My Demon, My Love... - A Slave's Redemption

“Azlyn!”

Azlyn heard a familiar voice screaming her name.

“Get out of here Umay, this does not concern you!” One of the demonesses snarled.

“It is if I know that you are committing an offense against the royal household!” Umay announced.

“What are you talking about? She is just a slave, no one will care what becomes of her as long as we leave her body outside for the King and Council to dispose of properly.” Another demoness snickered, mockingly.

“I happen to know of a royal prince who would be most displeased to discover that you are tearing his personal slave to pieces.” Umay added.

“None of the princes would care about such a thing.”

“You obviously do not know Prince Kane or Prince Reve very well.” Umay stated, firmly.

The demonesses all glanced at each other unsure of the validity of Umay’s statement. They slowly began to back away from Azlyn; whom remained a crumpled heap on the floor. They decided to heed Umay’s warning and separated themselves from the situation. One demoness started licking Azlyn’s blood off her fingers with a smirk as she walked away.

As soon as Umay was certain that the demonesses had exited the area, she rushed to Azlyn’s side. She began using her skirt to mop up the blood on Azlyn’s face.

“W-why…did y-you…st…stop…t-them?” Azlyn sobbed.

“What?! Why wouldn’t I stop them?!” Umay questioned, unsure she was hearing Azlyn correctly.

“I was ready for it to all be over. I can’t take the pain anymore.” Azlyn whimpered.

“What is going on here, Azlyn? What is wrong? We need to get you some help. I think that we should find Reve.” Umay suggested.

“No! No. I do n-not want to see P-Prince R-Reve. I d-don’t want to s-see him e-ever again.” Azlyn wept.

“Alright. You don’t have to see Reve if you don’t want to. Come with me though, we need to get you out of here and get you cleaned up.”

Umay helped raise Azlyn to her feet. She draped one arm around Azlyn’s back and placed her hand on her shoulder to cover the, now, exposed mark. She placed her other arm across Azlyn’s front side, helping to support her. They made their way slowly to Umay’s bedroom. Once they arrived, Umay quickly laid Azlyn in her bed. She called for Truda, who swiftly came to her aid and helped her tend to Azlyn’s wounds.

Once Azlyn was cleaned up and feeling a little bit calmer, she explained to Umay and Truda what she had seen happen in the garden earlier that day. Truda and Umay were both shocked and dismayed for Azlyn. They could hardly believe that Reve would do that to her, not to mention with Lorelei, a demoness whom he had already rejected once before.

Shortly after their talk, Azlyn passed out from sheer exhaustion. Her body could not take much more, and she needed to rest. Umay and Truda were glad to see that she was able to sleep. They were both extremely worried about her well-being. If Reve was not going to be properly protecting her, then Azlyn’s life could be in great danger.

“Stay here and keep an eye on her for me. I have something that I need to do.” Umay instructed Truda.

“Of course. I won’t leave her side.” Truda assured her.

“Thank you.” Umay stated as she gathered a few items before exiting the room.

Reve had returned to his bedroom hoping that Azlyn would be there. He could feel that she was in tremendous pain, but she was nowhere to be found. He was not sure what to do or where else to look. He needed to find her as quickly as possible; he had to explain himself. She needed to understand that he would never have willingly kissed Lorelei or anyone other than Azlyn, for that matter.

Azlyn was Reve’s mate and the only one that he ever wanted to be with. He had thought, long and hard, about her words last night during their fight. All he had wanted to do upon returning from his ride was to find Azlyn and apologize, getting down on his hands and knees if he had to.

However, Reve had run into Lorelei out on the trail back; she had claimed that she was out for a walk and was too tired to make her way all the way back to the castle. He had allowed her to ride with him to the stables, apparently, that had been a grave mistake. She suggested that they wander through the gardens and not wanting to come off as rude, coupled with, a lack of a good excuse for abandoning her, he decided to oblige her request for a quick stroll. That had been his largest error yet.

Reve paced back and forth across the bedroom floor, flattening a path in his carpet. He wanted to go search for Azlyn, but he also did not want to be gone if she were to come back. He could not risk that she would collect her belongings and disappear before he returned.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Reve rushed to the door; desperately hoping that Azlyn would be on the other side. He swung the door open, wide; wanting to scoop Azlyn into his arms. His is hopes were quickly dashed by the appearance of Zareb on the other side of his door.

“Oh, Zareb, what are you doing here?” Reve asked, deflated.

“Good to see you too, sire.” Zareb joked.

“Have you come to speak to me of Azlyn?” Reve inquired, hopeful.

“No, sir. I am afraid not. I have come to inform you that Lady Umay Vivek requests an audience with you, immediately.” Zareb informed him.

“Lady Umay Vivek? Why so formal?” Reve questioned.

“Because I am here on formal business, this is not a casual meeting.” Umay interrupted, stepping into the doorframe.

“O-okay…” Reve answered, uncertain.

“May I come in?” Umay requested.

“Yes, of course, please do.” Reve invited, gesturing for her to enter the room.

“Thank you. You are dismissed, Zareb. I request that you go to my room and stand guard at the door, if you do not have anything else to do at present.” Umay instructed before entering Reve’s room and closing the door behind her.

“So, what is this about Umay?” Reve asked.

“If you do not mind, I would like to keep this professional. I do not think that you will happy with what I am here to discuss.” Umay informed him.

“Okay. Whatever you would like, Lady Vivek.” Reve obliged.

“Thank you, your majesty. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to just jump right into my reason for being here. I see no need to waste time beating around the bush.”

“Please do.”

“Alright.” Umay took a moment to clear her throat. “I want to buy Azlyn from you.”

“What do you mean that you want to buy, Azlyn?!” Reve asked, flabbergasted.

“Exactly what I said, your highness. I want to buy her. You obviously do not care about her and my family can protect her in a way that yours will not.”

“Protect her like you all protected Penelope and Dalair?!” Reve lashed out, defensively.

Umay was taken aback by this. She could not believe that Reve would sink so low.

“I know that you are only saying that because you are angry. However, I will warn you not to bring my brother or his late-wife into this discussion again. I am merely here, seeking what is best for Azlyn.” Umay answered, working hard to keep her composure.

“What is best for Azlyn? What are you talking about?! What is best for Azlyn is to be here with me! I can protect her! I love her! What do you even know about her?!” Reve demanded.

“I know that she is in my room right now; asleep in my bed and covered in wounds. Her heart is broken because she saw you with Lorelei. She was going to allow Adaliah, Iniko, and Keres to beat her to death. If I had not gotten there in time, then who knows what may have happened.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“I found Azlyn in a heap in the middle of the floor. Adaliah, Iniko, and Keres were on top of her; shredding her to pieces. She wanted them to do it and offered up no resistance to their attack. Her heartbreak has her brain in a fog.”

“I will kill them!!!!” Reve raged.

“It won’t help Azlyn any if you do. You will just anger more of demonkind with your actions. The best thing that you can do for Azlyn is to let her go. Sell her to me, so I can get her away from here and keep her someplace safe.” Umay suggested.

“I will not sell Azlyn to you! She is not for sale! She is not going to leave me like this! She will at least let me explain myself.”

“What is there to explain? You marked her and then you chose another. What more is there to say?”

“I did not kiss Lorelei, she kissed me! I threw her off me! Apparently, just not quickly enough for Azlyn to see.”

“You pushed Lorelei off you?” Umay questioned, softening a bit.

“Yes, I was so angry that she had kissed me that I even began to turn to my primal-self. I had to walk away from her before I lost control and injured her in my rage. I have been looking for Azlyn since then, so I could explain.”

“How do you know that Azlyn saw you?”

“I ran into her friend, a slave by the name of Blaz. Apparently, Azlyn told him that I was kissing another before she ran back into the castle.” Reve explained. “He approached me, ready to fight for her honor. Though, I quickly explained myself to him and came directly to our room, hoping that Azlyn would be here waiting to speak with me.”

“She was too hurt to come speak to you. She wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible.” Umay informed him.

“Please, you have to help me talk to her. I need her to know that she is the only one that matters to me! I want to be with her and only her! I need her, without her I am just a raging storm with nothing that can calm it! Please Umay, help me!”

“Wow! I can hardly believe it. The unattainable Prince Reve has, actually, fallen in love! You really do care about her in the same way that Dalair cared about Penelope!”

“Yes, Umay! I love her!” Reve paused, taking in a deep breath. “I love her so much that it hurts.”

“Well, if you really love her as much as you say you do, and I am inclined to believe that you do. Then you will do what is best for Azlyn. She is not safe here and she will never be safe here, not like this.” Umay was still stern with Reve; he needed to hear the truth, even if it hurt him. “Things would have to change drastically for her to have any chance at a real life with you. So, pick the best move for Azlyn’s well-being and sell her to me. I will keep her under my protection and no one will harm her the way that she’s been harmed so many times before.”

“You do not understand, Umay. I cannot live without her. I literally do not think that I could survive if she was not near me every day. She is the only thing that keeps me sane in this crazy universe. Without her, I am nothing.” Reve begged, tears filling his eyes.

Umay thought about Reve’s words long and hard for several minutes. She had never seen Reve cry before, not ever. She went back and forth over how to best proceed.

“You love her?”

“Yes, that is what I have been saying!”

“You want to be with her?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Above all others?”

“Yes!”

“Forever?”

“Forever, I swear.”

“What are you willing to do to make that happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be with her?”

“Yes.”

“Even if it means changing everything that you have ever know in order to keep her safe?”

“Yes, Umay! Whatever it takes!” Reve cried. “I would literally do anything that I had to do for Azlyn’s safety. I want to be with her and only her for the rest of my life! I would walk across the realm barefoot to make that happen. I would fight a million demon armies for her! I would give up my titles for her!”

“Good.” Umay said with a smirk. “That is exactly what I wanted to hear.”

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