That. That’s what he would miss. Because one day, Lazerath would find a partner. Move on in his life and build a family that was happy and adored by him. He’d have little babies with magic who would grow up and visit their grumpy, lonely uncle less and less until one day Dav justwithered away and no one would bother to notice until his stench became?—
Two hands squished his cheeks, forcing his lips to pucker.
“No sads,” Laz scolded, face pinched in a frown. “You promised.”
Davarox failed to wiggle out of the red demon’s grip. “Fine, fine, I’m just getting it all out now.”
With a huff, Laz released him. “Come on. If anyone makes you feel unwelcome, you know Alighieran will kick them out.”
He’d witnessed it before. Now there was a massive sign installed by the owner of Inferno just above the bar. A running tally of days since they had removed someone from the establishment. And no one woulddareupset them by resetting that number to zero, especially when Alighieran had ears in every corner to make sure their patrons were safe.
To no one’s surprise, that sign boasted one hundred and three days, which likely explained the discounted drink celebrations. Which added to all the additional streamers and demonlights pulsating along the ceiling in a rainbow of colors. They’d been charmed into a pattern, drawing the eye toward the stage where an early performance had just wrapped and glitter and confetti still drifted down to the raised platform.
Noise surged inside the building as the musicians picked up their instruments again, their tune wrapping around the walls with magic while the crowdresumed dancing.
“Oh, table next to demons we know!” Laz grabbed Dav’s sleeve and dragged him to a round bar table with three stools.
The red demon was immediately pulled into a conversation of what performance they had just missed, leaving Dav to clean his seat of glitter as best he could.
“I’m grabbing a drink,” Davarox said over the music, offering a stilted smile to a pink female who quickly apologized for shaking out her confetti-covered hair right where he was trying to walk.
Lazerath said over his shoulder, distractedly, “Yeah, I’ll meet you up there.”
But Davarox froze mid-step. Blinked to make sure the strobing flames and loud music hadn’t completely destroyed his senses.
Felt his tail fall limp.
Because there at the counter was something new.
Something fascinating.
Somethinghuman.
And for the second time in his life, Davarox heard the word scream into his mind.
Mine.
4
DATES WITH A LEDGER DON'T COUNT
Rosalind
“You’re sure nothing has come from the barracks?”
The poor, unsuspecting yellow demon shook her head, eyes wide. “Sorry, Miss.” Rosalind’s foot tapped restlessly, and even though the young demon was a full head taller than her, they nervously took a step back. “There were no reports from the guard.”
Rose blew out a breath. “Okay, right. That’s fine. No news is good news with Kalypso, I suppose. She’s just a little… well, I didn’t think the introduction would go so smoothly.” She went to wipe a bead of sweat from her temple, then realized her hands were full. “Fuck.”
By the time she looked up again, the yellow demon had abandoned her. Well, disappeared. Shehadcornered them on their walk to the privy.
With a huff, she hurried back to Culture’s offices, straightening her posture and plastering on a smile as she pushed through the doors.
Desks lined the aisle all the way to Argeth’s office, and Rosalind dutifully stopped at each one to deliver the appropriate drink order. Most demons ignored her—this was fine, all fine, she told herself—but one groaned that it wasn’t hot enough, to which she politely reminded them they were capable of summoning magical fire and could heat it back up on their own time.
With the last two teas in hand, she slipped through the councilor’s door and took a seat.
“—should think that would suffice.” Argeth at least smiled when accepting the offered drink. “And I need to know what we’re polling.”
