When a polite knock came from downstairs, I grabbed a dagger from the weapons room and skipped down the steps, calling out, "Coming."
Would it be Dev, with whatever proposition he mentioned last night? I'd kept turning it over in my head while I showered. What was the devil going to ask me? It was inevitable that he was madly in love with me; he probably wanted to marry me in a big, fancy ceremony attended by all the ugliest, most important demons in Hell, and then make fiery babies together.
I'd have to let him down gently. Male feelings could be fragile, let alone maleworld leaderfeelings.
"Aveline Lachesi," I said brightly, swinging the door open, "at your service—oh. Hi."
I didn't know the demon on the other side of the door, but he instantly dipped his sap-green head in a bow, black hair swinging into his face. He was as brightly coloured as a leaf, but he was very polite.
"Your highness. His majesty requests your attendance for breakfast in his personal dining room."
"Ooooh, fancy," I said, grinning. Hispersonaldining room. "Thanks," I said, and patted the guard's?—servant's? messenger's?—shoulder.
He staggered back with a howl.
I swore viciously at my own stupidity.
"Oh, comeon," I growled at my hand, bright red and smoking. "He wasnice; hebowed. Why did we have to kill him?"
Poor guy, he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his shoulder where a handprint singed through the silver and black uniform he wore.
"You probably won't believe this," I said to his dead body, giving my hand a dirty look when magic stopped tingling in my fingers,5"but I usuallymeanto kill people, and I don't feel bad about it afterward. But I'm really sorry; you seemed like a nice leaf."
I closed his eyes with the tips of my fingers, relieved when I didn't burn his face off, and got back to my feet.
Time to find another bright green guy to show me to Dev'spersonaldining room.
* * *
"Hey,"I said, striding into the massive, opulent room where the devil waited for me. "I accidentally killed a guy. Sorry about that."
Dev's lips quirked into a half-smile as he watched me approach the huge table, leaning back in the throne-like dining chair he sat in.
I supposed for a giant like him, this dark room was cosy and small, but for a human it felt like walking into a cavern. A fire roared off to the left, casting the room in a reddish glow and warming my bones.6
"You haven't been awake twenty-four hours, and you're already committing murder?" he asked, smiling deeper, his crimson cheeks high and eyes twinkling.
"You sound almost proud of me," I replied dryly, giving the massive table a dirty look. I felt like Alice when she became tiny in Wonderland. There was no way I could reach the chair to sit on it.
But I was too stubborn not to try. And there wasfoodup there.
I strode across the room, determined, but the middle of the room was covered in a big, grey rug, and I tripped face-first into six-foot-tall loops of wool.
Fibres shoved themselves into my mouth when I groaned, falling hard on my hands and knees. I shuddered, cringing at the wool-on-teeth sensation.7
I spat it out and swore viciously, shoving up to my feet and rubbing my teeth with my fingers to eradicate that awful sensation.
That wasit—I officially hated rugs. Chocolate raisins, injustice, persistent stalkers, andrugs.
"Oh, babygirl," the devil laughed, his deep chuckle earning him a glare when he pushed out of his chair, wood creaking, and came to pluck me out of the rug.
"I want that rug cut into a million teeny, tiny pieces," I hissed, embarrassment heating my face as he carried me like an unruly pet towards the table, and propped me on the wooden surface while he sat in his fancy chair.
Dev snapped his fingers—and I jumped with a gasp when the offensive rug went up in a whoosh of black flames.
Okay, that worked.
"Impressive," I drawled. He had the same black fire as Taj. Must have been a royal family thing. "And thank you."
