“Use the outside fork,” Victor murmured. “Demon etiquette follows French service.”
“Of course it does.” She picked up the correct fork. “Because why make anything simple?”
“Simplicity is for creatures with short lifespans.”
“How romantic.”
His lips twitched. “I’ve been told I need to work on that.”
“By who? Serena?”
“By Derek, actually. He has opinions about my dating life.”
“Derek has opinions about everyone’s dating life.” She managed a bite of the salmon. It didn’t taste like it was pulsing, at least. “Did he tell you about his disaster with the barista?”
“In excruciating detail.”
Between courses, Victor explained dinner conventions: never eat food that’s actively moving, toast with the left hand, don’t compliment the chef unless prompted.
“Why not?”
“Just trust me.”
At the next table, a conversation drifted over: two demons discussing portfolios like stockbrokers at a cocktail party.
“…the Queens holdings have been particularly productive. Fifteen years of cultivation, and the returns are finally maturing…”
Ava’s attention snagged onQueens. Fifteen years. But before she could hear more, Victor’s hand found her knee under the table, and the conversation shifted to something about European markets.
Coincidence, she told herself. Queens was a big place. Lots of holdings. Lots of investments.
The pendant sat heavy against her sternum, dense as a held breath.
Other demons approached throughout the meal. Victor introduced her as “my companion, Ava,” his thumb tracing patterns on her hand. She deflected invasive questions with practiced smiles, using the time to catalog tells: which demonswere genuinely curious, which were testing boundaries, which were reporting back to Lilith.
“You’re doing well,” Victor said during a lull.
“I haven’t stabbed anyone with a shrimp fork yet.”
“The night is young.”
She looked at him sharply. Caught the barest hint of humor in his dark eyes.
“Was that a joke? Did Victor Morningstar, demon lawyer extraordinaire, actually make a joke?”
“I have been known to wield humor on occasion.”
“When? The Renaissance?”
“The Restoration, actually. The Renaissance was exhausting.”
This time, she was the one fighting laughter. “You can’t just casually mention living through historical periods.”
“Why not? You casually humiliated one of the most powerful demons in North America.”
“Lilith? That was different.”
“How?”
