Page 23 of To Sway a Demon Heart

Chapter 13

Thefinaltrialofthe tournament to choose the new Lord of Shadow would be held in the open grounds of Tyr’s estate, and it felt almost like stepping out of a dream to stand before the cold, windy grounds to witness the duel to the death.

Elara and Carnon would be arriving any second, and Tyr had moved the witch mirror from the courtyard to my room to make sure they arrived securely. We would all proceed to the trial, and hopefully end this once and for all.

“You still haven’t told me what you plan to do about Draven,” I pointed out, fidgeting as Tyr and I stood before the mirror with clasped hands. We planned to tell Carnon and Elara immediately, as there would be no way to hide our new relationship from my shrewd and rather nosy friend, and Tyr seemed remarkably relaxed about the whole thing.

“I have a plan. And I don’t see why you’re nervous,” he commented as I fiddled with the ties on my loose gown, the style my preferred one from Sun. “Elara likes me. She’s rooting for us.”

“You are overconfident,” I pointed out, letting him pull me into a quick embrace to help soothe the anxious energy inside me. “What if Carnon decides that two lords can’t be mated?”

We hadn’t discussed the dynamic of each of us leading a court. It wasn’t a problem I had a ready solution to, but Tyr shrugged, looking totally unconcerned.

“If it’s a problem, then I’ll abdicate my seat,” he said, as if this were as simple a decision as choosing which color of shirt to wear.

I gaped, my jaw dropping at this declaration. “You would?”

Tyr shrugged again, looking amused. “Of course, my love. I would give up a thousand titles to be with you, and this moldering court can find another lord if it would stop us from being together.”

My heart gave a painful sort of thump, and I threw myself at my mate with a strangled sort of cry. Tyr chuckled fondly, kissing the top of my head. “You are the better Daemon Lord anyway,” he pointed out. “Maybe Carnon can put you in charge of both courts.”

“Blood needs you,” I argued, looking up into the planes of his angular face. “Blood needs us. The hard and the soft. The dark and the light. We can lead both courts together.”

Tyr didn’t have a chance to reply as the glass in the mirror rippled and Carnon and Elara stepped through, both dressed in glittering black. Carnon’s horns looked wickedly sharp in the dim light, and I worried for a moment that he might try to disembowel Tyr when he realized we were together. Protectively, of course.

I made to move toward my friend to greet her with a hug, but I had forgotten that Tyr was holding my hand. He held it fast, and Elara stopped short, eyes widening at our intertwined fingers.

“Goddess be praised,” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in a bruising hug. “Jealousy worked!”

Tyr let out a stifled laugh as Carnon raised an enigmatic brow at her. “You meddled. Again.”

“I did no such thing,” Elara protested, taking a step back and beaming at both of us. “This was fate.”

“Why are we fussing?” came a sweet, high voice from the mirror as Cerridwen stepped through, followed by Herne. The Lord of Beasts seemed far too big for the room, and he glowered as if his presence had been required against his will.

“Cerridwen!” I cried in surprise, hugging my other friend. “I had not thought you would be here.”

“We wanted to surprise you,” she chirped happily, elbowing her mate in the ribs. His agreement was a forced grunt, and I hugged him too, despite his gruffness. He was blushing faintly when Tyr pulled me away with a quiet growl of jealousy.

“I see the Pull is still riding you,” Carnon quipped, clapping Tyr on the shoulder in a typically male gesture of affection. “If you hurt her, I give her permission to burn you alive.”

“Believe me, we’ve already discussed it,” Tyr said, raising a brow at the King with a shadow of his usually indolent mask. “I trust that Lady Brigid will keep me well in line. She is rather terrifying when she wants to be.”

Carnon raised a brow at me, and I smiled innocently, making Elara laugh loudly at her mate’s surprise. “As much as I’m enjoying this, we should probably finish this blasted tournament,” she said, taking my arm and Cerridwen’s and directing us toward the door. “And I want details,” she hissed, loud enough only for us to hear as we headed down to the grounds.

I filled Elara and Cerridwen in as we walked. Tyr’s scars were a secret I kept to myself, something private to treasure until he decided to let our friends see him for who he truly was. But I told them most of the rest, which resulted in far more giggling than was strictly appropriate for the occasion.

I had completely forgotten about Draven, and Tyr’s suspicions about him, until we almost ran into him at the base of the tower as we descended the stairs.

“My ladies, my Queen,” Draven said, bowing politely as he took a step away from us. His armor was more scarred and damaged than it had been before the second trial, and he looked a little frantic as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

“Is something the matter, Lord Draven?” I asked, glancing back at Tyr, who quickly came to my side. Carnon and Herne sidled up behind him, and Draven seemed to visibly pale in the presence of the Demon King and both Daemon Lords.

“I…” he cut himself off, looking frantically between the six of us before settling his eyes back on me. “I would speak to you alone, Lady Brigid.”

“Whatever you have to tell me can be said before our King and Queen,” I said, frowning at the shadow demon.

Draven pursed his lips, looking accusingly at Tyr. “Very well. In that case I believe Lord Tyr to be manipulating the results of the tournament with blood magic.”