Page 33 of The Demon's Queen

It’s clear he’s about to apologize again. I shake my head. “We don’t have to talk about it again. I may not like what you did, but I’m beginning to understand why.” I glance around. Everyone is so fuckinghappy. “What happens to orphans in this realm?” The question pops out before I have a chance to change my mind.

Azazel tenses slightly before seeming to make an attempt to relax into the gentle sway of our slow dance. “It’s different in every territory, and even in mine, it varies. In most cases, a child would go to the nearest family member.”

My throat feels thick. It’s so silly. I’ve had a lifetime of therapy to work through the loss of my parents. I may have ended up in foster care, but I was one of the lucky ones. Though my first few sets of foster parents passed me on when they got what they really wanted—a baby—my final set weren’t all that bad. Overstretched and drowning, they did their best with what they had. They never hurt their kids. The bare minimum, but better than some of the stories I’ve heard over the years. Getting handed a check and a backpack when I graduated hurt—a lot—but so many people have had it worse.

I don’t know what Azazel reads in my expression. He does me a kindness and continues. “In villages like this, if there’s no family, everyone comes together and decides who is best prepared to take the child—or children. Then the village does what it can to supplement things so that isn’t a burden on the primary caregiver.”

“Is this one of the other things you supplement?”

He glances down. “Yes.”

Of course it is. Because Azazel cares about his people and uses his power to help them on multiple levels. “What about the city?”

“We have specific families and programs that help them.” He meets my gaze steadily. “On its surface, it’s not dissimilar to the foster care system in your world, but those families are all supported—and monitored—on multiple levels. In the villages, everyone will intervene if something goes awry. In the city, it’s more formal. I won’t pretend that every family is perfect or that there haven’t been bad things that happened, but we work hard to ensure the children are protected.”

The awful feeling in my throat gets worse. “That sounds like it’s too good to be true.”

“It’s not a perfect system. In a perfect system, there would be no need for foster families.” He clears his throat. “But there are fewer children who are in need of parents or guardians now than there were when we were constantly at war.”

Damn him. I swallow hard. “You’re making itreallyhard to hate you.”

He smiles wanly. “I’m sorry.” Azazel turns us and moves away from the dancing, though he keeps a hold on my hand. “Let’s get you something to eat and drink.”

The moment we reach the table, he’s mobbed. I nibble on a cake that manages to be both savory and sweet and watch the old folk pass Azazel around. He submits to their questions aboutwhen he’ll get married and have children with faint laughter and an easy diversion that says he’s been through this song and dance plenty of times before. He even kisses a damn baby at one point, holding them easily in his massive hands. I refuse to acknowledge the lurch in my stomach at the sight.

He may not be fully comfortable in this setting, receiving this attention, but he’s quite good at it. And they all clearly love him. Why wouldn’t they? The changes he’s enacted have positively benefited their lives, families, and communities.

It doesn’t excuse the danger he’s put me in... but I’m having a hard time holding on to my anger. This is so much bigger than me. Yes, I wouldn’t be in this mess if he hadn’t spent the last few years as one of my best clients, but... It’s not as if I didn’t enjoy the time with him. It’s not as if I didn’t encourage him to keep booking me, to keep choosing me above the other professionals, even though I knew we were in danger of crossing several of my lines. If I’d told him to leave me alone, he would have.

But I didn’t want him to go.

Alice plops down next to me, an easy grin on her face. “You know, I thought it was one-sided, but you’re gone for him too, aren’t you?” She ignores my shocked expression and keeps chatting in that deceptively casual tone. “Don’t bother to deny it. You’re sitting here watching him like you’re seeing the next fifty, seventy, hundred years stretch out before you and you don’t hate the idea of it.”

I blink. “I’m thirty-five. There’s no way I’ll live another hundred years.”

“You will if you stay here. It has something to do with the magic infused in every bit of our realm. It makes people live longer. And yes, it does apply to humans. Not everyone who makes a deal goes home at the end of their seven years.”

Seven years. Not a lifetime.

My anger tries to bloom again, but it sputters and sparks, not gaining momentum. I’m so damn tired of fighting. I don’t know what that means for my future, but Azazel isn’t a monster. He’s a man who’s made mistakes.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I finally say.

Alice takes a long drink of her beer. “He’s getting close to his limit. I’ll distract them, and you get him out of here.”

I glance at her in surprise. She’s been boisterous and irreverent this whole time, but I should have realized there’s a keen and caring mind under all that attitude. “I can do that.”

“Good girl.” Alice bounces to her feet and moves toward the band. A new song begins, and she lifts her mug over her head. “To Azazel!”

“To Azazel!” the crowd cheers. They flock to Alice, cheering and dancing.

The man himself appears at my side a moment later, looking a little hunted. “How are you holding up?”

“Come on.” I take his hand. “Let’s get out of here.” Within seconds, we’ve slipped away. The sounds of celebration follow us into the trees and then finally fade to silence as we keep walking, putting distance between us and the village.

It’s only when we’ve been accompanied by what I assume are the normal night sounds of the trees—it’s not as if I have much experience with nature—that Azazel slows his stride and squeezes my hand. “Sorry about that. I didn’t expect a full event. I should have, knowing Alice.”

“It was fun.”

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