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13.71% Bride of the Demon Lord / Chapter 45: Mating Bond (1)

Kapitel 45: Mating Bond (1)

Amelia dipped the washcloth into a basin filled with cold water and squeezed out the excess liquid before using the damp cloth to wipe the sweat on Iris's face. Meanwhile, Chysanthe and Ricci were standing near the windowsill, conversing in low voices, occasionally throwing Iris a worried look.

Iris had been unconscious for almost half a day now. The sun had already set and all the maidens were scheduled to travel with Queen Asheera to Shayla Kingdom the very next day.

"We didn't expect that the rest of the Court of Shadows would punish Lady Iris like this. Lord Kieran regretted than she was dragged into his dispute with Master Xanaros." Amelia heard Ricci say.

The demon lord had dropped by earlier to check on Iris, but he didn't utter a single word at her and Chrysanthe. He merely stared at Iris blankly for a long moment, deep in his own thoughts. He then left and never came back.

"Does this mean that Iris's life is in danger now? Why did the Red King forcibly put a mating rune to her and Lord Kieran? What is he trying to achieve?" Amelia took a seat next to Iris's bed and looked at the fae.

Iris's life in Dravial was already risky, and although they knew that Asnar was more dangerous, neither Amelia nor Chrysanthe expected that their best friend's life would be hanging on a thread as soon as they arrived at the world of the magical beings.

Their friend might have been able to avoid the persecution in Dravial, but here, she would be targeted by the other demon lords and darklings that had an enmity against Lord Kieran.

"Lord Kieran didn't think that Lady Iris would replace her sister and come here as a tribute instead. He might have bestowed her the geas, thinking that it would protect Lady Iris from the other darklings that are lurking near Calaren Town." Ricci explained, her eyes widening slightly seeing Iris rousing from her slumber.

"Lady Iris…"

As soon as she uttered those words, Amelia turned around and immediately helped her friend to sit up on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked Iris.

"My back is aching. What happened to me?"

Iris felt like she had just hit a boulder as her whole body was aching. The last thing she remembered was the demon lords arguing about what to do with her and how to punish Lord Kieran for giving her a geas before the selection.

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid earlier. Being in the presence of the thirteen demon lords was enough to remind her of how insignificant her life was in these darklings' eyes. They were willing to use her as a tool just to get rid of Lord Kieran.

"Master Xanaros placed a mating rune on you and Lord Kieran." Amelia replied, keeping her voice low, just in case Iris was having a headache. "Miss Ricci said that it would be impossible to remove, but she thinks that Lord Kieran would eventually find a way to remove it."

A mating rune.

Iris shut her eyes and heaved a deep breath. She might not have received the same education as Amelia and Chrysanthe, but she wasn't that dumb not to know what a mating rune was.

"What did Lord Kieran say about it?" She asked Ricci.

She heard what the High Fae had said earlier, but she wanted to know what the demon lord thought of the mating bond that was forced upon them. If the rumors about Lord Kieran hating humans were true, he must be simmering with rage knowing that he was bound to a mortal human like her.

"He said nothing about being bound to you, Lady Iris." Ricci confessed. "I dropped by to bid goodbye, ladies. Lord Kieran and the rest of us are going back to Aisgarth. Forgive me for not being able to accompany you to Shayla Kingdom."

The three young women could see on Ricci's face that she was telling the truth. She was the first darkling they met that didn't pose any danger towards them and regarded them with respect, despite their heritage.

"You don't have to apologize to us, Miss Ricci. You've been a great help to us from the moment we left Calaren Town. If it wasn't for you, I don't think that we would be able to arrive in Asnar without losing our heads in the process." Amelia voiced out their mutual opinion towards their new friend. "It's an honor to be acquainted with you, Miss Ricci."

Despite the thick black armor she was donning like the rest of the Frost Guards, Ricci's face turned crimson from hearing their words. A little more and Iris thought the red haired fairy's face would turn into the same shade as her hair.

She looked at them with tear-glistened eyes, which made Iris wonder if the fae never had a friend or a confidante before meeting them.

Ricci smiled at them and blinked her tears away and said, "Master Yuri left another message for you though. He said that you wouldn't have to worry about your safety or the risk of being killed as long as you are in Shayla Kingdom. Queen Asheera would keep you safe until you, Miss Amelia and Miss Chrysanthe are ready to leave."

"I see." Iris whispered as she looked at her calloused hands, wondering when she had lost the leather gloves she was wearing earlier. As she looked down on her dirty shirt, she had no doubt that she looked like a mess now.

"Can I… can I at least have a word with Lord Kieran?" She asked.

"Iris!" Amelia exclaimed, while Chrysanthe gripped the side of her skirt as she looked at her friends.

"Isn't it enough that you are in this condition because of him?" Amelia admonished her friend.

"It's not like Lord Kieran wanted this to happen." Iris frowned, then looked at Ricci.

If there's one thing she knew about Lord Kieran, it was that he won't do a thing that he might regret later. Also, it cannot be denied that she disrupted the selection and the ritual by switching places with Junifer and coming to Asnar in her stead.

"Forgive me, Lady Iris. Lord Kieran and Master Cal left an hour ago. You may send him letters later, but please don't expect any response from him. We are mostly on the battlefield and leisure time for ourselves is almost a luxury we can't afford to have."


Kapitel 46: Mating Bond (2)

His blood was on fire, boiling in his veins, but Lord Kieran tried to contain his anger, in fear that his emotions would flow through the bond he now shared with the mortal magus. The mating bond between them allowed him to check the mental and emotional stability of his mortal mate.

He had underestimated Xanaros shamelessness this time. Indeed, he had impulsively bestowed a geas of protection on Iris Scarborough, but at that time, Lord Kieran had never thought that their paths would cross again.

Aside from that, no one had been foolish enough to volunteer as a tribute. How was he supposed to know that Iris Scarborough was to become his mate?

Lord Kieran sneered at the thought. He'd never consider himself as one to take a mate. Not in his seemingly endless life. He'd been with a woman before, but things ended up badly between them. To think that he had once considered taking her as his wife, only to be betrayed by her in the end.

However, being mated to Iris Scarborough now, Lord Kieran felt like he had inconvenienced his mortal mate. The Red King wouldn't have harshly punished her like this if she wasn't acquainted with him prior to her arrival in Asnar. There could be a way to free Iris from this mating bond.

"The Red King surely went overboard this time." He heard Callum say to Yuri. "It's impossible to remove a mating rune, not when the Black Mage himself was the one who created the spell."

It was also surprising that the rest of the members of Court of Shadows didn't admonish Xanaros for placing a mating rune between Lord Kieran and Iris Scarborough. It made Yuri, Callum and Aiden think that the rest had already anticipated this would happen as soon as they sensed the geas Lord Kieran placed on the mortal human.

"A seventh tier mage might be able to remove it, but there's no assurance that there wouldn't be a fair equivalent exchange in the process." Yuri responded, yawning behind his hand as they traveled back to Aisgarth.

At least this time, they could ride their steed without worrying about being ambushed on their way back home. They also didn't need to take occasional breaks that could delay their travel.

"Even demonic magic can't dispel a rune like that." He added.

Despite the Black Mage's infamy, it couldn't be denied that he was one of the strongest and smartest magus that appeared in Asnar. His spells and curses were considered as forbidden arts and unorthodox, but some of them were useful that the demon lords and other magi learned to utilize them. So it wasn't surprising that the Red King knew how to use one of the spells created by the Black Mage.

"What do we do now?" Aiden asked. "Can the mating rune kill Lord Kieran too if Lady Iris was killed by someone?"

"Who knows? The mating rune was just established and their bond isn't that strong yet. The curse might override the mating rune, considering its one tier higher than it." Yuri responded. Since he was Aisgarth's greatest demon mage, knowledge of magical ways and abilities were like a second nature to him.

"Xanaros is rushing to his death." Lord Kieran commented. "If we aren't bound by that blood pact, my blade would have already met his throat before he could say a word."

"Should we send Ricci to protect Lady Iris then? But I doubt that Queen Asheera would want her exiled daughter back in Shayla Kingdom." Aiden reminded them of Iris's vulnerability. If Kieran's enemies view Iris Scarborough as a way to kill him, her life will surely be in danger.

"There's no need for that." The Undead Lord said. "Asheera needs Iris alive more than anything, but she's foolish if she really thinks she could manipulate Iris to become one of them. It would be like biting more than she could chew."

As her mate, it was the Undead Lord's responsibility to protect Iris from any danger, but there was no way he would be able to step into Shayla Kingdom without causing war between them and Aisgarth. He and the High Queen weren't on good terms anyway and he expected that Queen Asheera would try to keep his mate away from him.

Yuri and Callum looked at their lord, noticing that Lord Kieran was acknowledging his mortal mate by her given name. They still didn't know why their lord had given Iris Scarborough a geas of protection. What could have happened during the three days they weren't on Kieran's side?

Lord Kieran fell silent, noticing that his new mortal mate was conscious now. Several emotions flew through their mating bond and he struggled to keep them from affecting him. He prepared himself to receive her disappointment, her rage for being mated to him, but to his surprise, there was none.

He couldn't understand. Shouldn't she be throwing a fit now, blaming him for what just happened? If there's anything, the only thing he could sense through their mating bond was her longing for her family and uncertainty. He'd known from the moment he met Iris Scarborough that she was one odd human, but he didn't expect it to be to this extent.

The Undead Lord pushed the thoughts away. No matter how pure Iris Scarborough was, she was destined to witness how darklings like him could be cruel towards a human like her very soon.

----

END OF VOLUME I


AUTORENGEDANKEN
anjeeriku anjeeriku

The next chapters would be part of the Second Volume. Thank you for picking up and reading the first volume of BDL. This is my third attempt to write a fantasy novel as I'm trying to breakthrough my comfort zone and write other genres other than Contemporary romance. Daily updates will start on Aug 1. Reviews and comments are deeply appreciated.

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