Demons Heart

Chapter 10

The dates helped show who they are but not who they were and who they can be. This game will be particularly hard for anyone hiding secrets. "Today we'll be doing a lie detector test." All the men are surprised by this as they start whispering about how this could be legal or apart of a game meant to find a husband, yet these men had no objections when it came to fighting in a ring?

"The first up will be Renade." He gives a smile as he's the only one besides Vornan who seems particularly quiet, that didn't object to a lie detector test. I take him into a room we've set up in the palace as Renade looks at the machine and to the sterile environment of the room.

I tell him to take a seat as I hook him up to the test as I have a professional monitor the machine while I ask the questions. My questions for Renade aren't nearly as invasive as the ones I have for the others as Renade has always been open about who he is.

"Did you come to the competition hoping to marry and to become king of Cleyan?" "Yes." "True." The man tells me as I smile. "The rest won't be nearly as bad, just relax." I tell Renade as he seems tense.

"Do you desire power by becoming king?" "No." "True." "Do you desire me?" "Yes." He says softly as he looks at me. "True." My heart jumps as I look away and down to the questions I've written down.

"Are you willing to leave your kingdom and everything you hold dear behind to enter the position of king?" "Yes." He hesitates as his voice wavers. "Lie" The man says as I look at Renade. "It isn't that I won't." "It's just my family." "They mean a lot to me." He explains as we finish up the questions before calling in Trinit.

Trinit enters as he observes the room before sitting down and getting hooked up. I ask him the same questions as he passes all of them. The next few will be tougher as it will require complete honesty.

"Will you sacrifice the queen to save the people?" "No." "Lie" "I'm sorry but if it came down to it, I'd save the people." "I understand as I would do the same." "Do you desire power?" "Yes." "Truth." "The last question." "Are you in love with Emory?" "Yes." "Lie." I frown slightly at this. "Love can grow in time." I send him out as I think about how I should spend more time with him, if he hasn't developed feelings yet.

Darmen is next to come inside. He smiles at me before sitting in the metal chair, letting us hook him up. We start with the first questions as he tells the truth with all of them. "Do you see yourself as a great king?" "Yes." "Truth."

"Do you want kids?" "Yes." "Lie." "I just have never seen if I'd be a good father." "My family was always carefree and I'm not sure if I can be that for them, not as king." "You think the pressure and responsibilities you'll have as king will affect your abilities to be a parent?" "Yes." "Truth."

"Do you intend to ever harm the queen, the people and the crown?" "No." "Truth." I then unhook him as I decide to go after someone I've been wanting to all day. "Aiden."

I see him looking especially nervous as he scratches the back of his neck as he walks in. "Do we really need to do this?" "I can tell you everything you want to know, just without these machines." He flashes a smile as I cross my legs and look him dead in the eye.

"Why would I ever do that when I've been waiting for this all day?" He gulps as he sits down, looking at the straps that go around his chest and the clips on his fingers. I tell him not to worry, yet it's with a coy smile. I start of easy at to ease his anxiety before the real questions begin.

"Did you come to the suitor games to become king of Cleyan?" "Yes." "Truth." "Are your intentions good for why you came here?" "Yes." He breaths heavily as he answers. "Lie." "It's what I expected to be honest." "Shall we get personal now?" His eyes narrow in anger.

"Are you afraid of Merina?" "Benjamin's mother?" "No." He laughs off, yet I see it spike. "Lie." "Is she part if the reason you're doing this?" "No." "Lie." "It seems my aunt has a hold on more people then I knew of."

"You can't..." "You can't say anything, especially to Benjamin." I deflect his request as I ask him another question. "Do you have feelings for me?" I look him dead in the eye as I wait for his answer. "No." He says calmly and I want to laugh as it's what I expected.

"Lie." I hear as both Aiden and my own eyes widen. "You have feelings for me?" I ask again in disbelief. "No." He says again, though with less conviction. "Lie." I hear again as I test whether this machine is broken.

I slide my chair forward, directly in front of him as he watches what I do. "What are you doing?" "Testing." I lean forward and press my lips to his. My eyes are open as I watch his close. I feel his lips move as his arms come up, trying to touch me, yet I pull back, sitting back down.

Aiden looks flustered by this as he stares at me. "Did you enjoy that kiss?" "Yes." He says As he's now unashamed about how he feels about me. "Do you want to kiss me again?" "Yes." "Truth." Is repeated both times as I delve deeper.

"Do you want to marry me?" "Yes." "Truth." "Do you want to marry me just for power?" "No." "Truth." "Will you ever be loyal to me?" "Yes." "Lie." His responses are conflicting against one another.

I know there's more to the story but I'm not sure whether his feelings for me will ever allow him to betray Benjamin and Merina. I send him out as Wren is now sent in.

Wren is calm and un-bothered as we hook him up. I start rounding off questions, him passing with flying colors until I get to the more personal ones. "Do you love me?" "No, not yet." "Truth."

He doesn't elaborate further, yet I'm okay with him not loving me, not yet anyway. I then think about how carefree he was on our date as I want to know more about who that person is.

"Do you hope to be stern as king?" He hesitates to answer as he thinks about it. "No." "Truth." "I want to be fierce in war, when it matter but I want to be kind with the people of Cleyan." "I want to build friendships and relationships with people." He looks at me as he says the last part, as if he wants me to know that he wants more with me.

"Would you spend most of your time on the battlefield?" "Yes." "Protection matters more then anything." "To protect the people." "Truth." "What about me, our family that we could have together?" "I'd try to be there but as king, the people will come first as you will be close second." "Do you truly want to be king?" "Would you rather be a warrior, a soldier?" He's surprised by my questions, yet doesn't answer them as I tell him he can leave.

The next is Brent as I think about how to ask him questions. I'm too close to him and to think of the effect his answers will have, yet I remain emotionless in front of him. "Ask away." He says as he looks from the man doing the test, back to me.

"Do you want to become king?" "Yes." "Truth." "Do you feel prepared to be king?" "No." It's another honest answer as even I know Brent would need to go through intense training to become king. That it will be harder on him than the rest, yet I still want him to have a chance.

"Do you believe in time you could become a worthy king?" "Yes." "Truth." "Do you want me more then you do the crown?" I ask though it isn't part of the test. "You." He says and though the machine can't as easily tell me he's lying, it doesn't jump.

"Do you love me?" I ask as I knew the answer to this, at least I hoped I did. "Yes." "Truth." I felt myself sigh, as did my heart as the rapid thumping inside my chest ceased.

"You seem surprised by the answer." He says as I look at him, yet I look away as he tries to read what I'm feeling and thinking in this moment. I read off the rest of the questions as I finally call upon Vornan.

I know, like Aiden he will be tricky and will most likely refuse to take the test. That is until I see him sit in the chair without a single complaint. "Ready?" He asks me as if he's the one conducting this test.

I have the urge to roll my eyes as I sit down and begin. "Was the reason you came here to become king the truth?" "Yes." "True." "Did you come to gain power?" "Yes." "Truth." All of his answers become the truth.

"Do you want to be with me?" "Yes." "Do you have plans for Cleyan that were decided upon before you got here?" "Yes." "Elaborate." I demand from him, yet he tells me to continue asking the questions.

The next questions still don't give anything away, only that he's hiding secrets, like Aiden. I wasn't sure if his secrets are better or worse than his, yet it did bring distrust and concern whether he can win this competition.

I finally get to the last question as I want to know if what Vornan and I have is worth pursuing further. "Do you have feelings for me?" I ask him as I know he'll answer truthfully. "No." He says, yet I see the spike before the man says, lie.

"What?" He asks this time, finally breaking the stern and concealed face he's been showing us this whole time. "Your machine is broken." He informs us, though we know it isn't.

"It isn't." I tell him with a smile, yet his face scowls before he walks towards me, grabbing my shoulders roughly. "I don't feel anything for you." "Then why are you here?" I ask as he closes his mouth.

"It's too soon." He says as if to correct himself, yet I know his concern is real, for his affection for me. He then leaves as I think about everyone's answers. They all tried their best to answer honestly and while some were open, others were not.

My decision now is to choose someone to leave, whether that be someone honest who gave me answers I didn't approve of or it be a liar who I've yet to find out who they are and what they want.

The decision is difficult as I reach the dinning area as everyone seems ready to eat, yet I'd rather send my suitor off now then to have everyone question who will be leaving. "Darmen, you may leave."

I'm rather cold in this decision as I publicly tell them why he's leaving. "I can't be with someone who's unsure about having children." Darmen leaves as the table is quiet. That is until the staff serve dinner and everyone eventually starts talking about mundane things.

"Are you sad that he had to leave?" I hear as a fog surrounds the room. "I'm not actually." "I'm more so angry that one of the men in this room will be my husband, yet none of them take the suitor games seriously."

The fog disappears and it seems no one hears me as I get up and leave the room. I'm back in my room, yet it's dark, even though the moonlight usually shines in. I fumble around for a switch, when I feel a deep breath across my neck.

"You will make Vornan king." A deep voice tells me as I wonder if this is Benjamin's doing. Did he put Vornan in the games as well, to control my reign as queen?

"Who are you?" I speak out as I feel hands pin my wrists and legs against the wall. I then feel something poking my stomach as the man speaks again. "I have a blade pressed to your stomach." "I could kill you now but I won't, if you make Vornan king."

"Tell me, why must it be him?" "Why does he need to be king?" "To protect us, to fight for our cause." The man says as he seems to want to persuade me to choose Vornan.

"Why does he need the position if king to do so?" "You're a noisy one." I then feel pain as my head pounds, before I feel tired and pass out.

I awake to Vornan shaking me awake. He's holding me in his arms as I shove him off me. "What did you do?" I accuse him, especially after what just happened. "I woke you up?" "You were passed out and..." He then point to my head as I reach to touch where he's pointing and see blood on my hand.

"This is your doing." I say to him as I try to stand and feel dizzy as I sit down in a chair. "What did I do?" "They were in here when I got back." "They threatened me to make you king." "What did you say?"

"You heard me." I say as I narrow my eyes at him. I thought perhaps he was hiding some kind of family tragedy or the way he craves power, yet it seems there's something darker about his secrets, that may even be darker than Benjamin's plan.

"They can't be here." He says to himself as I grab some tissue from my desk and try to clean up the blood as much as I can. "They wouldn't dare to come here." "Can you let me in on whatever discussion you're having with yourself, especially since I'm the one with an open head wound and had to be threatened by those goons?"

"They shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry." He tells me as he looks at my head and finally calls for Dina. She comes in, covering her mouth as she gasps. "Get a doctor." Vornan tell her as he finally snaps out of whatever discussion he was having.

He looks angry as he cleans up the blood, putting the tissues in the trash before leaving. "I'll take care of it." Is all he says, while I'm still waiting for some kind of explanation.

It doesn't seem like I'm going to get one as a doctor comes in, followed by Remy. She gets to work on cleaning it and giving me some medicine for the pain as he puts me in a wheel chair and takes me to the medical room we have in the castle, that also has a place to do scans.

It was built when our family didn't believe in going to hospitals with the common folk and instead wanted everything they needed to be available at their kingdom. I thought it to be a very posh thing to do with in our history, yet it's convenient now.

The doctor takes the scans as I wait for the results. Once he's back, he informs me that it was a mild concussion, that just had a lot of blood came from the wound.

He gives me some more medication for the pain before sending me off. I walk out the door as Vornan is waiting for me. "Are you going to tell me the truth now?" "About?" "The men in my room." I say as he stays silent as I walk away.

It's only when I reach the stairs that he tells me to stop. "They're enemies from another nation." "Is that the truth?" I ask as I hear his tone is slightly off.

"You don't believe me?" "Why should I?" "You lied and invaded my questions during the lie detector test." "You have just as many secrets as Aiden and at least I know why he's lying and who's behind his manipulation." "I have no idea whose controlling you."

"Controlling?" He questions, just as Renade comes up to us. "Can we talk?" Renade asks as I nod my head in agreement. "Emory." Vornan calls out as I ignore him and walk back to my room with Renade.

"You wanted to talk?" I ask him as I look around my room, making sure the shadowy figures are gone. "What are you looking for?" He asks as I don't want to tell anyone about the men or about Vornan. I'm not sure whether it will put other people in danger and it's better to get more information.

"Nothing, just making sure we're alone." "Right." He says as he takes a seat in one of my chairs. "I wanted to discus the test." "Which part?" "My feelings." "I never wanted you to find out that way and I know you have other men to choose from but I need you to know I'm a viable option."

"I like you and we laugh together and enjoy each others company." "True but I want more then comfortable." "I like you too but I'm not sure yet if it can turn into love." "I'm not sure if we can have passion yet."

I say this as he gets up from his chair and stands in front of me as I too stand up. "May I kiss you and let you decide?" He asks as his eyes are trained on mine.

We're a breath apart before he leans in, pressing his lips to mine. It's soft and enjoyable, yet the kind of spark I'd hoped for isn't there. I smile none the less as he pulls away, when my door opens and Vornan walks in.

"Get out." He says to Renade as Renade leaves after giving me a smile in return. "What makes you have the authority to do that?" "Why did you kick him out?"

"I'll check every way you can enter this room, to make sure you don't get surprise visitors." "Or you could just call off your dogs." I say as he looks back at me, yet I notice him holding a black pouch, while he also seems to be sprinkling it around the room.

"I didn't know you're spiritual." I say to him as he hides the pouch by slipping it into his pocket. "Why are you hiding it?" "It's just the way of my people." "It keeps out our enemies or so I've been told."

It just sounds like another lie to me, yet I let him continue while I ask him some more questions. "Do you truly want me as a wife?" "Yeah, why else would I be here?"

"You tell me." He doesn't say anything. "You could convince me by telling me about your feelings." He stops sprinkling the black dust as he turns to look at me. "No."

"The test doesn't lie, though you do." "I don't have feelings." He says though it's more to himself. "You do." I say to him as I walk over to him as he watches me.

"Kiss me and then tell me you feel nothing." He leans down and kisses me, trying to pull away after a peck, yet I wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss as his cold lips warm at my touch.

I eventually pull away as he looks to be leaning in for another. "Tell me." "I feel..." "I want more." He does lean in and kiss me again, pushing me back on the bed as my eyes widen in surprise. I had only wanted to prove my point.

His hand caress my waist, slowly moving lower as I finally push him off. "You're not my husband." I accuse him as I wipe my lips angrily as he looks shaken. He seems shocked by what he just did as he leaves my room quickly.

I sit there, with my hand to my mouth as I think about what just happened. He denies his feelings in a competition to win my heart, yet he kisses me like that? It doesn't make sense. What also doesn't add up is the men who come into my room, pleading for me to make Vornan king, yet they weren't sent by Vornan himself, or so he claims.

Who is he and why is his past this bizarre? Why can't he be simple like the other men in the competition? I already know of the ones who want power and those who wants love, yet Vornan seems to want neither love or specifically power.

I know he'll stay in the competition but I need to know his motives and if they'll effect Cleyan. Is his intentions to destroy Cleyan and myself or have I just not learnt the full story yet? My mind is clouded with worry, yet I still think back to Renade. He's fighting to stay in this competition, yet I'm not sure if he can ever be more then a friend to me. I think the end will come down to who fits best as king, yet none of my suitors do.