Page 1 of Demon Daddy's Baby Girl

1

AURELIE

Ipress my hand against the rough stone wall, trying to slow the dizzy blur that threatens to pull me under. The alleyway spins—or maybe I'm the one spinning—and I clutch my swollen belly with my free hand.

"Just a little farther," I whisper to my child, the words catching in my dry throat. "We're going to make it."

I'm not sure who I'm trying to convince more—the baby or myself.

The red glow of Ikoth's permanent sunset paints everything in shades of blood and rust. It's fitting for a city ruled by demons whose honor codes allow them to own beings like me. Eight months pregnant, and I've been running from Kaelith Shadowfall for almost half that time.

A wave of nausea hits me as I push away from the wall. My legs tremble beneath the weight of my body and the child I carry. I've been surviving on scraps, sleeping in abandoned buildings and alleyways. The hem of my once-fine dress is now tattered and filthy, the fabric stretched tight over my growing stomach.

"Out of the way, human."

I barely have time to press myself flat against the wall before a demon brushes past, massive horns jutting from his temples, skin the color of scorched earth. He doesn't even look at me—just another piece of human trash cluttering his path.

That's good. Invisibility means survival.

My hand instinctively moves to cover the stretch marks beneath my clothes. The marks Kaelith once traced with possessive fingers while whispering that both the child and I belonged to him—his property, his possession. Never his love. Never his equal.

"You won't find us," I murmur, forcing myself forward. "I won't let you."

The street opens into a marketplace teeming with demon merchants and their customers. The air hangs heavy with the scent of spices and meat cooking over open flames. My stomach clenches with hunger, but I have nothing to trade. The few lummi coins I managed to steal before fleeing are hidden in a small pouch sewn into my undergarments—insurance for when things get truly desperate.

A female demon with elegant curved horns eyes me from behind her stall of gleaming fabrics. Her gaze flickers to my stomach, then narrows.

"Looking for something, little mother?" Her voice carries the melodic lilt common to demons from the eastern region of Ikoth.

I lower my eyes instinctively. "No, matron. Just passing through."

"Hmm." She tilts her head, earrings of black metal catching the crimson light. "And whose get do you carry? Your master lets you wander alone in such condition?"

My throat tightens. Any wrong word could be my undoing. If word reached Kaelith?—

"My master is merciful," I manage, the lie bitter on my tongue. "I run errands for his household."

"Without an escort?" Her skepticism is razor-sharp.

I force a smile, channeling the subservient mask I perfected over years of captivity. "He trusts me to return." Another lie. Kaelith had never trusted me—he simply never imagined I would dare to flee.

Until I did.

The marketplace blurs again, and this time I can't hide my stumble. I catch myself against a wooden post, the rough splinters digging into my palm.

The demon merchant's eyes narrow further, suspicion etched into every line of her face. I need to leave—now.

"Apologies. I mustn't delay." I bow my head in feigned deference and shuffle away as quickly as my swollen body allows.

Pain lances through my lower back, a sharp cramping that nearly doubles me over. Not now. Not here. I bite my lip until I taste blood, forcing myself to keep moving through the bustling marketplace.

"Fresh killmar meat! Caught this morning!" A burly merchant's voice booms over the crowd.

"Finest silks from the eastern shores!" Another calls.

Their voices blend into a disorienting cacophony that matches the pounding in my head. When was the last time I ate? Drank? The world tilts dangerously, and I grasp a wooden stall for support.

"Hey! Hands off the merchandise!" A demon vendor slaps my hand away from his display of glimmering trinkets.

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