Taming His Demon Lover

This is why he hated tradition; it gave guardians the right to inflict punishment to their wards as long as it didn't kill them.

Right now the boy was finding it difficult to talk because of the bruises all over his body. 

Normally, it wouldn't have mattered to Andras because this boy was not one of his people and should have meant nothing to him. 

Now that situation was about to change, to appease the Summer Queen he was honor bound to make this boy his life partner. 

Just a few hours ago he had only thought about Robin McDougal as a "girl". 

He didn't know how to feel about Queen Tiandra deliberately blindsiding him to the truth about Robin.

Andras wasn't an idiot; he knew that keeping Robin's identity and gender a secret was politically motivated.

If Prince Elyan ever found out about Robin's existence he would seek to swiftly eradicate the threat to his throne.

That's why Queen Tiandra chose to hide Robin in the borderlands.

Since supernatural creatures weren't allowed to enter the human world or risk being slaughtered by the Wild Hunt. 

The borderlands was neutral territory, a gray area where humans and the fae coexisted. 

As long as certain unspoken rules were not broken the humans and the others lived together peacefully. 

Those that lived in the borderlands were mostly outcasts, they were banned from the Summer and Winter Courts but if they stepped foot in the human realm their lives would be forfeit.

Since you only had one life to live.

Then most spend their entire life looking to fill the gap in their lives with a mate.

Looks don't matter in the Faerie world; he had seen tiny pixies mate with giants and same sex marriages happened all the time. 

Whenever Cupid got bored he flung his arrow wherever he felt like.

Enjoying the chaos of seeing greedy leprechauns flirt with haughty elves or mermaids slapping ogres with their fins but that was a story for another day.

In the Faerie kingdom the inheritance rule was strong.

It didn't matter if you were a human or a troll as long as you had a drop of fey blood there was a chance to seize the throne. 

Now he could understand Queen Tiandra's impatience to strike a bargain with him.

To her if the safest bet for Robin to survive was a muscular, barbarian queen then Andras would not be needed.

Obviously for reasons he had no knowledge about.

Queen Tiandra decided of her own accord that Andras was the most suitable match of all the contenders.

Now through this marriage he would have a permanently fixed target on his back. 

Had he been an ambitious man he could use Robin to seize the throne from Prince Elyan but he had no such interests. 

Robin repeated, "Who are you?" 

He still had faint strangulation marks around his neck and his voice had been affected.

Since even to his own ears his voice sounded a little above a whisper.

"I am Andras Mulciber, the current ruler of Hell's Island."

His voice was deep and possessed no accent, this was a trait of people who spoke numerous languages and it made Robin even more curious about this person facing him. 

"Are you feeling any better?"

"I'm fine," responded Robin politely. 

Robin did not want to get his hopes up that this man was here to help him then get his hopes dashed.

He had no proof this man was sent by Queen Tiandra and he long thought Her Majesty had abandoned him. 

"Lies… what a sweet little liar." Andras' quipped tersely, "What do you gain from lying to me?"

The sharpness in his voice jolted Robin from his musings and he sat up stiffly in the bed. 

He pointed to a nearby table and asked politely, "pour me some water please?"

Andras did as Robin bid.

Behind his back Robin observed that this man moved with precision.

Every movement was efficient and precisely calculated to conserve strength.

Even though his back was turned to Robin, he could tell that Andras never let down his guard.

He was deliberate in his movements and would react swiftly without giving it another thought. 

"Why did Queen Tiandra send you here, are you a doctor?"

While handing Robin a glass of water Andras shook his head. 

Andras did not look like someone who spent his life caring for others; he had the demeanor of someone better suited to taking lives than saving them. 

"Have there been others before me?"

Robin looked confused but nodded, "they always came in the dead of the night and only spoke to Squire James."

"I see."

Andras frowned.

So that's why the Queen did not know that the James family treated Robin like trash. 

He could see evidence that the Queen sent money to care for Robin all over the house and at the Tavern yet none of the wealth seemed to reach the basement. 

The door to the basement opened and slammed against the wall as heavy footsteps hurried excitedly down the steps. 

"Master, you need to come with me right away!"

"Calm down and take a few deep breaths," advised Andras. 

Malachi leaned against the wall to catch his breath then went over to the pitcher on the bedstand and helped himself to some water to calm down. 

Talking to Squire James was like arguing with a donkey.

The man just stubbornly brayed and did not listen to reason which frustrated the fun loving Malachi to no end. 

Robin's gaze flew to the face of the young man, who seemed to be the same as him and not as mature as Andras. 

He was definitely less intimidating than the man currently towering over his bed. 

"Robin's awake?" inquired the young man after he calmed down significantly. 

"Anyone would be awake after the noisy racket you made coming down the stairs."

Ignored, Malachi walked closer to the bed to stare down at Robin who brought the sheet up closer to his face. 

Malachi's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he studied Robin's features, "your eyes are really something else do you have a bit of the siren in you on perhaps your father's side?"

Then Malachi turned to Andras and said suggestively, "fortune really does favor the brave. It seems that you are not as unlucky as I feared earlier. Such a beauty."

He then bowed to Robin, "I'd become old and senile before Andras introduces us, I am Malachi Kincaid. The most handsome member of Andras' loyal crew. I'm sure the others won't believe their eyes when they meet you."

Exasperated, Andras loudly harrumphed before giving Robin a chance to respond to such impudence.

"Remind me why I should come upstairs again?"

Malachi sighed, "that decrepit braying old ass came home drunk and was carrying on loud enough to wake up the neighbors. I really think you should speak with him, master."