Hiding from her demon lord has always seemed pointless, but she learned on the way. Now, she is ready to face him and her destiny. She has worn a dozen names in her foster parents’ efforts to hide her from her demon lord. The name she used at the healer academy was Emrie, so that is how she set up her practice. Tribute night was the demon lord’s birthday, and it was while she tended patients that she noted the time. She gets caught at a checkpoint and is forced to cover her presence with magic, but in her haste, she forgets one thing, her tribute. Demon Lord Harrow has been looking for his mate with increasing urgency as the years have gone by. When he is looking over his tribute from the village of Neemin, he catches a familiar scent. He has caught this scent only once before, but he knows it. She is near. He confirms that the guards at the checkpoint came in contact with his mate, and then, he sets out to do what he has been longing for, claiming his bride.

Training to be a queen, she just needs to find and enchant her king. Revenge can wait until she is settled. Viika barely survived her first night at the bride school. Waking up to being nursed by a demon was hard enough, but having Emrie sooth and heal her took her by surprise. The world around her was not what she had been told. Demons were wise and powerful, wizards did not always know what they were doing. Witches were common for the powered folks, and Viika was an exception in the crowd. Controlling her hatred for the vampires who had tortured her meant learning to see them—and judge them—as individuals. It was a life lesson that helped her through the following years. Once she was grown, it was time to seek out her king or, rather, find a witch lord to raise to the position of king. He could only rise to power with a queen of his own, and she was willing to go shopping for her king. After a false start she finds her match and sets about combining her power with his. It isn’t for the faint of heart, but he meets her advances head on, and together, they set about restoring the balance in the place she once called home. Word Count: 27,101