“You… I just can’t get over how incredible you look in your real body. I mean, you were handsome as a demon, but like this… it’s unbelievable.”
Maybe, but what he considered unbelievable was being here with her.
I’m an absolute idiot.
And like a dutiful puppy, he followed her home to find the father she was so afraid of. Old and gray, he had a pair of piercing blue eyes. While that might scare a human, Malphas wanted to laugh. The man had no idea who he was addressing.
More to the point, what he was addressing.
Her father raked a less than becoming sneer over Malphas, even though Malphas was a full head and shoulders taller than he was. “Where’d you pick up a stray, Lilli?”
“I was peeing on a tree when she passed by me.”
Her father arched a brow. “Beg pardon?”
Lilliana shook her head. “Caleb’s teasing you, Papa. He tends to do that around strangers.”
“Well, he’s not welcome here. Go sniff around someone else’s daughter.”
Lilliana let out a tired breath. “You said you needed help with the barn. Can he not work for food and shelter?”
The old man looked as if he were having bowel problems. Finally, he scratched at his beard. “You know how to build anything?”
Not really. He was better at setting fire to buildings. “I can manage.”
“Then you can sleep in the barn. That’ll motivate you to fix the roof as quickly as possible.” He turned to look at his daughter. “And you’ll find your chores keep you in the cottage while he’s here.”
A beautiful blush darkened her cheeks. “Yes, Papa.”
Clearing his throat, her father led her to their cottage and then showed Malphas to the barn. “You can make a bed on the straw.”
“Thank you, sir.”
As Malphas stepped away, her father stopped him. “Look, I’m no fool. Me daughter’s not the most beautiful of girls, but she’s innocent and I won’t have the likes of you trifling with her. You understand me?”
Those words awoke the demon inside him. It took everything he had not to cut the man down where he stood. The only thing that stayed his sword arm was the knowledge that Lilliana loved her father and would be heartbroken if Malphas killed the old geezer.
“You, sir, do your daughter a grave injustice. She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever beheld. I would do nothing to harm her or her reputation. Have no fear there.” Malphas took a step forward. “But know this, I won’t have you ever disparage her, either. As you said, she’s innocent and holds the kindest heart I’ve ever known.”
Her father stood bravely, but Malphas could smell the fear he was trying desperately to hide. “Where are you from?”
“Azmodea.”
“Never heard of it.”
“It’s in the south.” The far south as it was a hell realm where no sun was allowed to shine. Sadly, it was where his mother had dumped him once she realized his father would have nothing to do with a half-demon son.
“What brings you here?”
“Happenstance. I was passing through until I met Lilliana.”
Her father’s nostrils flared. “Then perhaps you should keep passing through.”
“Papa!” Lilliana’s panicked scream made Malphas’s heart race.
He ran past her father to see what was wrong.
She was in the yard, surrounded by a group of men. Malphas slowed as he saw the sorcerer among them. Tall and slender, he was hard to miss.
