Stolen by Her Demon King Mate

Chapter 10: Protect

I cleared my throat. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

“Well, I figured that much.” Kyle continued to play the piano beautifully. “I overheard from the guards yesterday that you’re the king’s mate.” He looked young and familiar in a weird way.

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen,” he answered livelily. “But I didn’t introduce myself for my own amusement.” His playing became more fast-paced. “I wanted to ask you something, a favor really.”

Laugher raced out my mouth. “What? As you said, the guards are coming soon and I’ll have to tell Grayson about this.”

“You won’t.” He abruptly stopped playing and hit a few keys out of tune. “What do you want more than anything?” He turned to me with a smug demeanor. Did this kid really think he could give it to me? I would have alerted the guards already if I had something that I could use to get a hold of them.

“You’re a mage aren’t you?” I asked. “That’s why you’re not on edge. You can do a teleportation spell or an invisibility spell at will. What I want can’t be given by magic.” I delayed my next words. “Or shouldn’t….” Most mages resided in the magical realm, not the demon realm. “Some of the guards here are spell casters. They’ll know how to counter your magic.”

“Eventually but not quick enough for me to care.” He shrugged. “I haven’t stolen anything from this castle. I have before but that’s not why I’m here now.” He stood up and ran his fingers against the piano as he walked. 

“Why are you here?”

“Boredom mostly but I told you I needed a favor.” He walked to the window as guards were heard outside of the room. “It was nice meeting you Aria but I’m no threat unless I don’t get what I want. Think about it.” I didn’t exactly know what the favor he wanted from me was. 

I turned my head as the door opened. There were a few guards. “Sorry Queen Aria. We thought the intruder was in here.”

“It’s fine.”

I walked out of the drawing-room. I guess there wasn’t really a reason to say anything about Kyle unless he causes actual trouble. 

When I got back to my bedroom I found Cane asleep next to the door. “Cane?”

He opened one eye then the other. “Aria, sorry I’m waiting for Gray.” He stood up slowly. “I wanted to tell him that I still haven’t had luck trying to see the specific future he wants me to see. My mate is annoyed, he doesn’t want me constantly trying. He still wants me to quit all together.”

“Do you see me and Grayson together in the most possible futures? Or even signs that we’re not together at all?” I asked hoping he did and that we are still together in the future. That was better than death.

“I see nothing about you two. I still can’t navigate my visions accordingly.” We started walking. “My mother could, she was amazing at it. She was the oracle who wrote the original prophecy.” If she couldn’t be contacted to find out for us then she must have been dead or simply not willing to help. 

“I’m sure you’ll be as skilled as her eventually,” I said truthfully. Most blessed ones did improve greatly as time went on as long as they consistently used their ability.

“Maybe but Gray is really persistent with this request. He hasn’t asked me for anything else except for pinpointing this specific thing,” He said, sounding stressed.

“I want answers just as badly as he does but he really shouldn't be pushing you too hard. Anyways you can go, I’ll let him know for you.”

“Thanks, Aria. I’ll see you later.”

I walked into the dining hall where there were only three plates set. Grace and Vaness were already there waiting. I sat across from them.

“Grayson and your mom aren't joining us?” I directed my question at Vaness.

“My mom barely ever joins us and Grayson usually eats breakfast at a separate time when he’s in an early meeting,” Vaness explained. 

After breakfast, I explored the castle. I noticed there was a library and that made me excited. There was even more to read than what Grayson had in his bookcase. 

I walked outside to the garden. There weren’t many guards around. They were probably still dealing with the low-class demons and trying to find Kyle even though I’m sure he left. I knew I was the reason they were having a problem with low-class demons. The castle was located outside any city. It was on a hill at the bottom of a large mountain. The low-class demons had to have been coming from the mountains above us or the forest not too far from here. 

Soon I fell asleep on a bench in the garden. It was peaceful but before I fell asleep my mind would wander to Grayson. I wondered how much longer his meeting would be.

When I opened my eyes two low-class demons were running towards me. They were huge, on all fours and one of them at two heads. They must have scaled the wall.

The next thing I knew Grayson was in front of me. I watched as he grabbed them by their heads one by one and snapped them. I had only ever seen something like that done by a few from our community. Then he turned to me.

“It’s too dangerous for you to be here right now. I’m taking you into the city.” He grabbed my hand and I followed him to the gatehouse. 

“Vaness and Grace aren’t coming with us?” My brows furrowed.

“No. Neither of them are the target, you are. Once you leave they won’t try to get in as much. Grace and Vaness are the safest here and you’re the safest in the city.” We left through the gatehouse and the guards were fighting off the low-class demons outside of the castle. “They’re covering us, none will follow.” I felt adrenaline from being close to so many. This wouldn't have been happening if I lived in a populated place like a city or town. Vey must have been in a forest near the town she lived in. That made the most sense.

We got into the same car as yesterday but he was in the driver's seat and I was in the passenger's seat. “Is there something I should know about you?” he asked after he pulled out of the parking spot and started driving.

“What do you mean?”

“Cane is a blessed one who lives in the castle. We've never had this problem before. Why are low-class demons so attracted to you?”

“I’ve always thought it was because I’m a blessed hybrid. Hybrids and blessed demons are what attract the low class the most and I’m both.”

“Yes but there has to be something els-shit.” He said when he saw a low-class demon in his rearview mirror. “One is following.” He stomped on the gas and I hugged myself because of how fast we were going. “We can’t outdrive it for long but once we get into the city the guards there will keep it out.”

He drove into the city and was right. The guards at the city’s border killed the low-class. He parked and I panted. 

Grayson pulled out his phone and called someone at the castle to inform them that we were in the city safe. I thought about how quickly he was able to kill the low-classes. Courtney would have been impressed for sure. It startled me a little but I was calming down from all the excitement now. He hung up and stuffed his phone in his pocket.

We slowly got out of the car. “Now what?”

“We find something to do while we wait for the okay to go back.” He smirked. “We could get a hotel room and-“

“No,” I answered before he finished. “We… can take our time on that.”

“Understood.” He looked around. “There’s a really nice park near here.” He started to lead the way. 

The park was nice, there was a big lake with ducks and beautiful flowers around it. At a distance was an intricate playground demon children played on. I loved the atmosphere. We sat on a bench at a distance from anyone. There were a lot of trees around the bench giving us shade.

“My parents used to bring me and Vaness here.” He stared into the distance. “We’d climb on the trees and she’d try to push me off.” I think this was the first piece of meaningful information I’ve gotten from him about him. “After I won my first war as king, though it was a short war I brought my daughter h…”

“Continue,” I responded to his pause. My gaze was fixated on him. He wasn’t just some oaf for me to be afraid of or an empty attractive shell. He was a passionate man who cared about me and others.

“I didn’t mean to say any of that so forget it.” He turned his head away from me. 

“What? Grayson, I want to hear more.” His hand was laying beside him on the bench so I placed my hand on his. “Please?”

“Why?” He turned his head back in my direction.

“Because I want to feel closer to you. I want to know you, Grayson. I’ve told you this.” I sighed. “Thanks for saving me from those low-class demons.” 

“I want to know you too Aria. In more ways than one.” He leaned closer and without thinking about it my body was doing the same. 

“Excuse me.” We were interrupted by three men and a woman when our lips were only a moment apart. “We noticed how lovely the young woman looks.” The woman referred to me. “And she’s wearing a very stylish outfit.”

“Hey, I think that’s the king…,” one man whispered to the woman. “Maybe we shouldn’t…” The woman didn’t look like she believed him.

“We own a business that mass produces extravagant clothes and jewelry,” she continued despite her partner's words. “Would you be interested in modeling?” She asked me.

“She wouldn’t,” Grayson answered. “But out of curiosity what’s the name of your business?”

“Romp Q.” A man who hadn’t spoken yet answered. “We have a catalog in our car. If she'd like to come, give it a look. If she’s not sure if modeling is right for her she could come to have dinner with us and we can explain everything.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Grayson said. “Leave us, we’re not interested,” he warned. Two of the men seemed intimidated by Grayson’s low voice and definite tone.

“You wouldn’t have heard of it.” The woman chuckled. “It's a very exclusive fashion brand. We sell to nobles and others of high status, even the king.” She was obviously lying.

Grayson didn’t reply right away. “Let me guess, if she decided she was interested, I wouldn’t be able to come to see the catalog or to dinner with her?”

“For legal reasons, you wouldn’t. This is all handled very professionally.”

“How many blessed demons have you kidnapped with this idiotic pitch?” He was getting more straightforward. This wasn’t the first time I’ve been propositioned this way. This was why my mother made it clear for me not to speak to strangers. One of the girls in our community had gotten taken like this before.

“I’m sorry if we struck a nerve. I assure you that we’re a legitimate business.” One of the men who didn’t seem intimidated said. “We’re aware of the crimes-“

“There’s no point.” The woman told him. “There’s four of us, let her come with us calmly and you can go. We could even give you a reward for your corporation.”

The man who previously recognized Grayson as the king started walking away without the other three noticing.

I was afraid of what would happen next. I wasn’t afraid of them, I was afraid for them because Grayson’s entire eyeball turned black. He stood up then attacked him. He grabbed both remaining men by the throat. I hadn’t realized until now how strong Grayson was. He killed those two men easily and in an instance. The woman looked horrified but she got it worse. He tore her head off right in front of me with his bare hands. 

Grayson turned to me and his eyes were normal now. He grabbed me by my wrist with his bloody hand, pulling me up and to him. He kissed me and I was in too much shock to react. Why… why did Satan pair me with such a brutal man? And why did I… why for a split moment did I like it? That moment wouldn’t last.