The spellbroken king, p.1
The Spellbroken King, page 1
Copyright © 2024 by J. A. Keeton
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
To all the monsterfuckers out there who dream about being railed by a seven-foot-tall demonic hottie with a massive cock, and a grumpy personality to match.
This one is for you.
DISCLAIMER
This book contains the following triggers:
Graphic Sexual Scenes, Non-human Anatomy, Violence, Murder, Gun Violence, Kidnapping, Massacre, light BDSM, Gore, Blood, Death, Stalking, and Pregnancy (epilogue only).
Reader discretion is advised.
Enjoy.
Chapter one
Celeste
"You can not escape me, Celeste," The deep voice echoed in the inky darkness of my mind. It was his words that haunted my restless sleep, a nightly torment since escaping that wretched prison not so long ago. He only uttered a few sentences before my dreams whisked me away, but each word lingered in my mind like a fine wine on sinful lips.
"I will always come for you, my prey. Run as you'd like, but we will meet soon, and when we do…" His deep baritone made my toes curl, and my stomach flutter with unwanted desires. "I won't hold back." I could almost feel his hot breath against my neck.
The heat that had blossomed between my thighs unsettled me, knowing he was the one who caused it, that horrifying demon.
I was ripped out of the darkness of sleep by my racing heart, audibly gasping in the still room of the little shack. My body coated in a thin layer of sweat, trembling at the voice still echoing in my mind.
He had felt so close, almost like I could turn around and see him standing there, his tall, intimidating frame, his bright red eyes burning in the room's darkness, but that was impossible; he still had to be miles away. Yet, a nagging feeling lingered, telling me he was getting closer and closer by the hour.
It wasn't until the first night I had been on the run that Shadow had made himself known to me, teasing and taunting me. He wanted me to know he was coming for me, wanted me to run and be scared of him. Fear wasn't what I felt whenever he visited me in those dreams, though. Instead, lust and desire pour into me at his cloaked form and sensuous words.
I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision and head. The dusty, run-down cottage came into focus as relief coursed through me. Thankfully, I was still in the same place as last night.
Throwing the old, tattered blanket off of me, I grabbed my old boots and hurriedly tugged them on, tying them with expert quickness.
Thinking back to Shadow's words, I knew he would still pursue me long into the night. Demons like him didn't need sleep as humans do. Demons could go for days, sometimes weeks, without it, making my few hours of restless sleep almost useless. However, thanks to my stash of Caleritas potions, I could keep moving.
Reaching into the pocket of my dirtied dress, I pulled a small leather case out. It contained only one thin vial of green liquid. The supply would only last me half a day's travel, but if I ran hard and fast enough, that's all I would need. Fortunately for me, Gretta was a world-renowned potion maker and her stuff was always potent.
My thoughts drifted back to my last encounter with her. The favor I had asked for had been simple enough. Where could I hide from Markus until I figured out a solution? Her reply had come in hushed tones, some pictures of where to go and a crudely drawn map on the back of a bar napkin.
A branch snapping pulled me from my thoughts.
I quickly cracked open the top of the glass vial and allowed the cool peppermint liquid to coat my tongue. A surge of white-hot energy coursed through me, similar to the first few moments of alcohol warming the body but so much more intense.
As the liquid began to take effect, I grabbed my pack of supplies and raced to one of the dusty windows, quietly forcing it open with a rough shove.
I hadn't thought it was Governor Markus's demon, but I couldn't risk it being anyone else either. What if Markus sent more than just one creature after me? He made deals with several lesser demons and other-kin; it could be one of them. What if it was a threat of a different kind? Magical beasts roamed these thick, untamed woods, so it wouldn't be surprising for one of them to come sniffing around.
I felt the tiredness and soreness seep from my bones with every step I took away from the moss-covered cottage. I hadn't bothered to look back at what made the noise just increased my pace until I was running faster than a human was normally capable, thanks to the potion's effects.
Magic was the one thing I lacked. Most humans could use magic to a certain degree, whether to brew potions, cast elemental spells, or even do something as simple as turning off a light switch without touching it. I, unfortunately, couldn't even manage that.
Luckily for me, Markus couldn't use magic either. Both of us had attended the same boring classes in school intended for people who couldn't use magic. Unluckily for me, however, he had a hoard of demons and demi-kin at his disposal, being the new governor and all. There had been one thing on my side that he didn't have, though. Gretta.
Markus nor his demon had anticipated me having the help of one of the most powerful witches ever to live. I had met Greta by chance one day a few years back after getting into a rather heated fight with some asshole shifters attempting to rip the wings off an innocent fairy folk—a child fairy folk at that. One thing had led to another and another...and another, then Gretta had been there. Like a shining red-headed beacon in a black storm, she had scared them off and tended to my wounds with much chastising and cursing. Ever since then, we had been thick as thieves.
I ran faster, securing my sack tighter around my back with renewed determination. I wouldn't let my friend's generosity go to waste. It was time to finish this race.
After several hours of running at inhuman speeds through the lush, thick forest, I felt the potion's effects wear off. Like a hole in a bucket of water, I felt the energy drain away rapidly, only to be replaced with the familiar soreness of over-exertion. Gods, I was so tired of running and being chased, but I knew I was almost there. I had to keep pushing.
As I started to slow, the untamed forest opened to a vast expanse of rolling green hills and broad babbling streams. Several creatures were milling about in no haste, eating their fill of the lush green grass at their hooves. In the distance, smoke rose from a tiny town, dotting the crystal blue sky with thick, puffy clouds. Gretta's pictures couldn't have prepared me for its beauty in person.
Sapphire Falls. One of a few magical dead zones in the world and the reason I was here. It was the place Gretta told me I could escape to after leaving that hellhole of a jail. The town was a sanctuary of sorts, a place to lie low and where I couldn't be tracked, no matter how potent the magic. Very few people had known about this place, and even fewer had lived to talk about it. Would I be accepted? Did Gretta warn them I was coming? Or will they know I'm a runaway felon and send me back to that horrid place?
As my thoughts returned to my imprisonment, bile rose in my throat, threatening to eject what little I had in my stomach. The horrors that I had endured in that tiny cell remained black and hazy as my brain purposefully tried to block every moment of suffering out.
Placing my hands on my knees and bowing my head, I took deep, steadying breaths, pushing away the memories. Salvation was so close I had to stay focused.
With the beautiful surroundings waring with my gruesome thoughts, I willed my aching feet to keep moving. I passed through the majestic fields, getting a closer look at all the creatures grazing. Something wasn't quite right about them. Some looked like cows but with two additional heads, some resembled sheep that were so fluffy they looked like the clouds themselves, and others stood tall, having horns like that of a water buffalo but with the body of a giraffe.
Coming from a big city, I wasn't used to seeing these types of animals up close. To say they were unsettling would be a massive understatement. Animals like these were only in our study books back in school. Of course, we had the usual cows, chickens, and goats, but the further you traveled in the country, the wilder and stranger they became. Something to do with magical free radicals or something?
Whatever the reason was for their strange appearance, I kept as much distance as I could from herds of them as I continued my journey.
Excitement weaved its way through my veins as the town got closer and closer. Finally, after running for so long, my salvation was almost near. I felt like a person dying of thirst who finally found an oasis.
Just as I started to make out the details of the tiny village ahead, the hair on the back of my neck rose unexpectedly. A creepy, eerie feeling thickened the air around me, threatening to choke me. I glanced nervously around myself as I quickened my pace, my short legs and strained muscles going slower than I had hoped.
The fear building inside me pushed my tired muscles past their breaking point. Cramps burned my calves, but I pushed harder still. I was so close, the panicked need to run fueling my every movement.
As the town came into focus, I saw several people milling around. Long, flowy dresses swayed with movement, and children ran through the cobblestone streets joyfully. It seemed dated, like stuck in a simpler time before modern technology. Odd, but who was I to question my salvation?
Clear smoke started to rise from the brilliant green grass around me like heat coming off a road in the middle of a sweltering summer. The only problem was it was turning fall, the cool
When I realized what was happening, it was already too late.
He had found me! Like in my dream, I felt his magic dancing around me like a teasing fire of fear.
Before I could react, a large hand wrapped around my throat. Sharp points pressed into my sore neck with a tightness that scared me. Were those claws I felt? The demon's skin gave off so much heat that it felt like I was wearing a collar made of fire. It was Shadow!
Aside from seeing him in my dreams, I had also seen him in person several times. Shadow always stood behind Markus whenever he had to make a public appearance and always wore that same long black cloak lined with red trim. From festivals to public meetings, he was there. The darkness of his cloak always hid his face, but his body was much more challenging to hide. His frame was massive, almost as wide as two human males. Another thing he could not hide was his two massive horns protruding from either side of his head, with a set of smaller ones right below it.
At the time, I didn't think that he would soon be my bounty hunter.
From behind me, I felt the magic and heat rolling off him in equal measure. All magical beings gave off a low hum-like vibration. Most go unnoticed, like birds flying by or soft waves lapping at a quiet shore, but Shadow's power rolled off him like an endless current, a rapid river flowing violently toward the sea. It felt like I was in the eye of a raging storm; one step, and I'd be whipped away by the ferocity of it all.
He found me after all this time…He caught me!
No, no, no, no! I'm so close, please. Please, please! I screamed inwardly as he lifted me off the ground. My hands reflexively clawed at his. My legs kicked the air helplessly as I was lifted several feet off the ground. He was a tall motherfucker, that was for sure.
It was terrifying having him finally find me, yet a specific part of my body tightened treacherously at his nearness. I could seriously beat myself up about that. It happened in my dreams, too. Something about him being near me triggered some deep-down primal lust that was out of my control. I guess demons were naturally arousing, I had told myself rather unconvincingly. I've been around plenty of demons back in Ruby Hill. Hell, most of my graduating class had been demons of one kind or another, but for some reason, Shadow felt different.
I bit my lip. I wasn't about to admit I was sexually attracted to this seven-foot-tall behemoth of a demon choking me out. Nope, not me…Damnit, I had some seriously fucked up kinks.
Luckily, the fear of survival overrode all of my irrational attraction to this man…No, this demon.
"I found you, little prey." The demon's voice sounded so much more erotic in person; his voice was so deep and velvety that it sent delicious chills down my spine. Unfortunately, the chills didn't stop there as they rushed toward my sex, pooling there in a pulsing bundle of need. The effect this creature was having on me was terrifying. The power of his magic, the sound of his voice, the hand around my neck all swirled together into one potent cocktail of lightheadedness and desire.
"You were so close, too; how sad." Shadow mocked antagonistically.
He was lucky to have grabbed me from behind because my kicks would have gone straight to his balls for that one.
I grimaced as he tightened his hand around my neck just a little more as if he could read my thoughts.
I'm going to need air soon, Bastard! I screamed internally, thrashing harder. My nails dug into his flesh as equally as his dug into mine, though I'm sure with a lot less strength. If he wanted to kill me, I wouldn't go without a damn fight. I would die before going back to that wretched place, back to that horrible man in that waste of a city with nothing left for me.
Unexpectantly, I felt something warm, thin, and wet caress the side of my cheek. The foreign sensation cut through my panic and froze my thoughts. I was pretty sure he just licked me. Shadow had effectively stopped my thrashing with just one wet slide of his tongue. I was also sure it was forked as I could feel two different trails of wetness down my neck. It was surprising, unexpected, and somehow erotic as hells.
He…licked me? Was this normal enemy behavior? Normal demon behavior? NORMAL BEHAVIOR?! My mind reeled, so shocked that this giant monster fucking licked me.
"I like when they fight back." Shadow purred in his deep, demonic tone. As if registering something unexpected, I felt the demon stiffen and pause behind me.
With the grace of a barbarian, Shadow pulled me to his hard body, hand still around my neck. The heat of him almost burned me through my thin dress. It felt as if I had my back to a warm fire on a cold autumn day, somewhat pleasant yet threatening to overwhelm me if I got any closer. My dress barely protected me from his fiery consumption.
"Hmm. What is this, now?" The massive demon took in a long inhale beside my face as if trying to smell my…what? Sweat? Fear? My very soul?
"Fuuuuuuck." He growled loudly, quickly answering my internal question. It was pleasure, unmistakable, raw, and unbidden. Anyone with ears could hear the depth of joy he conveyed from uttering that word.
"I could not smell you in your dreams, but now…Your arousal smells so…enticing. Begging for me without words." Shadow's voice sounded strained, almost like he had to force himself to speak.
Many emotions struggled for control in my mind, almost as much as I struggled for air. Anger that this Bastard dared to say such dirty things to me, guilt over getting turned on by his words even more, embarrassment that he could smell me. Anger won the battle as all other emotions faded away.
How dare he stop me from reaching my one salvation and embarrass me in the process?!
As I attempted to choke out some colorful words, the sky's bright blue darkened with the haze of black as my world tilted and swayed. The harmonious sound of the wind and birds was replaced with the steady beat of my heart.
Damn, I would be pissed if he killed me now, especially while I was incredibly turned on. I thought just before darkness consumed me.
Chapter two
Celeste
Soft, gentle rocking stirred me from sleep, and what a nice sleep it had been. It was the kind of sleep you could only get from being carried off the couch by your dad when you were little, warmed, and comforted. I didn’t want to wake up, didn’t want the fading memory of my father’s embrace to disappear, but something was off.
I hadn’t smelled the scent of my father’s aftershave. Instead, I smelled the odor of something sulfurous and woodsy. Where had I smelled that scent before? Unlike the comforting smell of my father, this one was more intense and more masculine. Definitely not my father’s scent, yet I was being carried off to bed like he had done so often when I was a little girl.
Realization hit me like a ton of bricks, pulling me closer to the surface of awareness. My father was dead and had been since I was 13…Then who was carrying me so comfortingly? Reality sank in as the fogginess cleared, and my eyes sprang open with the quickness of a shot bullet.
“Shadow!” I gasped out loud in a distressed voice, sounding pathetically quiet due to the hoarseness of sleep.
No longer was I in the rolling green hills and open fields near Sapphire Falls but in a luscious, thick forest. Tall, gangly trees flashed past me at inhuman speeds, looking like a blurry nighttime painting. The rocking wasn’t from being gently carried by my father either, but from being kidnapped by my hunter.
I hadn’t looked up at him yet, but I knew it was him by the heat still rolling off him in waves. The wind rushed past us, taking the edge off his fire.
One thick, black arm was tucked behind my legs while the other wrapped around my back, clutching me to his chest like a happy groom carrying his bride over the threshold of their new home. Instead of beautiful bracelets adorning my wrists, I wore thick metal cuffs, identical to the pair I wore just a week ago during my imprisonment. Made from heavy black metal, they were designed to fit any magical being and prevent them from casting spells. The precaution was lost to the fact I was magicless.
“Hmm, is that the name people have given me? Can’t say I like it.” The demon said cooly as if he hadn’t just choked me out and kidnapped me.
