Book 1 of The Courts of Daemonium.
Alexander 'Xander' Duran, the world's first Lamia, has been in charge of the Courts of Daemonium for decades. After being turned into a shadow-wielding, blood-thirsty Daemon in 1649 by Lilith, his only purpose in h...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It had been a full year since Xander had first tasted Adriana's blood, since he had first buried himself inside her, since he had finally told her the true extent of his feelings for her. He had not fed from anyone else since that night, he only drank from her when she offered. Although, some of the times he had to decline her offer, knowing her body would not have recovered from their last time. But he could not get enough of her.
At first, Adriana's father was under the assumption their spending so much time together was to continue her training. But of course he had caught on after seeing Adriana sneaking out of the house on new year's eve and their staff had begun to gossip by that point. So, much to Lord Clarke's delight, they decided to make it known to everyone that Xander was courting her at the start of the new year. That way they didn't have to hide their relationship, and neither of them would have to worry about other gentlemen making calls to the house any longer. And so they would stroll through the town as a couple, they'd join Deion and Edward on trips with their children, and Xander even accompanied her father to the tavern on one occasion. The last six months had been absolute bliss.
Xander had presumed that the most nerve-racking moment in their relationship would have been when he finally worked up the courage to tell her his feelings, or when they had made it public knowledge they were courting. But it was nothing compared to the stress he felt now, standing in the evening summer breeze in front of Arthur Clarke's carriage before he left on another business trip. Xander hadn't taken the time to learn what business specifically he was involved in, and now he felt foolish for not finding some common ground to spark a conversation. Instead, he had merely walked up to the man, and stated his intentions. He wanted to marry Adriana, and he wanted his permission.
In truth, Xander never really cared for traditional customs of courting or blessings, and he certainly did not ever think he would feel desperate to seek approval. And yet he could not fight the urge to win the man's affections. He knew Arthur thought highly of him, he didn't need to be able to read his mind for that, it was obvious in the way he continued to express his joy at Adriana being courted by a wealthy Lord. And Xander had a suspicion Striga had sung his praises on more than one occasion to win her father over. But still, he was nervous.
"You wish to marry my daughter?"
"Yes, Lord Clarke, I do. I will treat her with the most honourable respect, and continue to give her the freedom and protection to progress her powers. I will love her until the day..."
"You do realise she does not have a dowry? Not since the laws have changed."
Xander furrowed his brow at the interruption to his speech, a speech he had spent hours running over with Edward to make sure it was perfect.
"With respect, I was under no assumption that I would receive anything, nor do I want anything. Just your blessing."
Adriana's father said nothing, his face was completely unreadable as he eyed Xander. He knew he was a Lamia, even if he did not speak of it, he knew what he was. And although Arthur Clarke was a rare man who was very accepting of Daemons, Xander could read his mind as his worries screamed inside his head. He was scared of him, and he was scared for his daughter.
