Wren
“I’m sorry,” I said, sensing the pain beneath hiswords.
Demonsgrieved?
Months ago, I would have said that was impossible. That demons didn’t care about anything other than destruction, but then I’d seen the king with his queen and the bonds of friendship between Corson and some of the other demons. Between Corson and some of thehumans. I saw the way he cared for and protected his friends Erin and Vargas who were as mortalasme.
“They died a long time ago,” hereplied.
I considered asking him what had happened to them, but his tone remained more distant than I’d ever heard itbefore.
“It was a long time ago,” he said again. “And when a demon says a long time, then you know it was alongtime. The years are not the same for us as they are for people. For you, a decade may seem long. For me, it’s butaday.”
“You still miss your parents though,” Iguessed.
“You might find this difficult to believe, but demons care greatly for their young. It is rare for us to have offspring. When we do, demons love their children as much, if not more so than a human loves their child. My parents were no exception to this, and I lovedthemtoo.”
The hard muscles of his chest rippled beneath my hand when my finger stroked his shirt. I found myself momentarily distracted from his words as the beat of his heart increased beneath my ears. My hearing and sense of touch seemed stronger in this world of darkness, or perhaps it was simply Corson who made me more aware of my bodyandhis.
I swallowed as I forced my attention away from my growing awareness of him and back to our conversation. “I don’t find that difficult to believe,” I finally said. “I may not like most demons, but I’ve seen the way some of you are with those you care about. That a demon would love their children or their parents isn’t hard to believe. What happened toyours?”
I hadn’t intended to ask, but I wanted to learn moreabouthim.
“My father was slain during a battle with Lucifer when I was twenty years old,” Corson stated as if he were reciting memorized lines. “I tried to reach him, but I was still young, not fully matured, and unable to save him. If I’d been at my full strength, I might have gotten to him in time, but it was another seven years before I matured into my immortality and my abilities. So, instead, I watched him die. Afterward, my mother, unable to face spending an eternity without her Chosen, threw herself into the firesofHell.”
I bit my lip to keep from crying out in sorrow over his loss. I tried to think of a reply as I processed his words, but I didn’t know whattosay.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said, but I knew how inadequate those words were. They never did justice to the hole the loss of a loved one leftbehind.
If his mother had loved him so much, how could she have preferred to die rather than stay with her son? That was a question I wouldnotvoice. It wasn’t my place, and I refused to inflict more anguishonhim.
“For a demon to lose their Chosen is an agony I can’t imagine. I have experienced what it is like to suffer, but not like that. I understand my mother’s decision,” he said as if he’d read my mind. “I’ve seen others endure the loss of their Chosen. Witnessed how broken it left them. Many demons decide not to carry on once their Chosen is gone. The ones who do become likewalkingdead.”
“How…” I tried to think of the right word, but all I could come up with was, “sad. What is aChosen?”
“Some demons have a Chosen one. Perhaps all demons do and they aren’t born yet, or we haven’t discovered them, or they perish before we find them. No one knows how it all works. Some of the demons who went to Earth before the angels entered Hell found their Chosen amid humans. The demons who found their Chosen there never returned to Hell and perished on Earth with theirmates.”
“Oh,” I breathed, as this whole new aspect of demons opened up to me. “That issucha…”
“Sacrifice,” he said when my voicetrailedoff.
“Yes, but also romantic in a sort of insane way.” I couldn’t imagine loving someone so much I would give up everything I’d ever knownforthem.
Corson chuckled as he ran his hand over my hair again. I snuggled closer to the gentle touch while I tried to recall the last time someone had held me sotenderly.
“Demons can be more than a little insane sometimes,” he replied. “And a demon will doanythingfor their Chosen as it is an eternal bond. They also can only breed with their Chosen. Males and females will often know, or at least suspect another is their Chosen before they have sex, but that is the way to confirm it. Demons also only bite another during sex if it is their Chosen. If for some reason, their bite marks should fade, other demons will always know when another has been claimed and stay awayfromthem.”
“A bite and sex are what decides a Chosen?” I askedincredulously.
He rested his chin on my head. “No, there isfarmore involved in the bond than that. Male demons don’t produce sperm until they find their Chosen and the females don’t produce eggs. Call it a form of immortal birth control, if you will. Even if they find a Chosen, females only produce an egg every ten to fifteen years, and it’s still rare for a female demon to conceive when they do enter their fertile time. A male can always scent when his Chosen is fertile, and the couple usually locks themselves away for the month it occurs. I’ve also been told sex is more pleasurable with a Chosen, and I’ve witnessed that the Chosen bond makes a demonstronger.”
“Amazing.” I couldn’t deny I was fascinated by this insight of love and monogamy from a species I’d mostly considered heartless monsters. “So how many women have been your Chosen?” I joked, though the idea of him with all his numerous women set my teethonedge.
His hands tightened on my arms. “None. Once a Chosen is found, there isneveranother for ademon.”
“Oh,” I said dully. “What about pastgirlfriends?”
“Demons don’t have girlfriends. We know our Chosen is the only one who will matter, so romantic bonds with others aren’t forged. Besides, the only feeling involved for a demon when it comes to sex is getting off. It may sound cold to humans, but that is simply the way of things for us, outside of theChosenbond.”
