Page 40 of Once Upon a Demon's Heart
No.I can’t let them make me vulnerable. They’re definitely trying to get my guard down, but for what? I try to blink past the spell that the alcohol has cast on me. But no matter how hard I try, only giddiness and good feelings fill me. I take another few big gulps.
Kalel stalks past us. The light from the fire illuminates the side of his face as he glances at us, takes us in,glowers,then struts across the camp to sit with his close circle of knights. The ones that are always so serious they practically compete with his level of cruelness. I only know one’s name because he’s usually guarding our tent. Gabriel.
Gods.
I don’t know if it’s just because the alcohol makes me bold, but I ask as I lean against Tessa. “Why are Kalel and his elite knights so uptight? The war is done. Someone tell him to loosen his corset,” I drawl, eyes cumbersome and a sarcastic smile pulling at my lips.
Nikolai’s expression drops, and he shares an uneasy look with Tessa before setting his hand on my shoulder. “Alira, you must remember that some of us lost more than others. Someof us lost everything to the demigods.” His tone is filled with warning.
As if Kalel can hear us, his eyes flick back to me, catching all three of us staring at him. I’m compelled to look away, but something keeps me from doing that. I hold his heavy gaze. “Kalel is a good person. He’s just damaged in ways that cannot be mended overnight. Over years, for that matter,” Nikolai whispers.
I force my eyes away from Kalel’s and meet Nikolai’s soft gaze. “His mother was in Thornhall,” I murmur, not disrespectfully but as a fact.
Nikolai bristles at the question, eyes flashing to Tessa. She sighs beside me. “Yes, and unfortunately, her death scent lingers around you. Not directly, so at least you didn’t kill her yourself, but you were close enough that it stains you. His mother, Rene, was all that Kalel had left in this world,” Tessa mutters sadly. My eyes shift back to Kalel in the distance, he’s speaking with his men, a tired frown weighing on his jaw.
It’s hard to picture him as someone who can be gentle with others. Someone who cares like they paint him in my imagination. He was once a boy who loved his mother. He was once not filled with this deep-seated hate.
I picture him younger, wondering why the world revealed how dark and callous it is to him to make him this way.
“What about his father?” I pry, focusing back on Tessa.
She purses her lips and considers my question. “You know, I actually don’t remember hearing about him. I think it was always just Kalel and his mother. Nik?” She tilts her head to see Nikolai on the other side of me.
He shrugs. “I’ve never heard him speak of his father, not once.”
I open my mouth to ask more questions, but the knights around our campfire stand and beckon the three of us to follow.
“Come on, you’ll love this,” Nikolai throws back the last of his drink before dropping the mug to the ground and hooking arms with me. His scent is sharp, like bark and leather. I grin as he tugs me along. Tessa trots to keep up with us.
We pass Kalel’s campfire, and they watch with heavy glares as we pass. Kalel’s is the only one whose gaze is filled more with curiosity than hatred. A small reprieve that is quickly dashed when he stands to follow us.
“Shit, walk faster.” My tone has an edge to it. I attempt to drag Nikolai behind me, but he’s dense with muscle. I barely get two steps ahead before he’s reeling me back in tightly to his side.
“Don’t worry, he never participates. He never watches either. I’m sure he just wants to keep an eye on you.” Nikolai sounds so nonchalant about it.
“Delightful.” I force a tight smile, and it gets a chuckle out of the apprentice. “What are they doing anyway?” My attention lingers around the demons as they build a large bonfire at the end of camp, far away from any tents.
Tessa snags my hand with hers and squeezes tightly. “The send-off for those who died last night. It’s a dance and a fire so big that the gods must take them to the underworld. No soul left behind to wander lost in the forest.” She nods to the tree line where the wolves are likely still watching us.
Just thinking about them makes me shiver.
They do all of this for their dead? It’s a warm sentiment that brings an ache to my heart. King Borlin lights a torch and lists the names of only the top knights who don’t make it back.
Some say that long ago, he used to hold prayer circles and a proper send-off, but after the gods abandoned us, his faith went with them. A few centuries without tradition and ceremonies has left our kingdom void of spiritual festivities like this.
“Is that why everyone is drinking ale tonight?” I look around and see a pleasant smile on every demon’s face, save for Kalel and his elites.
Nikolai nods. “It’s imbued with a potion to make everyone’s spirit high, even if they are mourning. A sendoff is meant to be a celebration.” He eyes me dubiously as he explains it. “Demigods don’t practice send-offs?”
I sheepishly shake my head. I mean, we literally have the blood of the gods in our veins, and yet we seem to be the furthest away from them.
How did it come to such dark times?
Nikolai pats my back and pulls me in close against his chest. My cheeks flush at his closeness. “It’s alright, you’ll learn tonight,” he says with a bright grin.
My teeth dig into my lower lip with anxiety as I watch the great fire spark to life. Cheers erupt from everyone. Half of the knights remain standing and watching while the rest start to clap and dance around the fire. Their boots pounding on the ground like war drums, and their voices calling for the souls to gather.
It’s a sound so enchanting that I become entranced. The embers flick from splitting wood and fill the dark sky with ascending bright sparks.
