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...
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One more night, just one more night until everything changed. Xander still struggled to comprehend that in less than twenty four hours, he would be lying in bed with Adriana, just as they were now, but in his manor as husband and wife.
They had spent the entire day making sure everything was perfect, from the flowers to the guest list, everything was organised to the finest detail. Neither of them particularly cared for such trivial things like floral decorations or invitations to the ceremony, although Xander had made sure there were lilies and lavender all throughout the town church. Thankfully, Striga and Edward had volunteered to take care of everything.
He had never thought he would marry, even as a mortal. He saw no need to follow such traditions, but with Adriana, he wanted to experience everything he could with her. And he could not wait to spend his first night with her as his wife, rather than sneaking into her chambers through her window like he had done again tonight.
He held her body closer to his as she shivered in her sleep. They were in the middle of one of the coldest winters in decades, so cold that even Daemons felt the frosty chill, particularly at night. And tonight was the longest night of the year, Winter Solstice.
Xander chuckled to himself at the irony. He had waited for so long to find her, to find the love of his long life, and now he was being made to wait out the longest and darkest night before they could finally be together. Of course, they had already consummated their marriage early, multiple times, and they spent nearly every minute of every day together. But tomorrow would be the start of their future, tomorrow would be a whole new life for both of them.
He couldn't help but smile as he watched her sleep, her nose scrunching up every so often as she dreamed. He loved reading her mind and watching her dreams with her, especially the dreams she had of him.
His finger traced along her jawline, marvelling at her beauty. He could not believe that he had found her, he had been so utterly lost before he met her. He had been drifting through existence, living life after life, not really knowing where he truly belonged. But Adriana had changed all that. Although he knew his purpose was to protect others, she was the only one who gave him true happiness, she made him a better man.
When he was with her, he felt he could be himself. He didn't have to be the brave leader, he didn't have to be the Lord of the manor, he could just be her Xander. He was completely hers and he loved her, this infuriating woman, with her temper and constant need to challenge him. He loved her intelligence, her kindness, her ability to feel so deeply for others. He adored her with an incomprehensible love that no one would ever understand except the two of them.
Adriana stirred as he rolled her off his chest and tucked the blankets around her.
"Where are you going?" she murmured.
"Well I can't spend my last night as a free man with my bride, can I?"
She kicked him playfully at his teasing comment, giving him her typical grumpy stare. He laughed as he rose from the bed, picking up his clothes that had been discarded across her chambers in their previous hours of heated passion.
