The Demon King's Hero Of Light 209 Chapter 209 Lions, Lizards And Orcs, Oh My

Teleporting to the mountains where she had originally left the lizards, she headed south, scanning the area for any signs of lions or lizards. In the distance she spotted a lion gliding over a lake and turned to head in that direction. To her horror, she watched it dive, grab something, then drop what had to be a lizard back into the water. Teleporting closer, Aella could see it was a young lion, and it was watching the lizard in the water carefully before diving to s.n.a.t.c.h it out of the water again.

"No!" she shouted, teleporting closer, but then stopped in confusion when she saw the lion lifting up a giant fish out of the water instead of a lizard.

Scanning the water, she saw the lizard dart away, under the water. Had it tricked the lion to grab a fish instead of it? The lion shot her a confused glance before turning with the giant fish to the cliffside caves she could now see from her new vantage point. Several other lions had noticed her appearance and were watching her carefully. Should she whistle to let the king of lions know it was her? Or should she go and greet them normally? She didn't want them to get angry at her for using the same techniques the elves had used when they were captive.

"Aella!" cried a roar from behind her.

Aella turned with a relieved smile to find Amra approaching her with speed. She didn't hesitate to slide onto his back as he flew past, clinging to his thick mane. He came to a soft landing, allowing her to slide down and then turned to rub against her with a loud purr that almost knocked her over.

"It's good to see you again, Amra," Aella laughed, rubbing him under his chin.

"What brings you to visit with my people?" he asked, laying down and folding his wings back so he wouldn't tower over her quite so much.

"I was told by Seifer that he drove you away and I became concerned," Aella said, glancing around to see if she saw any dead lizards around.

"He made me angry," growled Amra. "My people were starving with the great storm and he refused to give us meat. I told my people if any tried to harm them, they could eat them, but he threatened to kill us all. I took my people through the storms to this place. It is good here, with plenty of food."

"I am glad your people are happy, but I have a question," Aella said. "I brought another group of people here, to this area, and I am worried you may be eating them?"

"We do not eat other people if we don't have to," chuckled Amra, shaking his head. "Do you speak of the lizard people that live in the water?"

"I do," Aella nodded, relief rushing through her. If he said they wouldn't eat them, then her concern was for nothing.

"They are a worthy race. Many of my young ones have already bonded with them, in order to hunt better."

"Wait," said Aella, holding up a hand. "You are bonding with the lizard people?"

"Yes, they are excellent hunters and are more than willing to share the bounty of the food with my people. Many have gained the respect of the young ones and have agreed to form the life-long bond that comes with such things. I would bond with you, if it were possible, but I fear the long distances you travel would cause me heartache."

Aella stepped back for a moment, overwhelmed by his words, and the other lions seemed to chuckle.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, worrying that her pheromones may have already kicked in. This was not what she had wanted!

"The bond is only formed with one other and lasts for life. It isn't the same as the bond between mates, but is something more. Mates can come and go, as is needed, but a bond-mate is stronger. Each person within the bond can feel what the other is feeling. If you were in danger, or I were hurt, we would know it no matter where in the realm we were from each other."

"I already have a bond-mate," said Aella carefully.

"You do?" Alma asked, surprised. "Who?"

"His name is Precious," Aella laughed. "I found him as a tiny cub. He barely even had his eyes open. We share a bond that is more than just knowing the feelings of each other, we also share the magic that I have within me from being the King of the Realm."

"You are King of the Realm?" exclaimed Alma in shock. "If what you say is true then I am not worthy of being your bond-mate. I would very much like to meet this Precious you speak of. It would be fantastic to see who could bond with the King of the Realm!"

He jumped to his feet and paced a few steps back and forth before bowing to her and flying off.

Aella watched him for a while, as the other lions around her went back to their normal lives, ignoring her. Below her, she watched the lions hunt with the lizards. Why hadn't she noticed their coordinated attacks? It was so obvious now that she knew what she was looking at. The lions would carry the lizards until they both saw their prey, then the lizards would dive into the water, attacking before the fish could escape, at which point the lion would haul the fish to the sh.o.r.e.

Returning to the throne room, Aella arrived just in time to see the guards dump Jogug's limp body before the throne.

"It's your lucky day, Jogug from the Klog Orc tribe," snarled Seifer with a scowl. "Our great King of the Realm has deemed you important for some reason and won't let me kill you."

Jogug looked up at her with his dark eyes partially hidden by his long ratty hair, but didn't say anything. One of his tusks looked have been broken, and Aella was furious at the cuts and bruises he was covered in. Most of them looked to be from beatings while he was restrained.

Appearing next to the orc, she touched his shoulder and looked Frederik in the eyes. The demon flinched, letting her know he felt guilty for Jogug's condition too. She would have to get Frederik away from here too, before he lost that guilt. But could he be the one keeping Seifer from being too evil? She may have to find someone else to run the kingdom. Now wasn't the time to worry about it, though.

"I will return in a couple of months, when I have had a chance to complete the trade city I wish to build. I will speak with you at that time," she said to Seifer, watching as he nodded his agreement before teleporting Jogug to her new home.

"Jogug!" sang Ruth in delight, charging towards them with her brothers in tow. "Momma saved you too!"

"Aella! Thank goodness!" mewed Precious, flying to her shoulder and hiding his head in the crook of her neck.

"What is this place?" whispered Jogug, struggling to stand. Aella had left his restraints laying on the floor when she teleported him here.

"This is my new home, now that I cannot trust the demons to stay out of my chests," said Aella.

"I thought that treasure belonged to the demons anyway?" asked Frank, glancing back at the chests.

"No, I claimed them as mine when I became king," said Aella. "Besides, there are things in those chests that would cause a lot of problems if I allowed the demons to have them. No one understands how powerful magic is, just yet."

Reaching over, she patted Jogug's shoulder, healing him completely. He went to wince, expecting pain, but looked at her in shock when all of his pains left.

"How have you gotten so powerful?" he asked, stepping back to see her better.

"It's a long story, and I don't have time to explain it to you," said Aella. "The time of my heat is almost upon us, and I have business to attend to until it pa.s.ses. I am not interested in acquiring a mate just yet. I would have you remain here with the baby hydra, until I return. I will make you a place just for yourself, along with anything else you can think of? This will be your home for the time being, until I can find others of your kind."