Page 8 of The Demon's Queen
Now, there’s only Sol remaining. The dragon considers me for a long moment, and I can practically see him weighing whether it’s worth challenging me over the fact that he truly has no choice. “White.” It’s a good pairing. Sol is honorable to a fault, and Briar’s soul is bruised from the abuse of her now-dead husband. He’ll take great care with her, which is all I can ask for.
“Perfect.” I clap my hands together, signaling for the light to go up. “Let’s get these contracts taken care of.”
It takes hours, despite everyone being eager to take their respective human and retreat to their territory. We have a good set of leaders in this generation. Even Thane and Bram, carrying so much loss that it threatens to crush them, are fair, if not kind. Sol is a teddy bear, as Ramanu is so fond of saying. Rusalka is a leader I respect deeply, and we already discussed my concernsover her human, Belladonna, not advocating for herself. There is no reason for the stress wrapping around my spine and threatening to crush me.
I am particular about who I offer contracts to. I have been even before becoming territory leader. Yes, a bargainer’s power grows with each bargain signed and sealed, but offering one means taking responsibility for another person’s well-being. Since becoming leader, I’ve only made one deal and it went badly. In the wake of that it was easier to make no deals at all. I had a whole territory to worry about, and adding more to my plate—even if resulted in more power—was too much to ask for.
Until now.
Creating five bargains and sending four of the humans involved off to live outside my domain and outside my control... I clench my fists. They’ll be fine. According to the contracts each of the leaders signed, they will default their territories to me if their human is harmed.
If I thought any of the other leaders would be careless with their prizes, I never would have made this offer. I can’t say they are all good matches, based on what I know of both the humans involved and the leaders, but hopefully things will fall out for the best.
As the last pair files out, heading for the portal that will transport them back to their home, I don’t have an excuse for avoiding Eve any longer.
I sigh and head for her room, where she was escorted back after the others were chosen. I trail my hand along the stone wall. “Keep an eye on her, please. She’s liable to get into trouble on her own.”
The castle isn’t technically sentient, but it’s close enough, so it’s a good idea to be polite and ask for what I want instead of demand it. Whichever leader in generations long past imbued the building with magic to shift and mold at will, I don’t thinkthey intended the place to end up with a will of its own. But magic and time have a way of playing with even the clearest of intent.
Case in point, it should be a five-minute walk to reach Eve’s room. The castle must sense my reluctance, because it takes me fifteen to reach her door.
I pause. There’s no avoiding this forever, and the longer I put it off, the worse it will be. I lied to her. I tricked her. And now I’m going to reveal myself to be a monster to her human eyes. I have enough magic that Icoulddraw my human glamor around me, but it’s difficult in this realm, and more importantly, it would only extend the lie.
I have her for a lifetime, and if she hates me for the entirety of it, at least she’ll be alive to hate.
With one last aborted sigh, I knock firmly on the door. It cracks open immediately, the castle allowing me entry before Eve has a chance to decide for herself. When I don’t immediately push the door open, it creaks wider on its own.
“Not helping,” I mutter.
And then she’s there, standing before me in her yellow dress, her dark eyes stony. “I’m overstimulated and not in the mood. Leave me alone.”
“Eve.”
It’s agony to watch the expressions that play across her face. Shock, fear, uncertainty. She buttons it all up in seconds, but it’s clear that she recognizes my voice, and it’s equally clear that she doesn’t know what to think of me in this form.
She clears her throat. “Azazel? I thought you sounded familiar in the other room, but...”
But I look nothing like the man she’s known for years. “I’m sorry for how things occurred. You’re safe here.” Necessary words, for all that they feel inadequate.
She blinks, her uncertainty melting away to reveal pure rage. “You kidnapped me.”
“You signed the contract.” I register that it’s the wrong thing to say immediately and hold up my hands. “I understand that?—”
“I signed a contract you led me to believe was role-play!” She clenches her fists. “Did you kidnap the others too? Did you fuck them before they signed their lives away? And now yousoldthem. You’re a monster.” She flicks a derisive glance over my body, for all that I tower over her in my true form. “And it has nothing to do with how you look.”
I flinch. I can’t help it. “I haven’t fucked anyone but you in years.” I don’t intend to speak that truth, but it lands in the space between us. I watch her discard my words as lies, and I have no one to blame but myself. Because Ididlie to her.
Just not about this.
“Even if that were true, what do you want? A cookie?” With every word, she draws her composure tighter around herself, closing me out. “I am not, and never was, your girlfriend. You were aclient.”
It’s the truth. There’s no reason for it to sting. I’m no lovestruck fool to think that she shares my feelings, no matter how much she seemed to enjoy our time together. I clear my throat. “And I didn’tsellthe others. The contracts were renegotiated.”
“Renegotiated.” She snorts. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.” She crosses her arms under her generous chest. “Are we done? Being in your presence is making me sick to my stomach.”
I want to roar my frustration, but I haven’t gotten to where I am today by letting my anger flare outward. Control is everything, and control is all I currently have to help me deal with Eve. I take a measured step back. “You’re free to explore the castle as you like. No one here will harm you.”
She narrows her eyes. “And if I want to leave?”