Chapter 03 A Promise to not Tell Anyone

Her hand splayed flat over her lower belly, heat pooling beneath her palm. A slow, aching throb of want pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

"What would he taste like? Light magic and something sweet, like morning dew. What sound would he make if I…"

Her eyelids fluttered closed. Her fingers curled, pressing slightly into the softness. The fantasy was intoxicating. She was so close to giving in, her hand drifted lower, fingertips teasing at the waistband of her miniskirt. The fantasy was so vivid—Leon’s breath on her neck, his strong hands sliding under her fuzzy sweater, that righteous hero composure finally shattering for her.

BANG!

Her bedroom door slammed open against the wall. Lord Malakar stormed in.

“MOLLY! THAT INFERNAL, SUN-BLEACHED HERO IS—”

Molly yanked her hand away from her waist, snatching a random pillow and clutching it to her chest like a shield. Her face red.

“KYAAAA! PAPA!” she shrieked, her voice hitting a pitch that could crack crystal. “YOU STUPID OLD MAN! KNOCK! KNOCK BEFORE YOU WALK INTO MY ROOM! I’m not a little girl anymore! I need some PRIVACY! I swear on all the Abyssal Planes, one of these days you’re going to barge in here and see something we’ll BOTH regret!”

From behind her father, a second, more elegant figure glided into the room. Lilith, the eldest sister, one of Demon Lord's Generals. She was all graceful curves, grey skin, and a smile that promised delightful trouble. She arched one perfect eyebrow.

“Oh my, Molly. We’re feisty today.”

“Big Sis Lilith!” Molly shouted while pointing finger at their father. “Please! Knock some sense into him! He has the manners of a hellhound!”

Lilith let out a low, seductive laugh, leaning against the doorframe. “My dear sister, he’s a few hundred years old. Why do you think a word from me would change anything? His idea of subtlety is punching first, showing courtesy next.”

Lord Malakar, momentarily derailed, blinked. “But… the hero. I must find him! His party’s light-stink is still on the castle! He can’t have gone far! He was right here!”

“I don’t care if he was doing cartwheels on my duvet!” Molly shouted, hurling the pillow at him. It bounced harmlessly off his chest. “Shoo! Shoo! Out of my room, Papa! And get over it already! Hero this, hero that! If you love him so much, why don’t you just marry him? I mean, you two meet every weekend! You have more scheduled dates than big sis Lilith!”

Lord Malakar’s lower lip trembled. His fiery eyes grew misty. “Oh, my dear, sweet child. You know well why we clash like this. It’s in the Pact. The Eternal Conflict. The Balance of—”

“I. Don’t. CARE! Out! Out, out, out! Go brood over a lava pit or something! Humpf!” She crossed her arms and turned her head away with an exaggerated pout.

Defeated, Lord Malakar slumped. He let out a sound like a wounded, kicked puppy. “Huuuuh... Fine… I’ll go… commune with the tormented souls in the dungeon. They at least appreciate my company…” He shuffled out, his cape dragging behind him on the floor.

The door clicked shut.

Lilith's cat-like eyes were fixed on her little sister. A slow, knowing smile spread across her lips, so wide it made her eyes squint.

“Sooooo. That was quite the… energetic display.”

 “Big sis, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just… napping. Aggressively.”

“Mhm. Of course. Flushed skin. Frantic clutching of pillows. The dramatic ‘privacy’ plea. I may be a demon of temptation, but even a common imp could read that scene. Let’s cut the harmless act, just between us girls. We walked in on you having a very fun time with your imagination. So. Spill the infernal tea, little sister. Who’s the lucky one fueling your private fantasies? Hmmmm?”

Molly’s eyes darted to the side, genuine shyness. She bit her glossy lower lip, twisting the edge of her fuzzy sweater between her fingers.

“Big Sis Lilith…” She peeked up through her lashes. “Can you… promise you won’t tell anyone? And I mean… no one. No one needs to know about… about this.”

She leaned in closer, her expression deadly serious. “I’m talking about a promise on the same level as… remember that time I saw our new maid being pulled into your room by your ‘special’ tentacle pets? And she only reappeared to work a full week later, walking a little funny and humming to herself? And you begged me, on bended knee, not to tell Dad, or he’d incinerate your ‘precious, misunderstood, slimy pets’? Yeah, I need that kind of trust. That kind of secret.”

Lilith’s seductive smirk faltered for a fraction of a second. A faint blush tinged her pale cheeks. She cleared her throat.

“Ah. That. A minor… misunderstanding. My little pets were just being… friendly. But fine. Point taken. Your secret is vaulted deeper than Dad’s collection of embarrassing heroic fanfiction about the hero.”

She placed a hand over her heart. “I will tell no one. It is a secret that shall perish with me. I swear on the lives of my little pets. All seventy-three of them. You have my word.”

Molly studied her sister’s face, looking for any trace of deception. Seeing none she finally let out the breath she’d been holding. Her cheeks puffed out, her tan skin flushing a rosy gold as she glared at the floor. She mumbled something into the pillow she was still clutching.

"...The Hero..."

Lilith cupped a hand behind her ear, leaning in. “Hmm? What was that, sweetie? Sounded like ‘the floor.’ Are you fantasizing about interior decorating? Because if so, your taste is—”

“It’s the hero.” Molly repeated with embarrassed squeak. She threw the pillow at Lilith, who caught it with a single, elegant hand.

“What? I think I didn’t hear that right, come again?”

“…It’s the hero.”

 “Wait, wait, I’m getting a strange echo here, one more time please.” 

A puff of air escaped Molly’s lips. “Hero,” she repeated, a little louder, her tan cheeks flushing.

“Hmmm? That's strange. My ancient ears must be failing me. It almost sounded like you said—”

“I SAID THE HERO!” Molly yelled, scrambling onto her knees on the bed, her fluffy sweater bouncing. “Come on, Big Sis! Stop teasing me! You heard me right the first time! I was thinking about Leon! The Hero! The same guy who shows up here every other weekend to fight Dad, or flirt, or whatever that is! Come one, sis. I'm serious here.”

The room went silent for a beat. She blinked slowly, twice. “Oh, oh my. I… I did not expect that. Out of all the demons, devils, dark elves, and morally ambiguous princes in the realms… you picked the one boy in existence our father is legally and magically required to dismember.”

She crawled onto the bed, next to Molly. “Do you have any idea how furious Karn would be? How confused Vex would get? How would Dad probably start crying about his little girl growing up to like the flavor of the enemy? I admit, hero looks most delicious, but this is a hero we are talking about. How did this happen? Was it his long, blond hair?”

Molly buried her face back into a fresh pillow, but this time, a giddy, wiggling energy took over her whole body. She peeked out with one sparkling, liner-perfect eye.

“It wasn’t just the hair, okay?” she mumbled into the fluff. “I mean… yes, the hair is, like, unreal. It’s all… flowy and shiny, like liquid sunshine? But that’s, like, surface-level! It’s the… the whole package, you know? He’s got this, like, super earnest face. All serious and ‘I must protect the realm’ and whatever. But when he talks? His voice is kinda deep, but also, like… weirdly gentle? For a guy who yells ‘Have at thee, foul beast!’ at Dad every week.

And today! He literally crashed through my wall, Big Sis! Like, BOOM! Makeup everywhere! And then we, like… fell. And there was this whole… moment. And he was just… there. All knocked out. And he looked so… handsome. And his lips were, like, right there. And I was all ‘Kyaaa! This is bad!’ but also… kinda not? It’s, like… he’s a big, beautiful, shiny golden retriever. Who can level a mountain with a sword. But is also kind of a himbo. You get it?"

Lilith clapped her hands together once, a sharp, pleased sound.

“Molly, my lovely little sister. This isn’t a problem. This is a delicious, forbidden, juicy romance. Who cares if he’s a hero? There is no sin for us demons when it comes to love affairs. The only real sin is a boring love life.”

She leaned forward. “The problem isn’t the ‘what.’ It’s the ‘how.’ You have a fantasy. Now you need the make it into reality. So.” She held up a finger tipped with a razor-sharp black nail. “Do you have a lead? A plan? Or were you just planning to teleport into his bath every night until he thinks you’re a particularly persistent dream or attractive ghost haunting his bed?” She winked. “A classic move for a succubus, by the way. Very effective.”

Molly hugged the pillow tighter and drew her knees up to her chest, making herself look even smaller than she already was.

“I… I don’t really have a plan. I just met the guy, like, today. I don’t even know where to begin! He’s a hero. And I’m… me. My dad is the Demon Lord; my mom is the Succubus Queen. I mean, I’m basically a walking, glittery red flag wrapped in an oversized sweater.”

She peeked up at Lilith. “He’ll figure me out in, like, two seconds! One ‘Detect Evil’ spell or whatever, and pfft! He’ll sense my dark magic from across the cafeteria! It’ll be all ‘Be gone, foul demoness!’ and not in the fun, flirty way!” She buried her face in her knees with a squeak. “Kya! It’s hopeless. I’m doomed to just admire the shiny hair from a distance while he tries to stab our dad. So not cute. Totally not good.”