The Demon's Deception (Demons Unleashed Erotic Novellas) by Lisa Alder Page B

had hurt him.
    "And your judgment has been clouded, my friend," Gaap spoke directly to Barbas.
    Aine glared at the prince. Surrounded by Demons, she refused to cower.
    "I would never betray the Demons." Barbas spat.
    "I realize that," Gaap replied evenly. "But she has no allegiance to us, only to her own people."
    And that right there was why she would never have peace. True wish for peace or not, no one would ever believe her. Not Fae, not Demon.
    "Why did you contact Barbas?" the prince asked.
    "I am having a child."
    "What?" Finn shouted at the news and not in joy. "But...the king did not foresee this."
    "You are the Fae Princess, are you not?" The prince queried, drawing her attention away from Finn. Gaap already knew that, so she wasn't sure why he asked.
    "You know this to be true."
    "So what do you have to gain from coming here?"
    Aine jerked back. "The babe will not have a chance in the Fae Realm." With her arms crossed over her belly, she protected the small life force growing inside her. Both Leraye and Barbas nodded their agreement.
    And here it comes.
    "What do you want?"
    "Knowledge." Aine licked her lips to draw his attention away from her calm lies. They wouldn't believe her if she confessed what she really wanted. In order to get them to acquiesce to her real reason for coming here, she would have to make her 'request' believable. Then when they denied her, she would ask for a lesser request. Her true purpose. They'd believe they got the upper hand and she would get what she wanted. "How have the Demons gained so much power in the last few months?"
    "There is no way in hell we would give that information to you."
    "I had to try." Aine said, "For the sake of my babe."
    "You want power for your child." The Prince raised a mocking brow.
    Aine wanted to stomp her foot. "No. I want peace for my child."
    "Giving the Fae the tools to increase their power will not garner peace." Gaap refuted then attacked. "You have to know that we would assume a trap. Why did you really contact Barbas?"
    She looked around at the gathering of Demons. Gaap stood with a number of Demon aristocracy and while he was the one asking the questions, she could tell that he had a consensus of opinion. He was not a solitary ruler. He garnered the advice and wisdom of his people, then made a decision. She could only hope that he was a reasonable and just ruler.
    "Fine. Since you won't give me the source of your power, I need asylum for the babe."

SIXTEEN
    Pain, sharp and acute, stabbed at Barbas's heart. How could he have been so wrong about her?
    "You would give up your child?" Pure rage bled out of his pores and into the sea air like a mist, surrounding him, obscuring his thoughts. She did not deserve to be a mother. "How could you do this to your child?"
    Tears shimmered in her chestnut eyes. "Do you really think that someone as alone as I would give up this gift casually?" she whispered. "Is that what you think of me?"
    A hush fell over the clearing. The only sound in coming dusk was her labored breath as she struggled to heave in oxygen. "My father hates Demons. How do you think a child of yours would fare in the Fae Realm?"
    She paced away from him and thirty Demon guards shifted with her and into a higher state of readiness. "I have been imprisoned for merely engaging in sex with you. Can you imagine what horror he would visit upon our child?"
    Aine stiffened her spine, stood straight and addressed Prince Gaap. "The babe needs protection."
    "I want to keep her." Barbas bowed before the prince.
    "You cannot keep the Fae Princess. It would be an act of outright war." Gaap denied his wish.
    "I meant I want them both." Barbas demanded.
    And ultimately, wasn't this what she wanted for her child? The baby needed to know both Fae and Demon halves. Only Barbas could give the child that. She covered the small bump protectively and stroked her palm over her growing stomach. A swell of love so fierce it threatened to take her under swamped