeed.” Al-Amir replied after a moment, pushing the boy deeper into his embrace.

Hador laughed, and turned around to find his room, leaving the two lovers alone in the corridor.

Blood went splashing and the imbecile demon’s head went flying. Hador did not spare it a moment’s notice as another demon attacked him. A swift fireball to the chest made short work of the interloper, and Hador could finally take a breather as he’d dispatched most of the party.

A few more fights were still going on around him, but as the leader of the party, his main goal was to eliminate the leader of the other group who had fortified himself in his own rooms, afraid of Hador’s attack.

Hador whistled, and three hellhounds bounced up to them, their fur and teeth smeared with blood. The other four were assigned to other parts of the invading army, and these three were the one’s Hador had taken with him.

They would provide enough back-up to make his way up the castle.

Inside, it was mostly empty with only the occasional guard as most of the demon’s forces were currently stationed outside.

He easily took care of these guards, and made his way into the barricaded rooms by force. The magic barriers did not hold in front of his might, and before long he came face to face with on of the local commanders of the faction that was the last serious threat to his hold over the Dark Marsh.

The demon started by threatening him, but when he saw no reaction he inevitably ended up begging and offering up his own services to Hador.

Hador remained unmoved. He’d seen this play out far too many times by now, and this demon in particular had been a thorn in his side for far too long.

So amidst shouts and screams of battle outside, Hador ended the demon’s existence.

He did not immediately leave and assure his side of victory, but stood in the middle of the room, still as stone.

One of the hellhounds, Jupiter, came up to him and brushed against his hand.

It seemed to bring Hador back to reality and he sighed, brushing the hellhound’s head.

“Don’t worry about me. I was just lost in thoughts. It’s been so long and now I’m finally about to be done with this war.”

The dog whined. Hador chuckled.

“Yes, I know. You guys miss him too. But we’re going to get him back soon, I promise. Then you’ll be able to play with him for real.”

It seemed to sooth the hellhound a bit and it woofed happily.

Meanwhile, Hador’s mind went back to his earlier thoughts as he gazed out the window over the battlefield below.

Adriel. It’s been so long. But soon…

“Soon, I’m coming to take you back. Come hell or high waters.”

***

So, how did you like that look into Hador’s POV? It’s the reason I didn’t call this Chapter 9, but Interlude, because it’s the only POV change in the book and this makes it more special.

Also, here’s a drawing of Al-Amir:

Al-Amir-resize

Raya, will have his pic in a later chapter as well.

The next part will be Chapter 9. Hard to say when it’s going to be up though. My current aim is to finish this story by the end of summer, and I only have 4 more chapters left to write plus an epilogue. We’ll see how it goes…

Anyways, see you next time~

***

Demon-Lord's Little Bride - Chapter 8
Demon Lord's Little Bride - Chapter 9

11 thoughts on “Demon-Lord’s Little Bride – Interlude

    1. Hi. Honestly, currently, I can’t really tell. I have more than a third of the new chapter written, but life is life and it’s been pretty bad for the past month. But I have not abandoned the story, I have it planned out till the very end, so I will be finishing it. It’s just a matter of time and inspiration.

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