The River King
The Demon Door Series Book 4
Genre: Fantasy
Tropes: Epic Fantasy, Adventure, Sword & Sorcery, Outcast/Reluctant Hero, Damsel in Distress Turns Warrior, Morally Grey Characters, Slow Burn, Portal, Royal Intrigue, Dark and Ancient Magic, Magic Book
Heat: Open Door, Medium/High Spice
SOMETIMES LOVE DOESN’T CHANGE THE WORLD. SOMETIMES IT CHANGES ALL OF THEM.
Rhuun, the half-human and wholly-reluctant prince of the demons, has finally reunited with his fiery Lelet. It’s too bad they must hide behind a facade of icy indifference to fool those who are determined to keep demons and humans apart…by any means necessary. There is more at stake than bringing the miracle of rain back to Eriis. It’s not just sand and lost royals poised to come through the newly-opened Door.
Something ancient is hungry, and fat, complacent Mistra won’t stand a chance. Even worse, whispers and shadows speak of blood magic that could destroy not just The Door, but all Doors—forever—barring the way home for lovers and enemies alike. Will the love Rhuun and Lelet have moved worlds to share be the very thing they must sacrifice to save their worlds?
Full of her signature blend of exquisite world-building, sly humor, and poignant prose, The River King is the gripping conclusion to Kim Alexander’s critically-acclaimed Demon Door saga.
Excerpt
RHUUN COVERED a yawn with his hand, sat back, and tried to track the events of the previous day; after a year and more of living without her, Lelet showed up unexpectedly as part of the delegation from Mistra. With one look at her face, the idea that he’d ever stopped loving her revealed itself for the bad joke it was. What did she want? Was she his enemy? No, instead, she was desperate for his help. She had something to tell him. But she looked at him like it was something he wouldn’t want to hear.
The party to welcome the humans to Eriis had started with insults aimed at his absent mother and finished with Lelet—again and always. She needed to speak to him privately. No, how could he be alone with her? But how could he refuse? Yes. Yes.
He must remember to thank Zaii for stepping in and asking awkward questions—although it was a glaring breach of protocol—because it was Zaii who sifted the sand to find the truth. Thanks to him, they learned their separation had been based on a lie. She loved him after all and spent the whole night proving it. And as if that wasn’t enough to shatter his heart with joy, Ilaan appeared out of nowhere and seemed ready to set aside his anger. The fact that his friend’s news was dire and Rhuun’s life was, once again, in mortal danger barely registered. And now the three of them were together in his living room, having coffee.
Rhuun was feeling pretty good about things, on the whole.
Ilaan, as always, could see right into his heart. “You seem awfully happy, considering your position.”
“My position? Probably no worse than this time yesterday. In fact, I’d call it a good deal better.” Beyond having Lelet back by his side, other than Ilaan coming home to him, Rhuun supposed there were a few things he’d have to attend to. “We know about this Auri, for instance.”
Auri. Who in the space of this one conversation had gone from his rival, his replacement, Lelet’s ‘good, honest man,’ to the puppet of Yuenne: Ilaan’s father and Rhuun’s oldest, first enemy. No, Auri wasn’t a good man in the least, but a liar and a dangerous adversary.
“Thanks to you,” added Lelet. “We really are grateful.” Despite her words, she looked like she wanted to set something or someone ablaze. Her hands twitched and sparked. She turned to Rhuun. “What are you going to do?”
“I think it’s more a question of what the two of us intend to do.” He paused. “Auri wants to kill me. I think I’d prefer he didn’t. He wants you, and that’s out of the question. He wants the High Seat of Eriis. Apparently he’s under the impression they’ve removed the ‘being from Eriis’ clause. As much as I’d love for him to have a whack at it, I feel like we’d better stop him there as well. What else was there?”
“Well, your mother.” Lelet poured herself another cup of coffee.
“And your uncle,” said Ilaan. “What is it with your family?”
Ilaan wasn’t wrong. His mother had lied to force them apart and handed the crown to his uncle, his strange and distant Uncle Araan, whose desires remained obscure. “Um, I believe we can also throw your father into the mix, speaking of families.” Ilaan looked away, and Rhuun wished he hadn’t spoken. Things were better between them, but they weren’t good. “You mentioned a plan?”
Ilaan smiled. “It’ll be terribly unpleasant for both of you and mainly works to achieve my goals. Just so we’re clear.” Rhuun placed his hand over Lelet’s, and they shared a worried look. “I’m thinking we’ll need to start by having the ambassador travel back to Mistra with the negotiating team. That was Auri’s idea, wasn’t it? That Beast, here, helps your brother?”
That was Auri’s idea exactly—that Rane, accused of the murder of a young demon woman, might be helped by the very person Auri wanted to kill. Rane might be the bait, but if Auri was working with Yuenne, he must know how difficult killing a demon would be. Rhuun couldn’t fathom how Auri thought he might manage it. He did want to help Rane, though, if only to make Lelet happy. And he wanted to see the dead demon woman. How did she even get to Mistra?
Who was she?
“You want to play along, is that it?” Lelet asked.
“To start.” Ilaan nodded. “So he should think he’s pulling the wagon, as you humans say.”
“We don’t actually… Never mind. Go on.”
“All eyes must see that you two are as far apart as you were when you walked through The Door. Barely on speaking terms. It’s only for the great regard Rhuun holds for your sister Scilla and your family that he’s agreed at all. And of course, there’s the matter of the dead woman.” Ilaan scratched his head. “I’m honestly pretty curious about that, myself.”
“I have to pretend I still want to be with him. With Auri.” Lelet looked ill. “That I begged you to help and you finally agreed but that you don’t want to have anything to do with me. That I groveled. He’ll like that part.”
“How, exactly, does this help you with your father?” Rhuun asked. He wasn’t ready to examine the details of Lelet going home to Auri, because that led to Auri’s house, and in that house was a room with a bed in it. He’d think about it later.
“The more you two suffer, the more at ease Auri and my father become. The easier to snare him.” He looked at the two of them, wide-eyed. “Certainly you don’t think I’m taking any pleasure in all of this?”
He wondered if Ilaan took pleasure in anything, these days. Grief and anger swept his friend’s heart since Niico died, and despite his coming here to help them, Ilaan still blamed him. If he hadn’t been convinced he needed to look after me, Rhuun thought, he might have saved Niico’s life. Might have. Rhuun cleared his throat. “Moving on. We go back to Mistra. She goes back to his house. I’ll need accommodations if I am to do…um…whatever it is an ambassador does.“ He looked at Lelet. “Any ideas?”
She was still watching Ilaan through narrowed eyes. “Quite a few.” She set her cup down. “I’ll maintain this fiction and give Auri no reason to think I’m not still dangling on his string. I think we ought to let you set yourself up in town through the Guardhouse. We can even start this performance at the negotiation session with the Guardhouse. You can ask them outright to help you, and we’ll sit at opposite ends of the table and glare at each other or something.”
“Can you keep this from Scilla?” asked Ilaan.
Lelet frowned. “She’ll be absolutely furious when she finds out, but yes.
What about you?” she asked Ilaan. “What’s your role?”
“I’m working on something.”
She crossed her arms. “And it is?”
“In its early stages.” Ilaan fiddled with the cuff of his robe.
Lelet snorted. “You don’t have a plan at all, do you? You’re just hoping something happens you can use, and you want Moth to suffer.”
He looked up at her. “A Door without blood.”
“A what?”
“I intend to open a Door without using his blood.” He jerked his head at Rhuun. “To spare him La Naa because he’s suffered enough. Does that sound like a plan to you? You’re welcome.”
Rhuun leaned forward. “That would be everything. You could go anywhere —everywhere. Without a mage or a knife or me. You could go from anywhere on Eriis to anywhere on Mistra. I’m obviously coming out in favor—and so are my arms. How… Who came up with this? How does it work?”
“Mother Jaa gave me the idea. She taught me to think about shimmering and Doors in a new way. I’m still learning the mechanics. I actually don’t know if I can do it. I think so, but I have a lot of work to do.”
To Rhuun, Ilaan looked confident, despite his words.
“And when you can, you’ll retrieve your father.” Lelet nodded slowly. “I assume he’s in hiding? He can’t very well walk the streets—” She turned pale. “If Yuenne is alive…”
“I’m sorry,” said Ilaan. “I knew you would ask. I haven’t seen Thayree. I’d tell you if I had. Remember, there’s only a sliver, that I have seen. It doesn’t mean she isn’t alive.”
Lelet took a deep breath. It was no secret that the disappearance of the gifted little girl still weighed on her mind, morning and night. “Thank you for that. I trust you’ll keep looking? And once you know where your father is—”
“I have a pretty good idea of where to find him. But it’s up to you to keep
Auri placated, because if he has suspicions, he’ll go straight to Yuenne.” He glanced at Rhuun. “They might try to go after the ambassador then and there, if they think you’re working against them.”
“They can try,” said Lelet. Her eyes turned hard and dark, and then the moment passed.
“I may not be the most gifted demon ever born, but this Auri is just a human.” Rhuun looked at Lelet. “He isn’t bigger than me, is he?” She smiled and shook her head. “There you go. So yes. Let him try.” He’d already decided that one way or another, he and Auri would have a conversation.
“How will we stay in touch?” asked Lelet.
“Um, that’s a thing.” Ilaan screwed the lid back on the coffee container. Their reunion was apparently over. He rose, preparing himself to leave them. “I’m working on it. I’m afraid you must trust me.” “Do we have a choice?” asked Lelet.
“Of course we trust you,” said Rhuun. “Of course we do.” But Ilaan was already gone.
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Two Worlds. One Love. A Door That Should Never Have Been Opened.
In a universe split by magic and shadow, a hidden Door connects two realms: the war-scorched demon world of Eriis, and the peaceful, myth-drenched lands of Mistra. For centuries, the Door remained sealed—its existence dismissed as legend on one side and guarded with blood and fire on the other.
But when Prince Rhuun, born of both worlds and belonging to neither, is forced through the Door, fate ignites a chain of events that will challenge empires and awaken ancient hungers. On Mistra, Rhuun finds an unlikely ally—and irresistible enemy—in Lelet va’Everly, a sharp-tongued heiress who never believed in demons until one landed on her doorstep.
As forbidden love grows between them, the fragile barrier between worlds begins to crack. Old enemies rise. Secrets burn. And betrayal, both human and demon, may cost them everything.
Magic built the Door.
Love opened it.
But some Doors were never meant to be breached.
