To Bewitch a Devil

158 In 50 years

Zavian nodded. “Have a guard call Freya to come immediately.”

Azriel left, and Zavian plopped on his seat, the thoughts running around his mind and he got stuck in a maze of cluelessness. For all the centuries he had lived, he had never experienced such an occurrence before.

His mind went to his father, but it was far-fetched. The portal had been resealed and was even stronger than the first.

The soul eaters had been hunted and killed, and if they had still been among the people, news of them would have reached him since. He hated not knowing things, and when finally, Freya stepped into his study he wasted no time filling her in.

“Sit, I need your help with something,” he said.

Freya cocked a brow. “Finally admitting I am smarter than you, yes?”

There was no smile to acknowledge her little jab of a joke, so Freya obeyed and he supplied her with the information just as Azriel had. She listened without interrupting, her face pulled into a disturbed expression by the time Zavian was done talking.

“I know I spend way more time reading than you do, but never in any book have I come across what you are talking about,” Freya said. “Men, women, children leaving their houses in the middle of a storm? It sounds like someone cast a spell on them.”

“And a strong one at that, for it to work on the entire village,” Zavian stated.

.....

“And the animals?”

“Untouched.”

“This is bad, Zavian,” she gave a small pause, and asked, “Do you think mother has anything to do with this?”

Zavian scoffed. “Mother might detest me, Freya, but even she knows her boundaries. And if she is creating havoc, or plotting something to end me, she knows it will only be a matter of time before I have to put an end to such.”

“You mean an end to her?” Freya asked, searching Zavian’s face for answers.

“I would be regarding her as a tyrant to the crown, not as my mother,” Zavian explained.

Freya sighed and leaned back in the chair as if Zavian had told her a boring story. She scanned the books behind her brother, wondering which one she should get started on to give her an idea of what was going on.

“She would have killed you anyway, so,” she shrugged her shoulders. She gave another sigh. “Humans can be such a headache and I am tired of them bothering my peace of mind.”

“Whatever happened was not the doing of humans, Freya.”

“They are still a pain in our asses, demons, and witches would have been able to repel it,” Freya said. “But certainly they seem to be good at wielding our emotions to their advantage.”

Zavian stood and jerked his chin towards the door. “This meeting is over.”

“Did I touch a nerve, your Majesty? Or reveal the truth you don’t want to accept?” Freya pressed on.

Zavian lowered his body, leaning out towards Freya so she was at eye level with him. Freya matched his gaze, unwavering.

“Do not start with me today. Get off that seat, and out the door,” he ordered.

Freya rolled her eyes and shot off the seat. She reached for the handle, and her anger bubbled to the surface, and a smile curled up her lips as she turned to her brother.

“Have you ever wondered what would be of your dear Neera in 30 years’ time? Or in 50 years time, if she lives up to that, that is?” She asked. Zavian’s eyes narrowed at her, but she didn’t stop. “In whatever bubble you two live, the reality is that it won’t last, that’s unless, of course, you want to turn her into a demon.” A dead cackle escaped Freya. “And most likely, the poor human might run to the ends of the earth to avoid you. No human would be stupid enough to do that for any demon, so it’s better you focus on Jasmine and start working on that relationship.”

Zavian ran a resigned hand through his hair and lifted his gaze back up to his sister. He did not miss the wicked glint in her eyes. She had turned the affairs of his life into something to amuse herself with.

“Why are you so bitter towards romantic relationships, Freya?” He asked instead.

Another shrug came from her. “Let me see. I got my father’s thirst for blood and chaos and my mother’s thirst for vengeance, if anything; I believe I am a very normal offspring.” She looked her brother up and down. “Perhaps the only normal one, but am I listened to? No. Do I care that I am not listened to at this point? Also no. Am I going to be bothered by this new information about the disappearing village you just shared with me? Maybe after a nap, I will play around with some books in the library. Until then, let me be, your Majesty.”

She left the study, shutting his door with a bang. Zavian was well aware his sister’s anger was born out of Neera’s presence on the castle grounds. Contrary to the evil of their parents she attributed herself to, Freya had always been the good one, the one who always chose to stand on the reasonable and logical side of things, bitterness overflowing from her or not.

But her words woke him up. Neera might not even live it to half a century, and a demon having offspring with a human was impossible. Having offspring with Jasmine was the right way to go about things, but he was a demon King, and as long as he had an heir from a concubine or a Queen, he was good.

But how would Neera feel about being turned into a demon? He knew some old humans complained about living too long if they lived over a century, and some will be riddled with bone issues, backaches, and bedridden from illness after illness. Neera would not have to suffer all that if she becomes a demon, but he feared she might not find the idea of living for centuries to come too appealing or the idea of altering her original state of birth.

He pulled himself back into his chair, and while he had Azriel’s dreaded news to worry about, he worried about Neera leaving him just as quickly as Lilah, and how it will be the sure death of him.