Amgyptapan

Chapter 24: The Ceremony

"Hessa, will you do me the grand honor of becoming my wife, my mate?" Nothile asked.

Speechless, all Hessa could do was nod, tears of joy forming in her eyes. Nothile stood, took the ring from its box, and slid it onto Hessa's left ring finger. Then, Nothile gently kissed his fiancee. Hessa wrapped her arms around Nothile's neck, deepening the kiss.

Molahs couldn't stop himself from cooing in joy. He had hoped that his eldest son would find a mate first. The demon lord supposed that, as long as the Canine line continued, it didn't matter what order his children married. However, Molahs wished that Chandrakant would pick someone, settle down, and start a family.

Akiva was proud that Hessa had someone to love her in a way the half demoness deserved. He wished that he had that same type of love. Growing up, half demons weren't...high priority. Nowadays, there was an abundance of humans that wanted a demonic for a spouse.

"Despicable." Chandrakant declared.

"What is?" Akiva asked as his sister and future brother-in-law came up from their kiss and looked at Hessa's elder brother.

"A death deity and a half demon." Chandrakant answered.

"What's wrong with them being together?" Molahs chimed in.

Chandrakant replied, "For one thing, death deities are notorious for having horrible tempers. For another, he comes from a time where it was acceptable to beat a woman."

Offended, Nothile took a step away from Hessa. He closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Nothile reopened his eyes and directed them at Chandrakant.

Nothile remarked, "You have no right to judge who I am based on my heritage. Would you like it if I said that you are just a servant of Lucifer because you are a demon?"

Molahs and Akiva looked at one another. No one had ever talked like that to the eldest demon prince. At least, no one had ever done it...and lived to tell the tale. It would be a surprise if Nothile was the first to get away with it.

A look of shock came to Chandrakant's face before it changed to a look of apathy. However, the change wasn't quick enough to hide the eldest prince's astonishment. Nothile raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. He was daring the other to try his luck.

Chandrakant sighed and said, "Point taken. For future reference, I will not allow you to speak thusly to me."

Nothile easily quipped, "I do not see that you have any fucking choice."

From the corner of his eye, Nothile noticed that Molahs seemed to beam with delight. At that, the death deity softly smiled. While he had been learning English, Molahs and Akiva had undertaken to teaching him foul language and using it out of context. Akiva had told him that Molahs valued foul language, even in moderation.

"How do you opine that?" Chandrakant queried.

Nothile answered, smug, "Simple. I have been doing some research on death deities, lately. The most intriguing thing I found was that the best way to kill one was to read their resurrection spell...backwards. Fortunately for me, I was...vindictive enough to completely destroy the damned sarcophagus I was found in. I would not know the spell, in any case. In short, whether you fucking like it or not, I am here to stay."

Akiva and Molahs burst into laughter. No one had ever spoken to Chandrakant like that. Not even Molahs dared to speak to his eldest son that way. Without even knowing it, Nothile had just proved his mettle and showed that he belonged in their little family.