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“If I don’t mind your boldness?” I cocked my head to the side as I shifted on the bed so that I wasn’t bringing the tray up against Asher. The last thing I wanted to do was cause him to wake before his body was ready to release him from that dark abyss. A part of me felt guilty that I was dining on a delicious meal while he was still out cold, but I quickly buried that. I wasn’t going to hold myself back, allowing my strength to fade away until he regained consciousness.
The smile grew on the maid’s face, although it shifted away from the amused touch and more toward a gentleness that I wasn’t used to seeing. “You are bonded to the prince himself, Quinn. While it may not be official that you are his queen, it is clear that he has the intention of claiming you as such. Which means you carry a rank just below his.”
That was the moment I was relieved that I hadn’t been quick enough to slice into the steak and plop some of the meat into my mouth. There was no doubt in my mind that I would’ve choked on it. While this woman might work for Nico, I couldn’t place my faith that she would come to my rescue to unlodge it from my throat. “Are you serious?”
“Completely, Miss Rossi.” The maid grinned.
As much as the news stunned me, it was the mention of my last name that threatened to weigh me down with nausea. I grimaced. “To be honest, I think I’m going to drop my birth name on that one. Quinn Rossi hasn’t legally been alive for years now.”
She cocked her head to the side with a hint of curiosity now painting her face. “What is it you wish to be acknowledged by then?”
My lips parted, but I didn’t have the chance to answer her before the energy in the air shifted and caused the maid to clam up immediately. From the way she stiffened, I already knew who was drawing close long before the demon lord strolled through the doorway. Stifling a frustrated noise, I reluctantly continued eating on the steak.
“That’s quite enough, Maeve.” Nico drifted past her, giving a quick but firm glare in her direction.
She ducked her head immediately. “Yes, Lord Nico. I apologize for lingering.” Once she added a bow in my direction, she gathered a fist full of her skirts and fled the room.
I sent a glare of my own in his direction “Was that really necessary? She was being polite.”
The demon lord responded with a scoff. He jammed his hands into his suit pockets and drifted into the room until the weight of his magic leaned hard on my aura. Those crimson eyes simply stared at me without a single care in the world. “While I don’t usually mind idle chit-chat, Quinn, now is not the time to allow it. The ruling king has been killed and his runaway daughter has strayed into the arms of our enemy. Unnecessary distractions will be the end of us all if we allow them.”
“Why do I have a feeling you didn’t come up here to remind me of what’s going on?”
A pleased chuckle escaped him. “Very observant, Quinn. That’s because I didn’t come to repeat myself. I have very little patience on that, like Asher. No…” He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m afraid the Council is already aware of the king’s passing, which means they know Asher has received the mark. I just received the call that they’re sending someone here to oversee the tasks you will have to do.”
I stiffened with a squeak, which only seemed to amuse the demon lord a little. “Just me?”
Nico responded with a dismissive wave. “Asher had to do his own tests when he reached a certain age, just to prove he was worthy of taking the throne from Salvatore. These are specifically reserved for you. Especially since you have the blood of the original ruling family running through your veins.”
The direction of the conversation was certainly threatening my hunger to where I was terrified I would end up losing my appetite. Granted, I was so used to eating the bare minimum that this was nothing shy of a feast for me and I doubted that I would manage emptying the plate. I settled for getting a good fraction down before I eased the tray aside. “And the Council is concerned I’ll want to claim the right to rule the throne, pushing Asher aside.”
He clicked his tongue. “Technically, yes.”
“Technically?” My eyes narrowed into thin slits. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’d have to challenge Asher with raw strength. Magic, physical ability, the works. You’re just not quite old enough to have that natural ability, love. If you chose to challenge him, you wouldn’t succeed.” Nico’s crimson eyes flashed with a hint of amusement. “No, the Council simply wants to ensure that thought won’t cross your mind later on down the line.”
I released a weary sigh and rested my weight back on my hands. “Even if I swear I would never challenge him?”
“Hence the tests.”
Of course there wouldn’t be a way around them. From the sound of it, I had absolutely no choice in the matter if I wanted to remain by Asher’s side once he ascended the throne. If it was a test they wanted to throw my way for iron proof, then I’d do whatever was asked of me.
Nico studied me closely while I struggled to regain control over my frazzled nerves. “There is time for Asher to prepare you for the Council, but they’ve made it clear that one of their representatives is in route. You have three weeks until they arrive.”
I balked at him. “It doesn’t take three weeks to fly.”
“They’re not flying.” He arched an eyebrow. “Considering that is how the king’s enemies finally got to him, they’re avoiding all aircraft for the time being. They have just as much of a target on their backs as Asher now does.”
My first thought was immediate relief for the mere fact that I had time to prepare for the Council and what they might throw at me, while also adjusting to the new reality that I faced with Asher rising to the throne. That emotion didn’t last long until I remembered the way the demon lord had jerked me off the prince earlier. My jaw dropped. “Are you telling me that we can’t have sex for the next three weeks?”
It took the demon lord a moment to register just what I had said before his head fell back and his laughter rang off the chamber walls.
“How is that funny?” I fumed, my nostrils flaring. I don’t think this man realizes just how much I treasure my sex life after ending up in Asher’s bed. I was going to end up so deprived that I would probably become too moody even for the prince. Which left me to wonder how we were going to deal with this situation.
His lips curled into a coy smirk. “The two of you will figure it out. Trust me, love, this is going to torment him just as much as it will you.” Chuckling softly, he left the chamber and tugged the door shut behind him. Even with a solid piece of wood, I could still see his laughter until he’d gone back downstairs. Only then did the screams of the damned in his pit finally take over.
I let my head fall back with a groan. With full penetration sex now off the table for several weeks, one could only hope the infamous prince of demons would have some creative ways to help tide us over until penetration was back on the table. As much as I yearned for those weeks to pass in the blink of an eye, something told me that the return of sex came with a twist of its own.
