Weird tales from shakesp.., p.1
A Cursed Heart, page 1
Copyright © 2025 by Jax Stuart
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Contents
Blurb
Punishment
Lost Chance
Guilty Conscience
Chosen Master
Time To Confess
A Plan Half Formed
Waiting For Ryan
I Own A Demon?
An Innocently Told Lie
A Growing Bond
Feelings Make Things Complicated
A Demon... Friend?
Caring For Tiny Humans
Date With A Demon
A Welcome Change
Nerves
A Changed Bond
Boyfriend
Turning Up The Heat
A Demon In Love
So Close
My Choice
Our HEA
Acknowledgements
Also By
About Author
Blurb
A demon cursed by greed. A human cursed by circumstance. Together, they must forge a path to freedom and maybe even love.
Cursed to live in the heart ruby because of his greed, Malacoda spends centuries serving those who want his power for themselves. When he meets Ryan, he seizes his chance, using his magic to urge Ryan to become his master.
As a single dad, Ryan’s had to make some questionable decisions to protect his daughter and has lost no sleep over them. The consequences of them forces him into working for Scythe, the ruler of the underbelly of the city. Ryan’s a fighter, though. He refuses to be a pawn. While hacking into Scythe’s computer, he’s tempted into touching the heart ruby, sealing his fate.
A drop of blood ties them together into a bond unlike anything either has experienced, awakening feelings neither has had before. For the first time, Mal pushes aside his greed, keeping Ryan safe, while all Ryan wants is for Mal to be free of the gem. Is it just their bond, or is something real between them? Could Ryan be the family Mal has always longed for, while being the love Ryan deserves?
A Cursed Heart is a low angst MM paranormal romance between an ancient demon and a morally gray single dad. CW for mentioned drug use and drug-related deaths. There is a threat of violence and a brief violent scene.
Punishment
Malacoda
Leaving the concubine’s palace on silent feet, I tiptoed through the throngs of its occupants, male and female, lying on divans and even on the floor. The only entrance to this sacred place was at the end of the vast room, which was strewn with rich fabrics and adorned with the richest treasures. Only the best for the king’s pets, after all.
The scent of debauchery hung heavily in the air. A perfume made of vice and sin. What had happened here was apparent with just one glimpse of the creatures in this room. Not one of them wore a stitch of clothing, long since convinced out of it by the honeyed words I’d whispered into their ears. All they wore were marks from our coupling and a sheen of sweat.
As I neared the door, I couldn’t help but turn back with a grin at the sleeping forms. Little did they know that I’d taken their treasures, their baubles, along with their virtue. Well, what little virtue they had left. They had sworn only to be with my brother. Never each other. Never anyone else. Only their king.
I’d taken that from them with a smile, freeing them from the constraints of their vows. Now they would live a better life. A happier one. Perhaps they would take their new knowledge of true pleasure instead of cold servitude and head out into the world with the gold and silver I’d left them with and build new lives.
Really, I’d done them a favor. I’d taught them what sex was like with a warm-blooded demon, not the cold snake my eldest brother was. Maybe one day they would thank me for opening their eyes to what they had bonded themselves to.
A chuckle escaped my smirking lips. No, it would be a long time before any of them would think to thank me. If they even survive the night, a dark voice, deep in my soul, muttered. I shut down that voice, determined to ignore it, to enjoy my spoils and the post-coital glow.
The door handle gave under my hand. Silently, the door opened into the vestibule beyond. Before I passed through, I hid my tail, wanting to be stealthy.
Here would be my first challenge of the day: getting out of this almost separate part of the palace unscathed.
No guards were permitted so close to the concubines. I did not have to fear someone overhearing us or waiting for me just beyond the door. I slipped into the vestibule and sighed. So far, so good. All I had to do was get to the window where my ladder awaited me, glamoured under my magic.
My hands had just grasped the spelled rope when I heard it: a whisper of air being cut by metal. I spun, catching the sword swinging for my head against one of my dragon-hide vambraces. The metal of the sword sparked against the scales, but juddered to a stop.
I kicked out against my attacker, determined to win this battle quickly and make my escape now I had what I came for. We traded punches and kicks, moving farther into the vestibule and away from my escape route. I risked turning my back to the knight to dash for the window once more. He gained on me quickly, his breath stirring my hair. Drawing my short sword, I turned and thrust towards the knight, expecting him to dodge. He didn’t, instead grasping my blade in his gauntlets, the metal squealing doing far more to alert the other guards than any shout would.
“Halt, Malacoda!” the knight grunted as I tried to reclaim my weapon.
One glance at the window had my heart sinking. Below was a battalion of soldiers.
The momentary distraction was all it took. The knight took hold of my hands, still wrapped around the hilt of my sword. With a word, the spelled metal of his gauntlet held me in place. He shook me, rage briefly overtaking his stoic expression. Then, in a flash, the other hand used his weapon as a cudgel to knock me to my knees.
Blood trickled into my face, obscuring my vision. Another blow hit my skull and all I saw was black.
The king’s guard didn’t take it easy on me when I woke. Numerous times they sent me back into unconsciousness with the beatings, each time trying to get an answer out of me as to why I’d committed such terrible crimes and harmed their king’s precious concubines.
I didn’t talk. It was a waste of time. They wanted an excuse to hurt me, so they would regardless of what I said. With my magic, I’d tucked away the true reason for being in that part of the palace. Breaking their vows with them was only a bit of fun, something to obscure the theft of the heart ruby. A deflection, hiding one crime with another.
In my possession was the greatest treasure of my brother’s kingdom. He had hidden it within his concubine’s palace where it was safe from outside eyes. Only those who lived there and a few chosen servants ever entered the palace. It was a wise choice to keep the gem there.
It was too powerful, too much of a temptation to place it anywhere else. Its power was enough to level the playing field between me and my brothers. Enough to give me the ability to rule our kingdom. To take my fellow demons into a new era. Power to take us to another dimension and a future where we didn’t hide in the shadows. We could rule the humans.
Months of work had gone into the theft. Charming servants, chasing gossip, learning the layout. All of it took time, but the power the gem held was more than worth it. Now all there was to survive what came next and figure out a way to get out of there. The guards could be bought. Everyone had a price. I just had to figure out what theirs was.
What felt like days passed while the guards grew increasingly angry at my reticence. Without my magic, they could not reach the stone, though none of them mentioned it. Most were upset at the thefts of other baubles, especially since I was a wealthy prince with land of my own. Many of the guards and knights who visited to torture me were furious about my actions with the favored concubines. They could not understand why I would harm them and our king by sullying them. They thought too much of those aligned with our king.
Eventually, I was left alone to heal what I could of my injuries, the heart ruby still in my possession. Every part of my body ached. I longed for a bath to clean off the blood and sweat from my skin. I wished to let my tail and horns out, to use the full extent of my magic to undo days or possibly a week of torture. I had hidden my horns for fear they would break them, damaging my magic, though it made me more vulnerable without them.
It struck me as strange that none of the concubines were taken to the prison. The place was empty aside from two guards who occasionally oversaw me and were responsible for quenching my raging thirst. It was never enough water.
Left alone for many more days, I recovered my streng
A flurry of activity drew my attention to the door. It was flung open, the guards on either side standing to attention as my brother, the king, entered. His face was a mask of grim determination.
“Hello Malacoda,” his voice was even, almost soft, pitying.
“Your Majesty.” I kept the sneer out of my voice with difficulty.
He came to the bars of the cell, his voice dropping lower, so that only we could hear him. The guards had drawn back, sensing their king was safe and needed to conduct his interview privately.
“Where is it?”
“Where is what, dear brother?” I feigned innocence from the safety of my cot. At least they had provided me with something to cover myself with. I wore nothing but a pair of leather pants. The thin blanket was only enough to hide the worst of the wounds on my chest.
Dagda sent a blast of magic at me, freezing me on the spot and simultaneously boiling my blood at the same time. The pain was excruciating. I’d had worse. My brother seemed to have forgotten it was his go to trick when we were younger. I had long since learned how to ignore the agony and keep my face blank.
“The gem,” he hissed. “Where did you put it?”
His magic relented a fraction, enough for me to comfortably ask, “Something wrong, brother?”
My brother straightened, completely letting go of the magic. The mask dropped back into place. This was my king, not my brother. His tone turned mocking. He was teasing me, showing his superiority.
“Malacoda, did you not wonder why you are here alone? Why none of my concubines are here, paying for their crimes?” He glanced around, as if looking for them.
I felt a prickle of unease. It wasn’t like he hadn’t just voiced a thought I had before. They had broken their vows, I expected some to be punished. Perhaps not the most favored of my brother’s concubines, certainly not those picked for their magic to bear him children. Those he especially doted on.
“I thought perhaps they were kept far from me, in another, better, prison,” I grudgingly said into the growing silence.
“Ah!” Dagda looked delighted at my admission. “No. They are not imprisoned elsewhere. Should I tell you where they are?” His smirk was poisonous. He stood before me, his dark hair gleaming under the lights, his robes finely stitched with gold thread. I would have no leniency from my king, nor should I expect any filial affection to lessen my punishment. Dagda had never cared for me.
“Is this where you tell me that you had them killed? Or banished, maybe?”
Dagda chuckled, his eyes dancing with mirth. “No, no.” He laughed once more at my confused expression, a full on belly laugh. When he calmed, he leaned closer, once more dropping his voice. “Shall I tell you a secret, little brother?”
All I could do was stare blankly at him. What could be worse than death or banishment? Was he about to admit to committing heinous acts of torture in revenge on his concubines for what I had done to them?
“Poor Malacoda. You truly think I am a monster here, don’t you?” He grimaced, straightening. Dagda adjusted the cuffs of his robe. “Well, one of us is, and it is not me.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “No, my concubines are absolutely fine, having done their duty to their king. They have new treasures as a thank you for their sacrifice.” He grinned, showing his white teeth.
“Their duty?” My stomach fell to the floor. Nothing made sense.
“Did you not wonder how I knew where you were and what was missing?” He paused, observing me. Again he laughed, then shook his head with pity. “No, I can tell you were surprised I had my knights there ready to apprehend you. My favored ran to me. We were waiting for you to make the attempt, after all.”
“But—”
No, it wasn’t possible!
“There is another entrance.” His grin turned smug. He casually leaned against the bars awaiting my response while all I could do was gape at him.
Fuck! All that planning. The months of work, only to miss another way out. How could I have slipped up so badly?
“It connects directly to my personal chambers,” he finally added, putting me out of my misery. “Two of my wives ran there upon seeing you like I told them to. The rest had you so addled with lust you did not properly count them. You were so smug thinking you had them all, but you miscounted and they betrayed you.” His red eyes were lit up with delight. “Their task was to keep you there for as long as possible, let you commit treason against me, then let you leave.”
What in the seven hells? “You let them sleep with me? They broke their vows!”
Dagda laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the guards. They took a step closer until he waved them off. “Oh sweet, simple Malacoda. Don’t pretend you care about them!” he scoffed. “You were willing to let them suffer for your own ends! I don’t see you here worrying about them or pleading for their wellbeing!”
Fuck if he wasn’t right. I hadn’t given much of a thought about them, only my plan and how I could use them.
“Besides, no king ever holds true to that oath. Or rather, you learn more about it and its stipulations.” At my confused look he elaborated. “The oath is purely for love, not their bodies. They can only love me. They must keep their hearts pure for me. You see, my loves, they willingly entertain each other, developing their skills. On occasion, a few of our siblings have sampled their delights.”
“Our siblings?” Horror, betrayal, shame, embarrassment, all flooded my veins, sharpening my hatred for my family. They all knew! They let me be the outcast. Left me alone in my hate for our king and all he stood for.
“Yes! Jaashin had his first time there under my watch,” Dagda said with glee. “Elgara discovered her love for women there. My concubines were only too willing to demonstrate their love for me by coupling with them for a night.”
“So, what is the point of all this?” I sighed, defeated, gesturing to my beaten and bruised body and my surroundings.
He leaned in even closer, rage stealing over his face. “You stole from me. Now you have to pay.”
The words were ominous, giving me just a moment before he attacked.
Once more, his magic ripped through me. My breath stopped in my lungs, blood froze, and my magic just vanished.
Plink. The heart gem landed on the stone floor between us.
My king held out a hand. The gem rose into it. Called to him by the magic in his blood. He smirked at me, tightening his fingers around it.
Seconds ticked by. A ripple of magic worked its way over my exposed skin.
“Malacoda, you have betrayed me, stolen from me. Now you have to pay for your crimes.” His voice thundered through the prison. My pulse pounded in my ears. “You want this so badly?” he paused, studying me and the gem in his fist. “Then it will become your prison until you prove you have a pure heart of your own.”
I felt a tug in my gut. The world twisted and shrank before going dark.
When I awoke, I felt cut off from my magic, my people. All I had was this void, this blank place. There was no time, no hunger, no anything, for far too long. I tried everything I could to escape it, using every trick I could think of. Nothing worked. I couldn’t even make the gem rock or glow, or anything to alert anyone of where I was. Not that anyone cared.
Slowly, I began to hear whispers from the outside. My cell, the heart gem, was put back in the palace, where it stayed for years. I heard my name many times, cheeks burning in mortification when they laughed at my misfortune.
Dagda was right. They entertained each other nightly, taking potions to prevent pregnancy. My siblings visited them, too, most of them ignoring my prison. Only the second youngest—I was the baby of the family—paid the gem any mind. Jaashin spoke to me several times, sometimes blaming my situation on myself, other times expressing pity for me. He almost always took the time to talk to me, remembering me far longer than the others did.
Once, Dagda caught him talking to me. “Can’t you let him out?” he asked the king. By this time, four decades had passed. Dagda was now a father several times over and appeared to have mellowed some.
