The Demon King (Otherworld Series #4)

Chapter 31

I woke up to Nikolai's face.

"Get fresh. We need to get going." I obeyed. Only because I wanted to get fresh not because Nikolai said so. We set out towards the sound of flowing water once breakfast was done. It was sweet bread and cups of coffee.

It did nothing to fill my stomach. The sweet bread only made me hunger for more. Nikolai said that we had woken up late and lunch would arrive soon.

I sat on Sheebah and looked at my surroundings as Nikolai rode ahead and take to Dimitri. Alexei rode beside me, pointing at various fauna and telling me their names.

There was an own like animal with bat wings and a long tail that clung to the bark of a tree and stared at me with unblinking eyes.

"That's a Heerka. It's one of the common animals found in these parts. "

"What do you mean by 'these' parts?"

"It's cold around here, isn't it? The other animals hibernate or move over to warm places but the Heerkae remain even in the cold season. They hide in the trees and collect fruits to store for the harsher winter. Around that time they do not come out of their burrows."

"They're pretty cute."

"You should see they're babies. "

"You have experience with these things."

"Uh-huh. When the first war was on. Nikolai and Dimitri were old enough to fight but I was still young. I got restless and angry that I couldn't be a part of the fight and so I spent my time studying the flora and fauna of Dinhae. You see that purple flower there?" He pointed at a giant purple flower peeking through the bush. It was really beautiful with a yellowish center and long antenna tipped in red.

"Watch closely." He said and removed a crystal-like stone from his pouch.

He threw it front of the bush as in watched, enraptured as a turtle head peaked through the bush to study the stone and then a frog like tongue zipped out to snach the stone into its mouth.

"A stone? It eats stones?"

"No. It's called a Menae. It's a turtle like creature with a flower growing from the center of its shell. It eats insects and collects stones to hide in its shell. The stones supply warmth to the flower that grows from inside it's body. I learnt this when I was trying to light a fire with some stones and a Menae stole my stones."

"Poor you."

"Seriously. I had to sit in the dark alone. Couldn't even find new stones, it was a very dark night."

"How did you see the menae then?"

"I found its footprints in the morning."

"Oh...so..how did you end up with Lucelle?"

"Lucelle..." He signed. "Political marriage. Dad's side of the family. A promise to a friend, blah blah blah. We hated each other ever since the first time we saw each other, at our engagement that is. We got married. Made a deal. Sealed it with a whole lot of wild fucking and voilà. You don't come in my way. I don't come it yours. What you do with your body is none of my concern and what I do with mine is none of yours. Life is good."

"And what if she wants to leave you?"

"Did she say that? " He asked, sending me a suspicious glance.

"No. It's a what-if question. Alicia is the one who wants to leave her husband's cheating ass. "

"Oh. Well, if Lucelle wants to leave then I've got no problem but it won't do any good for our image and we loose her family's alliance. If she wants to divorce then she can after the war. And about Alicia....she's a whole different story. Dimitri saw her at mom and dad's goodbye party, she was the daughter of mom's best friend or something. He says it was love at first sight. They were married three months later. About the cheating...you gotta cut him some slack. Mom was a succubus so we're part incubus, sex demons, FYI, he was loyal for the first few months when that 'just married' feel was there but then he just couldn't resist his urges. "