“So you know I’m with Jesse?”
I nodded, hugged her tight. Though there had been sacrifices, they’d been totally worth it to get to this moment. Even the time spent riding as a captive in my own body—that was worth it.
Shan asked, “How are we getting out of here? And where is here?”
“In due time,” I said. “I have your things.”
I beckoned the servant and told him to fetch her backpack. Most of the items had stopped functioning—out of charge—but it should comfort her to get them back. That accomplished, I turned and strode back to where Caim waited on his knees. I stumbled as Ninlil wrested control from me. Conflict raged as to how to judge his fate. On one hand, a show of strength might be necessary. If I crushed him for what he’d done in the human realm and his part in holding Shannon hostage, it should chasten the Hazo. But one never knew how the warrior caste would react. Instead of being fearful, they might be roused to rebellion. I tapped a finger against my cheek, studying Caim where he knelt.
“What should I do with you?” I asked aloud.
He dared tilt his face back. The demon knight was a creature of terrifying violence and basest evil—and he feared me.
The creature licked his tusks with a nervous tongue. “You cannot suffer me to live, my queen. For what I did, I must be stripped of my powers and destroyed. Otherwise all would take your mercy for weakness.”
“Queen—,” Shannon started to say, but I lifted a hand, demanding silence.
He was right. I could not begin my reign on a low note.
“Because you were bound when you attacked me, I will permit you to choose your successor.”
“I thought it might come to this,” Caim said heavily. “I brought him.”
“Then let us see it done.”
In short order, another Hazo joined us. I could tell he was younger, a little frightened at seeing the knight on his knees. It would be good if he came into his power both fearing me and in my debt for raising him up. That beginning boded well.
“Caim, you are judged guilty of treason,” I intoned. “Therefore, I strip you of your rank, your power, and your life.”
“So be it,” the demon said softly.
He had known he would not receive clemency, I thought, even with Shannon in his care, though if he had hurt her, his end would have been a thousand times as painful. I turned my attention to the other Hazo.
“Are you ready to be invested as the new knight of your caste?”
The young Hazo swallowed. “I am.”
“What is your name?”
“Zet.”
“Kneel, Zet.” Once he did, I continued the ceremony, though it had been so long since I’d performed it. “Do you swear to serve me in all things, to set my will above your own, and obey my commands without question?”
“I do so swear.”
I slammed a hand on each of their brows. Instinct, as it came back to me. The power peeled away from Caim at my touch, and my body became the conduit, funneling incredible amounts of demon magick. It occurred to me, belatedly, that there might be consequences from this. My physical form was human and had not been created for such work. Regardless, I held on, even as the connection became painful. Darklight swirled about me in jagged pulses.
Through raw agony, I maintained the link until Caim fell forward onto his clawed palms. New purpose radiated from the young Hazo knight. I turned and demanded, “A blade.”
My servant brought one that had been mounted on the wall. “Zet, as your queen, I give your first command. Take his head.”
Shannon opened her mouth to protest, but I pinned her with a look that made her step back. Her eyes wide, she gave me room to finish what I’d started. Zet rolled his head on a muscular neck and then took the sword; in one ferocious swing, he cleaved through Caim’s throat. The severed head bounced away in a spatter of blood. It was hard for me to remember why I had feared the creature. It seemed so weak and pitiful now.
“Zet, you stand as the new knight. You have proven your strength and loyalty this day. So long as you remain steadfast, your caste need fear no reprisal from me. Soon, I will call upon the Hazo in my extermination of the Saremon.”
He dropped to one knee, amid the black ichor staining the tiles. “Your will shall be done, my queen.”
“Splendid. You may go.”
The young knight turned with new confidence, striding toward the double doors while barking orders to the lower-ranking demons who had accompanied Caim and Zet from the Hazo complex. Soon the throne room had emptied except for Shannon, me, and the servants already removing the corpse.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Shannon said shakily. “You look like Corine, but…you aren’t. Is this another trick? Are you a shape-shifter?”
This was complicated to explain—and she seemed to be the verge of all-out panic. I didn’t move toward her. “Send a runner for Chance,” I said to a nearby maid.
That calmed her slightly. “Chance is here?”
“He came with me to rescue you.”
She scowled at me. “No offense, but this is the worst rescue ever. You waited for them to bring me to you and you seem to be in the midst of a coup.”
“I’m doing what I must,” I said.
A tense silence resulted while we waited. To his credit, Chance arrived quickly. The consort greeted her with a half hug, and she clung to him as if to convince herself that we couldn’t both be evil shape-shifters.
“You’re safe,” he said. “Greydusk said they wouldn’t dare hurt you, if they intended to use you to make amends, but it must’ve been terrifying.”
Her head jerked in a quick nod. At once, I wanted to level the Dohan compound; they were the ones who used her as bait. But I couldn’t afford to make such a drastic move until after my first court. I needed to assess how many castes would throw in with me and how many would support the Saremon. At this point I couldn’t satisfy my personal desire for retribution; it could wait until I consolidated my power. I had a long memory.
“Let’s go somewhere more comfortable to talk.” I gestured to the throne room, which had been designed to intimidate.
“Agreed.” A shiver ran through her, but she followed me toward the study, which was smaller and more intimate.
I chose a seat in the grouping of chairs away from the desk. These furnishings had been taken directly from a Saremon warehouse. Hard not to take pleasure in that. More to the point, this should help set Shannon at ease. I didn’t expect her to take the news well, but she would come around.
After we all settled, I ordered refreshments. Chance sat beside me, his knee pressed against mine. I took more comfort than I should in his presence. I’d monitor this attachment to ensure it didn’t become problematic. Once the food and drink arrived, I summarized the situation for her.
“She’s kidding.” Her gaze cut to Chance, begging another explanation.
“Unfortunately, no.” He was no more pleased about my ascension than Shannon was.
Their reactions puzzled me. Why didn’t they want a better life? “Things are unsettled at the moment, but once I get the city in hand, it will be magnificent.”
Shannon gaped at me. “So that’s it. You’re not even going to try to leave?”
“Do you know how they opened the gate to get us here?” I asked softly.
“I wasn’t exactly in a position to check out the process, no.”
“They destroyed a human soul to get you here, Shannon. And then another, when I followed. Do you know what that means?”
“Oh, shit.” She grasped the heart of the matter right away. I felt a flicker of guilt at manipulating her this way, since the destruction of a human soul was not, in fact, why I was staying. “So to go home, we’d have to do it again.”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “No afterlife. No reincarnation. Just fuel for the gate. I’m not doing that again. I didn’t know before, when I came through. I do now.”
“So you figured while you’re here, why not make the best of it?” She tried a smile, but her heart was breaking.
It had just dawned on her. No more dreams. No Jesse. Nothing but Sheol and Xibalba until the day she died.
“I’m sorry. Ultimately I’m the reason you’re here. And I wouldn’t have chosen this for you.”
“Well, you didn’t choose it either. You only came because of me—and that means a lot. Obviously I’m not okay with sacrificing some poor bastard either, just so I can go to college and have some kids someday.”
I nodded. The human half of me had understood she would feel this way. I’d used that awareness shamelessly, and by Chance’s expression, he knew. But he didn’t comment on my management of the situation. He only stared at his hands.
Shannon went on. “I only wish there was some way for me to get word to Jesse. I’m not sure if you knew this, but he’s got major emotional damage.”
She went on to tell me things I didn’t care about, like how he didn’t trust himself because he could be swayed by other people’s emotional states and how he feared he’d never fall in love for real, just spend his life in a depressing spiral of serial monogamy. But I listened because I felt I should at least pretend to be like the woman she remembered, even if that person—at best—was only able to whisper from the back of my head. Eventually, she ran out of words and then she cried. I put an arm around her and Chance stroked her hair.
Finally she said, “Thanks for letting me get that out. It’s been a really shitty few weeks.”
“For us too,” Chance murmured.
Shannon nodded. “I guess nobody sets out to get trapped in hell.”
“Do you have a moment, my queen?” Greydusk stood at the study door, bearing some papers I needed to sign.
“Of course.” I read them over before scrawling my signature where he indicated—not that I didn’t trust him, but in all honesty, I didn’t. I trusted no one. That was what it meant to rule.