Bedeviled

Chapter 27

No amount of tossing and turning or alcohol infused tea could put me to sleep. I tried to go to bed early, wanting sleep to rid me of my overwhelming thoughts. At around midnight, I decided to give up and give reading a try.

The second I plopped down in the love seat to read my book of choice, Lucy walked through the doors of the library.

"I'm back" she half whispered with a smile, closing the doors of the library.

I sat up straight, so fast that the book fell out of my lap and onto the floor, "I read the journals" I announced quickly, "What is the prophecy? And-and you ran away, how did you make it out of here?"

She looked at me with wide eyes, clearly surprised by my outburst. Cautiously, she took a seat adjacent to me, curling her legs up under her. "I-" She stuttered, "There's a demon in the 2nd kingdom. He brought me back. Are you planning to run away?"

"I don't know yet"

She gulped and rung her hands together, "I think you should"

"Why? Tell me" I demanded.

She sighed, "The prophecy is because of something Azerynir's father did a long time ago, before Midland had humans. The fate gods informed the demons of the humans coming, of a war that was to happen. They were informed not to interfere with any of it, to not stop a single death."

I breathed out and sat back in my chair, how freaking old was Azyernir if his father was alive before humans ever resided in midland?

She continued, "One of the demons was soul bonded to a human girl in the war. He was a demon in the second kingdom, Dagon's best friend. Carinmine"

Dagon, the name on those journals from 2,000 years ago, was actually Azerynir's father.

"Dagon, being the loyal friend he was, stopped her death. She would be sent to heaven if she died, she would be bound to live away from him. Dagon was punished for this by the gods."

I chimed in, "Did she end up staying with him in the end? The human who's life was saved?"

Lucy shook her head, "No, that was part of the punishment for Carinmine. His soul bond to her was taken away. She when the war ended, she created the province of Vales."

My mouth dropped open, this woman was one of my ancestors. Is it my families destiny to be involved with demons, this is ridiculous. First my grandmother, then me, and now I'm finding out my 30th fucking great grandmother was too?

"Not only did Carinmine get his mate taken, so did Dagon. Azerynir's mother was sent to purgatory. Every ruler of the first kingdom was also to be condemned to purgatory when they die. The entire first kingdom was cursed to spend a week out of the month in hell's circle and the lands were forced into an eternal winter. I've been told it use to be warm here, filled with palm trees and gorgeous beaches." She appeared highly sympathetic with every word she said, as if she could feel the pain of these demons involved.

She adjusted her legs and continued, "The god's gave the first kingdom a way to break it though. The lord must make a human fall in love with him and turn her to a demon. Just like what Carinmine had suffered the urge to do. That's why Azerynir was manipulating me into loving him. That's what he was trying to break the first kingdom free of."

"And," I said cautiously, "That's what he is trying to do to me"

She nodded slowly. "It started as just him completing our deal. He saved me from the marriage, I gave him a few feedings. Then it turned into something more, he would visit just to see me, take me on dates. It was more than just the sex. He told me about the prophecy, left out just enough details so I would say yes. No one told me he would kill me, slit my throat. No one told me he was lying about being my soul bond." She was angry now. The muscle in her neck held tight while she gripped the arm of the chair.