PROLOGUE

The hunger for love consumes me.

But does that surprise anyone? My sons outgrew me, and from that moment on, they never gave another thought to loving and honoring their mother. Instead they grow more and more like their fathers.

At the time when I married spouse number one, I had not yet taken the heavy office of the Demon Queen. Gwendal"s father was a man with a grumpy countenance. As a young thing, I was totally smitten by his dour elegance. He looked older than he really was -- exactly like Gwen today.

Spouse number three was the complete opposite: a young man who was easily carried away into emotional outbursts -- just like an overexcited puppy, simply so sweet you had to cuddle him. Although Wolfram looks like me on the outside, his temperament comes entirely from his father.

My first meeting with Conrad"s father was like a drumbeat that reverberated through me. We fell in love with each other on one of my travels, when I helped him hide from his pursuers. I didn’t care about his position or the fact that he wasn"t a demon. After all, love is the most important thing in the world, and it knows no distinctions!

And then I saw the two tattoos on his left arm. They were the signs used by humans to mark those who have been found guilty of a serious crime and banished from their lands. He was a criminal on the run!

A sinner by virtue of love! How wonderful!

That’s why I always want to be on the hunt for love! As long as there is even the tiniest spark of energy in me, I will draw my bow. Nothing and no one will escape my love"s arrows!