“Be grateful the mer queen isn’t your mom,”Kenji piped up from his spot on the window seat. He sniffed the air and then snickered when Fig trotted in with an apple in his mouth.
“Yes…eat more fruit, pig,” Kenji whispered, licking his lips and salivating. “Roast piggy, yum.”
I gasped in horror and swung a cushion at my evil kitsune, but he blinked away.
Dad continued swiping on his smartphone as Maverick dropped three cookies on a plate for me and then removed the rest before Dad could help himself to any more. Despite how dangerous my father was, none of my males seemed scared of him.
“He’s not scary, pet,” Zane said in my head. “Besides, if he hurts us, you’ll melt him.”
True. Dad might be the demon king, but his magic didn’t behave the same as mine. He could wield shadows and snatch souls, but my magic melted people thanks to the fire element. It was way cooler.
Still, I found it amusing how everyone apart from my mates acted like he was the scariest person in the room.
With Dad’s support, Adam had had no issues taking over Tiberius’s role in the Mage Council and the Supernatural Council. Dad announced he stood behind Adam, and if anyone didn’t like it, all they had to do was file a complaint with Azimoth, his second-in-command. Nobody did, of course.
The human leaders had taken one look at my father’s hellfire glowing eyes and immediately dropped all threats of retaliation for causing so much damage around the Mage Council headquarters.
Not even the new head of the Nightshade Coven, who’d stepped into Brianna’s designer shoes, raised a complaint.Poor Brianna.We’d shoved her into a home for senile witches with dementia. It seemed the best place for her. The witch doctors kept her medicated and let her paint pictures of flowers and bunnies.
Adam reckoned she had less than a year, but if she stuck around too long, I’d speed things up.
Nula had fully recovered, much to everyone’s surprise. It turned out that having her eagle back was the push she needed to begin healing both physically and mentally. That and being given a fresh opportunity to get to know her son without fear of her abusive husband hurting either one of them.
She and Alaric had spent many hours over the last few days talking about mundane things, and I knew how happy their conversations made him.
Fig gobbled down his apple, core and all, and then scuttled away in search of more snacks.
“I have a gift for you,” Dad announced when he’d finally worn me down over the portal issue.
“Gift?” My eyes narrowed.
“Yes, I had my most trusted arch-demon arrange a designer to create a lovely bedroom for you. For when you come and stay in my palace.” He flashed me a toothy smile, which made me nervous.
“Come and stay?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to visit the demon realm. Surely it would be too hot and smell of sulfur?
“Yes, darling. It’s your home, after all, and you are the heir to the throne. My subjects are excited about meeting their princess.”
“The same subjects who have tried to kill me several times?”
“That’s open to interpretation, darling. I sent my best minions to find you. They may have been a bit too enthusiastic in their retrievalmethods, which they paid for.” He scowled before switching back to a blinding smile. “But that’s all in the past. I finally found you. Now come and see your lovely new bedroom. Melchior tells me this design is all the rage for girls in the human realm.”
With a deep sense of misgiving, I took his phone and stared at a photo of a bedroom that looked like someone had vomited Pepto Bismol everywhere. Pink. So much pink.
Oh my goddess, it was hideous. I’d have a migraine if I slept there.
“You don’t like it?” My father slammed his fist down on the table at my horrified expression. Shadows seeped out, filling the room. Something clattered in the kitchen, and a spark of alarm shot down the bond between me and my bear. My other mates piped up, asking if I was okay.
“I’m fine. Just not happy about my hideous pink bedroom at Dad’s place.
“General Melchior will die for this!” Dad roared. “He told me you’d love it!”
“I can see where you get your penchant for dramatics from now,” Kenji observed from where he’d blinked back into the room with a sausage in his mouth.
“Chill, Dad. It’s, um, different, but I don’t…hate it.” Lies came more easily than I’d like, but I supposed it was my demonic heritage. Demons lied all the time, right?
“You like it?” The shadows disappeared.
“It’s lovely.” Sure, I’d probably have nightmares if I ever slept there, but hopefully my mates would help distract me.
