Alora sank into the seat, trying not to make eye contact. “Is it a custom among demons? To be with so many?”
“Of course.” Calla handed her a drink and lounged in the chair across from her with feline ease. “Demons are polygamous by nature. Desire is our magic. We feed on our partners the way the fae feed on nature’s magic. We take as many lovers as we wish. No vows, no jealousy, no ownership. It is rare that a male should attract his own harem, and if so, he is highly valued due to his power in magic and battle—” Calla grinned. “Orprowess.”
Immediately, Alora pictured Rune surrounded by demonesses, throwing themselves at him as if he were the source of divine ecstasy. She flushed at the implication of what that may mean but her brows knitted when she glanced at her ring.
“Then there’s no such thing as marriage here?”
Calla’s smile turned sly. “Marriage is a mortal custom. We have something older. Rarer.”
“What’s rarer than what I walked in on?”
Calla grinned, delighted. “Choice.There are more male demons than females, so we choose who we share our beds with. But a rare few choose to bear his offspring and share eternity with him.” Her fingers played with the lacing of herrobe, glancing at the door. “All males desire to be chosen above all others. She may have a favorite from time to time, but to be selected as an eternal mate is a significant honor. It has led to many Vahl’Tor challenges.”
Alora processed this, fascinated by the customs of demons. “How does a female choose?”
“When she considers a male worthy, she will offer him a pomegranate to eat from her hands. They enjoy that part,” Calla smirked softy, “Then she takes him to bed where she marks him as hers, imprinting with her essence and her bite.”
Alora blinked, surprised by this.
“It’s what you might call atrue union,” Calla said, sensing her next question.They become bound in magic and spirit. Until he dies—or she kills him if he fails to please her in any way.” Calla’s eyes gleamed wickedly. “Which, in regard to what demons consider love, are sometimes the same thing.”
“And the males? They simply… wait around for her to decide?”
“Oh, they do more than wait.” Calla gestured toward another corner of her room, where chests were piled with a glittering heap of treasures: jewels, silks, weapons, rare stones. “Males court by leaving offerings. Each one trying to outshine the other.”
Her eyes widened. “Those are from your suitors?”
Calla sipped her drink. “Those are from Hadeon.”
Alora smiled, despite herself, immediately guessing he was Calla’s favored lover. “Have males challenged him for the right to your bed?”
A slow smile curved her lips as she reached for a bowl of fruit. “Of course.”
“And he won?”
The Harbinger gave her a sly look as she bit into a golden apple. “He’s alive, is he not?”
“But you haven’t chosen him as your eternal mate yet.”
Calla shrugged, but something flickered in her gaze. “Why end the game when the hunt is so sweet?”
Alora laughed softly, thinking wryly of her own union but then her smile wavered. “What if the male grows impatient and attempts to force her … to lay with him?”
Calla’s expression darkened, her voice losing all trace of mirth. “None would dare. Female demons are stronger than males, Alora. We are swift to dismember any who would evenconsidersuch a thing. The courts are strict in that regard. The Greed Court may test its limits, but even those wretches know better. To be chosen is a privilege, not a right. Harems are plentiful and there is no shortage of indulgence. If a male cannot find pleasure willingly given, it is because he is too despicable to deserve it. And he is better off being tossed into the Abyss.”
Alora hesitated, unsettled but strangely comforted. At least now she understood why Rune had never forced her into his bed. Even in his realm, choice still mattered.
Regardless of calling hermineand hisprize, he had not taken what she didn’t give. And yet he gave freely.
The gardens.
The library.
The wardrobe of extravagant gowns and jewels.
And a bowl of fruit that always replenished itself each morning.
She gasped. “Rune has been leaving pomegranates in my chambers every day since I arrived. I thought it was from the kitchen!”
