The Demon Duke and I by Marian Tee Page A

of the perimeters of Brimstone and into unknown territory, the bats overhead separated in two directions, one heading towards Asphodel, the other towards the Woods of the Wraiths.
              The scouts are out, Mihail said.
    Bats were kindred to Mihail’s race, and Silviu knew that it pained his friend to see the creatures following the orders of their enemy. Whereas the bond between vampire and bat came naturally, demons and other creatures would catch untamed ones from Sangre’s infamous blood mountains, depriving them to the point of starvation, torturing them until they were forced into submitting to a lifetime of bondage.
    The demon lords would not think to look for us here, Silviu answered. Demons were creatures of arrogance, thinking their line superior to all others. They would never imagine that Silviu and his Galeré, being half-demons themselves, would willingly travel the smaller and uncharted roads of the kingdom dressed like peasants – and in the case of his heartkeeper – doxies.
    His heartkeeper, who was sulking – and had been so since the start of their journey. Closing his link to his brothers, Silviu turned to Georgina, loving the way her swept-up hair revealed the classic lines of her face and the way her low-cut gown revealed more than a handful of her décolletage.
    Her lips were pursed in annoyance as she worked on her camera. It was a precious sight, but because she was clearly in a nasty mood and itching for a fight, Silviu thought it prudent to keep how much he adored the grumpy look on her face to himself.
    Instead, he said gently, “I think those are enough pictures for now, Georgina.” As his future duchess, she deserved the privilege to use what was forbidden, but not to the point that she would seem to be thumbing her nose at everyone else.
    George obediently stopped taking pictures of the creepy gray-and-white views outside the carriage and placed the camera carefully on the built-in holder attached to the wall. Silviu had explained to her earlier that the camera flash was damaging to creatures who were photosensitive and that often, cameras also had the tendency to reveal the true character of his people, hence its prohibited use outside Asphodel.
    When Silviu only looked at her afterwards, she grumbled, “I don’t like this.” She just couldn’t stay silent any longer. It wasn’t in her nature. If she was mad, then by God the whole world should know it.
     “I wouldn’t do this if it was unnecessary. Obtainingyour guardian’s blessing is the only way I can guarantee your safety. It is how heartkeeping works. I wish it was not so, considering your stories of---”
    “Lady Beyotch,” she said automatically when he paused.
    Silviu compressed his lips, unused to such cattiness – and terribly amused by it. “---err, yes, that woman – I would rather kill her for you, milady, but before I can do that, it is imperative that I gain her blessing.”
    “But you’re not going to get her blessing, dammit.” Her flashing turquoise eyes turned to him. There, he was a better sight to glare at. The surroundings outside were appalling, the ugliest she had seen in the kingdom. Even the Woods of the Wraiths had been beautiful, in an eerie sort of way, but this – wherever this was – it was not good, like Chalys had a dark twin it kept hidden and George now had the misfortune to stumble into the dark twin’s dwellings.
    Chalys was one of the richest countries in the world, with a spectacularly low rate for crime and corruption. It just didn’t make sense that the kingdom had places that made tribal African lands ravaged by war and famine seemed more… civilized.
    She knew she was being childish, throwing a tantrum like this, but she couldn’t help it. George glared at him. “If you really want to marry me, then we should just elope!”
    “Not if eloping will keep you a mortal forever.”
    “Ha! For all I know, you’re just lying.”
    Silviu’s tone turned cold. “If