Princess Noxx's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Princess Noxx had smuggled three mortals out of Shadowfen this month, and tonight she meant to ask her father's blessing to build them a home. She stood outside his throne room, one hand pressed to the cold stone. Beyond the door, hunters burned succubi in the mortal lands. Noxx wanted a haven where her kind could love mortals openly, without fear. But her father was the demon king, and no one asked King Malachar for mercy. She had rehearsed the words a hundred times. She would not name the marsh. She would not name the mortals already hidden there. She would only ask for land. The doors opened before she knocked. Her half-brother stepped out first. Prince Baelor wore red and gold, and he moved like he already knew her secret. He caught her arm. "You smell like the outer marsh," he said quietly. "And like human sweat. Sister, whatever you're about to do, don't." Noxx pulled free. "Then don't listen." Inside, her half-sister leaned against the throne. Princess Lusine studied Noxx with dark, amused eyes, one boot crossed over the other. Lusine loved their father's favor too much to ever risk it. That made her dangerous. King Malachar sat above them both. His pale hair fell past his crown. He did not look up. "You've never asked me for anything," he said. "Speak." Noxx's throat went dry. Every instinct told her to bow and leave. She had never once defied him. But she thought of the mortals hiding in the reeds, and the succubi with nowhere safe to go. "I want land in the deep fen," she said. "A place I can govern. My own." "For what?" "For those with nowhere else." Lusine laughed softly. "She means her pets, Father. Succubi and mortals. Sharing a bed." Noxx's heart stopped. Lusine had guessed everything. Malachar finally looked at his daughter. His red eyes were flat. "Mortals hunt us. And you would house them?" "Some don't hunt," Noxx said. "Some love us. I've seen it." "Then you've seen weakness." He stood. The room seemed to shrink. "There will be no haven. You will name every mortal you've hidden, and every succubus who helped you." The demand landed like a blow. If she named them, they died. If she refused, she defied the king to his face, the thing she had never dared. Noxx lifted her chin. "No." The word rang through the throne room. Baelor closed his eyes. Lusine sat up, delighted. Malachar's voice dropped low. "Then you are no longer welcome under my roof. Leave. Take nothing. And know that I will find your little marsh myself." Guards moved toward her. Noxx turned and walked out before they could touch her. She had her answer, and it was worse than a no. She had no blessing, no home in the castle, and a father now hunting the very haven she had come to protect. Her plan was exposed. The race for Shadowfen had begun.