“We’d help more if we could,” said the smallest war demon from his position under Iggs’s left boot. “You’re the rebel queen, right? The one Gilgamesh spared because Prince Adrian begged him?”
Bex winced at the mention of Adrian’s name after the hated titlePrincethen winced again when she saw how the young demon was looking at her. It felt every kind of wrong to meet that hopeful look when she had no horns or royal name or divine sword to cut him free. Still, Bex had been doing this queen thing for a long time now, and she knew exactly what reply was needed.
“I am Rebexa,” she lied. “Queen of Wrath and Ishtar’s Sword.”
The young demon’s dark eyes were huge by the time she finished. “I knew it!” he cried, thrashing against Iggs’s weight as he tried to get closer. “The old folks always said you’d come for us! So is it true? Have you finally come to free the Hells?”
Bex dropped her eyes at once. Hoo boy, how to answer that? She was still struggling for the right thing to say when Kirok reached down and snatched the boy’s helmet off to cuff him behind the horns.
“You do not ask questions of a queen,” the old general snapped. “Now get up and get out of that armor. Quick now!”
The war demons looked disappointed, but they did as they were ordered, taking off their golden armor and piling it on the ground at Kirok’s feet as fast as they could. They stole glances at Bex the entire time, and eventually she couldn’t take it any longer.
“Let me get those collars off you, at least,” she said, walking over.
She wanted to give them totally clean necks, but she couldn’t burn their slave bands without Drox. She should still be able to cut the collars off their necks with the sin-iron dagger, though. When she looked over to ask Lys if she could borrow their knife, however, the lust demon was still crouched on top of the fallen warlock.
The human was long dead, but Lys still hadn’t stopped stabbing their black knife into his chest. They were raising their arms to stab him again when Bex stepped forward to grab their elbow.
“It’s okay,” she whispered when they jerked. “It’s okay, Lys. He’s dead.”
“He can’t be dead,” Lys growled in a voice Bex had never heard from them before. “He hasn’t paid enough yet. Do you know how many times I was banished back to this place? What warlocks like this one did to me? Toallof us?” Their still-raisedarms quivered in Bex’s grip as Lys bared their small fangs. “I shouldn’t have killed him so fast. I should’ve made himhurt.”
“We will,” Bex promised, using her still-superior strength to pull Lys toward her until the lust demon lost their balance and toppled into her arms. They landed against her chest with a sob, dropping the black dagger at last so they could wrap their arms around her.
“It’s okay,” Bex said, doing her best to copy Adrian’s soothing tone as she petted the soft hair between Lys’s short horns. “You’re safe, Lys. I’ve got you. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
It felt so odd, comforting the person who’d been her parent multiple times over. It must have been the right move, though, because Lys clung to her like a child. Their body shifted as they bawled, becoming smaller and younger as they clung to their queen. The outburst lasted less than a minute before Lys pulled it back together, but Bex didn’t let them go. She held on as tight as she could, squeezing Lys into her body until they finally went limp in her arms.
“Sorry,” they whispered after a long silence. “I didn’t realize it would hit me that hard.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Bex insisted. “You have every right to be angry, but I swear we’re going to fix this. I’m going to get back my sword and my fire, and then we’ll rip this place open like a rotten log. We’ll tear down Heaven and smash the Hells, and none of Gilgamesh’s lackeys will ever have the power to hurt you again. I swear it, Lysanae.”
That was a reckless oath to make when they were only supposed to be here for a limited mission. It must’ve been the right one, though, because Lys let out a long, relieved breath.
“I believe you,” they said, pulling back just enough to lower their horns. “I’ve always believed, my queen.”
Bex knew they did. Lys had always been her most steadfast supporter, but Bex herself was having second thoughts. She’djustordered everyone to stay on mission. It was the only sensible strategy, because no matter how much they all hated this place, they couldn’t defeat the Hells with five people, a cat, and a sentient broom. This was supposed to be a stealth intrusion, dammit, but when Bex felt Lys start shaking against her again, all she could think about was how she was going to tear this whole place down with her teeth.
That was not a good mindset for what was supposed to be a precise, disciplined mission, but Bex wasn’t the only one feeling it. Iggs was already showing off his bag of weapons to the young war demons and bragging about how much damage he was about to do. The kids were eating it up, and honestly, Bex couldn’t blame them. If she’d still had her fire, she’d already be blazing with fury. That sort of power was beyond her reach now, though. She’d gone from her demons’ champion to their weakest link. If she was going to lose her head and plunge in with no sword, no fire, no plan, and no reincarnations to pick her back up when she inevitably failed, she might as well jump off the cliff now and save everyone the trouble.
That angry thought was enough to kick some sense back into her. But while Bex was determined to be nothing but mature, strategic, and responsible from this moment forward, there was no reason not to help the demons right in front of her. She kept holding Lys until they stopped shaking, and then she scooped the sin-iron knife off the ground, cleaned the warlock’s blood off it, and walked back over to the four war demons Kirok and Iggs were keeping an eye on.
“Hey,” she said, striking a deliberately casual tone in the hope that the new demons would forget they were talking to someone who was supposed to be an all-powerful daughter of Ishtar. “You guys ready to get your collars off?”
All four of them bowed their horns at once. “Great queen,” said the biggest. “Thank you for your generous offer, but we couldn’t possibly—”
“Yes!” cried one of the younger ones, snapping his head up to give Bex a desperate look. “Get this horrid thing off me!”
“Brother, no!” the four-armed demon snapped. “If the warlocks see—”
“They’re going to punish us anyway,” the young one argued. “We let our warlock get killed. They’re going to shove us into the smelters no matter what, so I’m not going to miss getting this stupid poison ring off my neck for once in my life.”
The other two were nodding furiously by the time he finished, but the one who looked the most moved was Iggs.
“No one’s getting shoved into anything,” the wrath demon said fiercely. “My queen is the Wrath of Ishtar! As soon as she gets her hand back, she’s going to—”
“Iggs,” Bex said quietly.
