A Demon's Wrath Novella: One Night with the Demon King by Alexia Praks

long window that
overlooked the city below. Dots of bright light illuminated the
vast kingdom like fireflies, an enchanting picture. This kingdom
was his, and Drake loved and cherished it—his land, his demons, and
all that was within the boundaries of his responsibility.
    “Aye,” he replied. “The pearl isn’t yet
ready.”
    Julius took off his spectacle, resting it
gently on the table, and lifted his head to look at Drake. “Well,
there is naught we can do but wait until the timing is right.”
    “Timing,” Drake said, “is not on our side.
Marcus Arthur, as we know, is now gathering his armies. He knows
I’m without a blood heir. This kingdom is vulnerable. He will
challenge me and kill me if he gets the chance. If I die, this
kingdom will die with me, and you know it.”
    Julius was silent for a moment. The
situation was dire. Unlike the human kingdoms, the survival and
prosperity of both the Angel and Demon Kingdoms rested on the
hidden power of the true blood king. If that king were to die
without an heir to continue the line, so too would his land and, in
turn, his followers. The Demon Kingdom had been blessed for the
past few hundred years, for they had the blood line of the
McNamaras, defeating that foolish war the humans regarded as holy,
preventing them from ever stepping foot on their shore again.
Before the McNamaras there had been the Arthurs, whose pearl of
life wasn’t strong nor vibrant, thus marking the king’s power as
weak and dark in both mind and spirit. That line had craved dark
power and had put their kingdom in constant war and the civilians
under threat of death for many centuries. None wanted a repetition
of that.
    Luckily, ever since Drake had come into
power, the kingdom had grown in prosperity, even more so than his
parents and grandparents before him. Yet the pearl of life, a seed
that came to life when Drake was born, had not yet decided who
Drake’s bride would be, the female who would carry Drake’s son, the
future true demon king.
    “I still can’t believe that bastard managed
to escape!” Adam growled in disgust from across the room. He
pounded his mighty fist onto the table for effect, just to show
everyone how upset he was. “If only you’d let me kill him that
first time, Drake.”
    Julius frowned at Adam over his book. After all this time, he thought, Adam is still consumed
with anger at the thought we managed to allow Marcus Arthur escape
our clutches. Of course, the fact that Marcus had also very
nearly killed Adam’s lovely bride Vera whilst the woman was with
child didn’t help douse the fuel of rage within Adam either. If
anything, it made the demon crazed for Marcus’s blood, whether they
used to be best friends or not.
    “Keep your voice down, Adam. I’m
reading.”
    Adam narrowed his eyes at Julius. “Aren’t
you worried?” When Julius just stared at him, he turned to
Drake.
    Drake’s scowl darkened. “You know as well as
I that we cannot eliminate the Arthur blood line. Marcus is the
last. If I die without an heir, he will be the next demon
king.”
    “What? And let him waltz in and kill you
when he feels like it?” Gerick voiced for the first time. “He’s a
threat, Drake. He’s as strong and skilled as the five of us in
battle.”
    By the five of them, he meant Drake, Adam,
Julius, Leon, and himself, who had been schooled and trained
together since they were children, along with Marcus.
    Adam was the oldest and the one with the
hottest temper and the strongest sword, yet he was also the one
with the gentlest feelings. He was simply a big bear with a hard
exterior and a bountiful love for his family and friends. Marcus,
the one who had betrayed them and was the same age as Adam, was the
smartest and most resourceful with his unmatched ability in the use
of dark power and strange magic.
    Julius, with his know-it-all attitude, vast
knowledge, insightful wisdom, a knack for white spells and magic,
and a love for books was a year younger than the