Lotan, Yara and Duke were all hurriedly walking towards the front gate where the sudden guest arrived.
“Did you ever meet any of the other demon lords?” Lotan suddenly asked.
“No.. I don’t understand why one would come here either.” Yara frowned.
‘Could something have happened to my son?’
That sudden worry made Yara move even faster and she became a blur as she ran to confirm her fears.
Arriving at the front gate, Yara could see around 30 of the castle guards circling a black carriage with their weapons raised.
“Princess Yara, this thing has just suddenly shown up out of nowhere!” A guard informed.
Yara got a better look at the carriage and could see that it was decorated with obsidian and gold, it appeared to have a rather menacing appearance, being pulled by two large black dogs as big as horses.
‘Wait.. where have I seen those before?’ Lotan, Yara and Duke all seemed to have the same thought.
“You in the carriage, come out!” Lotan roared.
Dark blue scales had already begun to form on his face and upper arms.
He was certain this confrontation would end in a fight and he would not allow Yara to come into harms way.
Suddenly, the door to the carriage swung open and an extremely tall man stepped out.
Everyone immediately sucked in their breath when they saw what was undoubtedly the most handsome man imaginable.
Standing at a staggering 6’7, the man’s body was wrapped in a bright red cloak that did nothing to hide the broad muscles underneath.
The man had a strong chiseled face that went perfectly with his long flowing dark hair.
Behind his back swung a large, menacing black tail.
Yara was mesmerized by his charm like everyone else, though that only lasted until she saw his distinctive red and purple eyes.
In her whole life, she’d only ever seen two people with eyes like that.
And since this man was not a four year old girl, she realized it could only be one other person.
“Son?…”
A small grin formed on Exedra’s face. “So my mother recognized me after all.”
Yara showed the same smile before she rushed forward and gave her son a crushing hug.
Lotan was so stunned by the sight of his crush hugging the most handsome man he’d ever seen, that he didn’t even register they’d admitted to being mother and son.
Luckily, the guards around him were not so dense.
“Is that really the Prince?..”
“He changed… again.”
“Is he really a demon lord now or was that a joke?”
The confused murmurs of the guards finally got through to Lotan and he recognized the absurdity of the situation.
‘What the hell is this?! He’s a demon lord now?’ The dragon and demon races typically do not have very much interaction so their knowledge of each others customs and hierarchies can be rather limited.
Lotan couldn’t even begin to fathom how someone who was unevolved could’ve become one of the leaders of a whole race.
‘Unless it was a beauty contest..’ he thought bitterly.
Exedra and his mother separated and she once again looked her son up and down.
Pride swelled up in her chest when she thought of her young child who just a year ago was the same height as her, and now was a massive, imposing man feared by many.
“Im so happy my boy has grown up so well!” She said with her usual motherly warmth.
Exedra could not help but notice a pleasant feeling flood his chest.
His mother did not ask him how he’d changed or even what had happened, all she seemed to care about was that her child was healthy.
“Princess Yara Draven.”
Exedra’s tone took on a commanding aspect that caused his words to carry weight, and everyone who heard them listened with wide open ears.
“I, Abbadon, the second demon lord of lust, would like to extend to you an invitation to my territory.”
When Exedra finished his formal speech, Yara briefly wore a look of surprise before she put on a cheeky grin.
“I refuse.”
“Then let’s… what?” Exedra stared at his mother gobsmacked.
“Hmph, cheeky boy! Who told you that you were allowed to address me by my name?” Yara pouted.
The dragon was trying to put on a regal show the likes of which he’d seen demonstrated before but his mother seemed to have turned the tables on him.
He sighed in utter exhaustion before he dropped all formalities. “Then mother can you come with me to my territory?”
“Hmm…” Yara thought for a moment before she had a wicked idea.
“Nope!”
“What? Why?!”
“You look like my son but I’m still not completely sure…”
“You admitted it was me a moment ago!” Exedra cried in exhaustion.
“I did no such thing.” Yara shook her head defiantly.
“I recall that my son used to have a certain name for me when he was younger, maybe if you said it then I’d know you were him.” She added mischievously.
Exedra’s eyes widened in horror when he realized what his mother was trying to get him to say.
“Y-you’re joking! I’m a grown man!”
“Yes but how do I know that you’re my son if you don’t know my special nickname?”
‘Cheeky old woman!’
He’d long realized that his mother was determined to play a joke at his expense.
Did she care nothing for his pride?
His dignity?
His reputation?!
He gave the guards a single glare filled with his menacing aura and one order. “Disperse.”
The guards trembled and prepared to immediately turn tail and run when Yara’s voice stopped them. “They can’t! You’re a stranger and I can’t be left alone with some strange man who I CERTAINLY have never met before~”
By this point, most of the guards were visibly sweating and panicking internally.
‘Princess please, you are going to get us killed!’
The guards trembled, but they did not disobey.
Whatever Exedra would do to them for staying was nothing compared to what Helios would do if they left.
The demon lord knew he wasn’t going to get his mother back to Luxuria like this so he ground his teeth and muttered the accursed words.𝓞𝓋xt.𝐂𝗈
“….my…”
“What was that? I’m not sure I heard you properly mister stranger!” Yara gloated.
Exedra swallowed all of his anger and forced the words out of his mouth.
“Mommy-kins..”
“My sweet boy it is you!!” Yara rushed forward and gave her son another large hug.
At this point, Exedra was just glad the whole ordeal was over and meagerly returned it.
“Okay, where’s this territory of yours?” She asked.
Instead of answering, Exedra snapped his fingers and a large black portal appeared in the space in front of them.
‘That’s… spacial affinity?!’ Lotan and Duke thought in horror.
To the guards, it simply looked like a high grade spell but they knew it wasn’t nearly that simple.
They both knew full well that Exedra did not have that at his birth, which left only one feasible answer.
But both were much too shocked to believe it.
Yara was used to her son doing strange and amazing things so she did not question it and simply assumed she’d hear about it later.
“Duke I’ll be going away for a bit, keep things in order for me okay?” She waived him goodbye before she promptly walked through the portal.
“Ah… yes princess..” he muttered.
Exedra sent the hounds pulling the carriage through first before he turned around to face the large crowd.
“All of you… have you already forgotten what you’ve just heard or should I pull the knowledge from your skulls directly?”
The guards shivered before they all nodded furiously.
“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about, my prince!”
“I-I’ve already forgotten!”
“M-My memory is terrible, I don’t even think I remembered to put on underwear today!”
“Good.”
Exedra then walked through the portal and it closed behind him shortly after.
It took a few seconds but eventually Lotan realized the gravity of what had just happened.
He’d literally stood by and watched as the princess walked through an unknown portal to gods know where.
“Shit.. the king is going to kill me.”
–
When Exedra came through the other side of the portal, he found his mother staring at the surroundings in awe.
The sky that was a myriad of colors unlike anything she’d ever seen, the enormous tree that towered well above the city gave off a beautiful yet ominous feel, it was all so mesmerizing.
“Son… where is this?” She asked in shock.
Exedra walked next to his mother and gently took her hand. “There’s a lot you need to know, but for right now all that matters is that this is home.”
He led his stunned mother through the streets and showed her around while he tried to fill her in on everything that’d happened in their time apart. Though he took specific care to avoid a certain man’s condition.
Eventually, they came to a stop in front of his manor and he prepared to drop the bomb on her that he’d been holding back.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance.
As soon as they came close enough to the house, Yara froze when she sensed an aura she knew better than anyone else’s.
It was faint, almost imperceptibly so, but she would never miss it.
She’d been thinking about it every single day for eighteen years.
Before Exedra could start to tell his mother the truth, she ripped her hand away from his and ran inside.