Demon Lord's Point of View

The sky was full of the purple miasma I'd only ever seen from my castle windows. Breathing it in felt strange, like power coiled in the air waiting to strike. If I stepped outside, stepped into this book's world, I'd be at the mercy of the story. I'd be the villain everyone said I was and I had no idea what would happen.

Why couldn't Willow have waited for me like I'd asked?

My gaze drifted over the village with its crooked rooftops and bustling market. I'd often watched those demons chatting and made up stories about their lives, like how this demon was a master swordsman while that other demon was trying to discover the secret to knitting. It had kept my mind busy while I was locked up inside my castle, but there was something different about the market today.

A shock of red hair in the middle of the demons. Willow.

She turned to smile at the baker to her left, brushing her hair behind her ear. A bandage covered her cheek. That hadn't been there before. Shadows swirled around me as I stormed outside, no longer caring about keeping my distance.

Each step toward her filled me with dread as my gaze scoured every inch of her looking for other injuries. Her pale skin was unblemished besides the single bandage, but that didn't mean she was fine. She was literally surrounded. By demons.

My long strides ate up the distance between us as my shadows swallowed everything around me. Somebody had touched her. Hurt her. And they were going to pay.

Willow grinned when she saw me. "Hey, look who's finally back. Took you long enough." Her gaze fell on my shadows and she held her hands up. "Look, I know you wanted me to wait inside, but I was just too curious. And it's totally fine. Turns out these demons are really nice."

The demons in question froze in terror as I marched up to her. Her cheek was swollen and there was a tiny smear of blood on her skin. I reached out my hand, hovering just over the bandage. "Who did this to you?"

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Oh, that, it's nothing. Just a misunderstanding."

"It's not nothing." My voice was low, full of barely contained rage. I'd only left her for fifteen minutes. How had she gotten hurt in such a short time? "Who hurt you?"

A hulking demon with a spear, one who I'd nicknamed the overreactor after watching him attack everything from the wind to bunnies, fell to his knees. "I'm sorry, My Lord. If I'd known she was your woman, I'd never have touched her."

"And you'll never touch her again," I said, shadows coiling around his body. Then I blinked. Did he just call her...my woman?

"Well aren't you two just full of spit and vinegar." Willow crossed her arms, glaring up at me. "If we're going to put labels on me, I'd prefer consort."

"Consort?" My shadows sputtered as my face warmed. "I think I'd remember if we'd....if we'd..."

"If we'd what?" Willow asked. "Got married?"

Being a demon's consort went far beyond marriage. It was a sacred bond that formed when two souls and bodies melded into one so profoundly that their magic intertwined. Whispers about my consort made my face burn even hotter. I stepped back into the shadows between two houses so none of them saw, especially Willow. She had no idea what she'd just implied.

I would never have a consort. Not now. Not ever. I was the villain of this story.

Willow frowned, stepping closer. "What's wrong? I thought it was a good plot twist. You know, a reason for me to be in your castle."

My shadows licked her skin, testing her, as if the very mention of a consort had them curious. I clamped down on them and dragged Willow away from the crowd of demons.

"This isn't a game," I said through clenched teeth. "You can't just joke about being my consort."

"Sorry, I was only trying to help. Is being your consort really that terrible?"

I rubbed a hand over my face, laughing despite myself. "You know nothing about demons."

"So teach me," she said. "If I'm going to write your story, then I need to know everything."

I peered at her over my fingers. Her bright green eyes met mine, full of curiosity as she lightly touched my arm in reassurance. That simple touch lit a fire in me, sending my shadows spiraling around us both. She had no idea what this conversation was doing to me. Once she understood, she'd never call herself that again and this would be over.

"Being a demon's consort isn't like a human marriage." I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her against my chest. "It's a bond so deep you feel the other even when they're not there." I traced the curve of her cheek, carefully avoiding the bandage. "When one is hurt, the other feels it."

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She tilted her head up to look at me. "That doesn't sound so bad..."

I froze. I thought she'd pull away, but instead she'd leaned closer until all thoughts of how to explain this bond disappeared. Demons just instinctively understood it. The bond was etched into our souls, even a demon with no memory like me knew what it was. But this beautiful human standing before me had no idea and I was somehow supposed to explain it.

"You're a romance novel fan, right?" I leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "Calling yourself my consort is like a mate bond formed through the most intimate acts."

She gasped. "Wait, I'm not, I would never, I mean, what?" She stared at me with her mouth open. "Demons have mating bonds? And I just told the whole town that I was...yours???"

"Basically, yes."

There, that's the reaction I was hoping for. Her skin was as red as her hair and she'd backed clear out of my shadows. I should be happy she understood enough to never use the phrase again, but something about her reaction irritated me too. Being my mate wasn't that awful of an idea, was it?

No. Thinking like that was dangerous. If I got my hopes up for any kind of partner, let alone a true mate, the end of my story with the hero would be the least painful part of this adventure.

I was the villain and villains never got a happy ending.

"Maybe we should talk to the town?" I asked slowly. "Explain that you're new here and don't understand our culture?"

"Maybe?" She frowned. "Or maybe we just see where it goes? It could be useful."

"Definitely not."

The awkwardness was palpable as we marched back to the villagers who were eagerly awaiting our return. The soldier who'd wounded Willow was still on his knees, like we hadn't just stormed off to have a private conversation about mates.

"Hello again." Willow smiled awkwardly, her face still bright with embarrassment. "Funny story, turns out I don't actually know that much about demon culture and..." She turned back to look at me, then glanced at the town again, lowering her voice. "And...well....I'll try to be the best consort I can be."

"Willow!" I growled. "She's not my mate. She's my guest. That's all."

"He's just embarrassed." Willow whispered behind her hand to the baker. "Didn't expect to take a human for a consort, but what can you do? Love is love."

She grinned wickedly at me as the demons cheered. I sighed. We'd had a solid plan and here she was doing the exact opposite. Just like when I'd told her to stay in the castle until I got back. This little book excursion of ours was getting out of hand fast as demons started handing Willow gifts of jam, bread, vegetables, and all sorts of things.

I took a deep breath, focusing on the soldier awaiting punishment.

"Stand up," I commanded. "Sorry I threatened your life. Willow says it's fine, so it's fine."

The soldier's eyes widened. "No need to be sorry, My Lord. If my death is required, then I will gladly give my life. I wounded your...guest."

The word guest was a whisper full of implications. I glared at Willow who smiled back sheepishly. The whole town was terrified of me, willing to die at my command, and there she was sampling fruit from a local vendor. Nothing fazed her.

"Umm, maybe he could help us?" she asked. "Like if you're busy, he could show me around or something?"

"Fine," I said, glaring down at the soldier. "If you want to give your life, do it protecting her. Don't let anything harm her."

"As you command." The demon bowed so low his forehead slammed against the ground before finally standing up. "Looks like I have a new job! The protector of the conso–" he paused, glancing down as my shadows swirled around his ankles, "I mean, protector of the Demon Lord's guest."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. That little plot twist of hers wasn't going away anytime soon. They all obviously thought she was my consort and we'd just have to deal with it now. At least she'd be safe while she was in the demon realm. They were all far too terrified of me to let her get hurt now.

As I turned to leave, a small demon with antlers bowed to me. "Thank you for saving me, My Lord."

"I don't remember doing anything of the kind." I frowned as a few more villagers bowed, saying the same thing. Apparently they thought I'd saved most of the town, rescuing them from humans, but that had to be wrong. I was the villain, not a savior. Plus, I never even left my castle.

Willow moved beside the demon child, wiping smudges of ash off his cheeks. "I'm glad you're safe. Who brought you here?"

The boy's eyes lit up. "The Demon Lord sent his most trusted generals to rescue me after I got snatched up by humans!"

"His generals, huh?" Willow frowned, moving closer to me to whisper. "Do you think those are the big fights in the previous books? Could the generals be rescuing captured demons to grow this village of yours?"

"Of course not," I scoffed. "They're pillaging towns and destroying armies. They're not saving children." Except, there did seem to be a lot of demons here all thanking me like I'd saved their lives. "No, if that was true, it would be in the previous books, right? They couldn't skew it so far as to make saving children seem like an evil deed, right?"

Willow shrugged. "Maybe they're doing both. Pillaging and saving?"

Based on what I'd read, I was evil personified from the humans’ point of view. But here in this village, I appeared to be a savior. Which was true and which was false? A tiny bit of hope sparked in my chest, but I clamped down on it hard. I knew which one was true and thinking otherwise, even for a moment, would hurt too much.

But Willow just kept staring at the villagers. "Maybe there's more to the books than we thought. There's always two sides to a story, after all. I need to see both sides if I'm going to write the ending." She glanced back at me, her eyes softening. "Don't you want to know too?"

More than anything.

"That's why we're here," I said dryly as I turned back to the castle. "Let's make a plan and start investigating tomorrow."

As we walked back to the castle, Willow's arms full of gifts, I kept glancing back at the villagers. They smiled and waved, bowing before their Lord. Maybe the reason I was so terrible was because the humans hadn't given me any other choice. Maybe I really was the demons’ savior. Knowing that wouldn't change the battle to come though.

The hero was fated to kill the villain. It's how all good epic fantasy stories ended.