“No,” I interrupted while pointing at him. “Absolutely not. You do not get to recover from that sentence.”
For maybe the first time since entering Hell, my demon actually looked embarrassed. Not with royal irritation frowning on his face, but with actual embarrassment. That improved my mood.
Before the room could become awkward again, Nina wandered toward one of the enormous black windows overlooking the city below. Then froze in shock.
“…Why are there people outside?” All of us turned. A crowd of demons had gathered far below the palace balcony. Not angry, just curious and excited to meet humans.
I blinked once. “Are those posters?”
The younger brother leaned over the couch trying to look outside better before groaning dramatically. “Oh no. The city found out already.”
Nina stared in disbelief. “Your PEOPLE made fandom propaganda overnight?”
One sign below literally read: THE HUMAN IS PRETTY.
Another: LET THE PRINCE KEEP HER.
And another, horrifyingly written: STRAWBERRIES MEAN MARRIAGE.
I covered my face instantly. “I need to leave this dimension.”
My demon was genuinely offended by the signs. “Why are they discussing fruit publicly?”
“That is your concern?”
One demon below noticed us standing near the window. Then screamed. The entire crowd erupted afterward.
Nina backed away from the glass. “OH MY GOD THEY’RE CHEERING.”
The younger brother looked delighted. “This is the happiest the capital has been in years.”
“That is deeply embarrassing for all of you.”
Meanwhile more demons kept gathering below while palace guards failed miserably at controlling the situation. Someone in the crowd released silver fireworks into the sky. Actual fireworks. Inside Hell. And the sparks formed glowing hearts before exploding.
I stared blankly out the window. “…Your kingdom is insane.”
“We prefer passionate,” the younger brother corrected proudly.
My demon was already one inconvenience away from mass destruction. “Who authorized fireworks.”
“No one,” Anderson answered tiredly while pinching the bridge of his nose. “That is significantly worse.”
Nina gasped dramatically while pointing downward. “WAIT. Someone painted your face on a banner.”
Then the younger brother completely lost control laughing. Because the banner looked absolutely horrible. A massive black cloth stretched across the street below showing an aggressively dramatic painting of me standing beside my demon while silver flames burned around us. Whoever painted it had also added unnecessary sparkles.
“I hate this kingdom,” my demon muttered again.
The crowd below screamed louder the second he appeared near the window beside me.
And then, horrifyingly, they started chanting. Nina collapsed against the couch laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe anymore.
“No,” I whispered. “No, absolutely not.”
The chanting got louder.
“NAME REVEAL.” “NAME REVEAL.” “NAME REVEAL.”
