Page 144 of All's Hell That Ends Well

“I mean,” I said over Mammon’s and Taylor’s laughter, “how did you and Hunky Chunk get together?”

“I object to that nickname,” Belial threw in.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder. “I’m your queen. I can call you whatever I want.”

Mammon chuckled and wiped a tear off the corner of his eye. “This is excellent.”

“Well,” Tay said, hooking her arm through Belial’s, “it all began with a wedding.”

“Sounds familiar,” I muttered.

Laughing, Tay shook her head. “No, this is nothing like your story. Okay, so you know this cousin of mine?”

“The infamous Amber?”

“The very one,” Tay said with a roll of her eyes. “So she was getting married…”

And then she told me all about how needing a date to her frenemy cousin’s wedding had ultimately led to Taylor falling in love with the most unlikely guy, who turned out to be the perfect match for her.

After hours well spent chatting with my best friend, catching each of us up on the other’s life, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Mammon and I flew to the nearest hellgate, which was still hours away from our meeting spot, and when the heat of Hell wrapped around me as I stepped through, I inhaled a deep breath.

Every single cell in my body sighed at the feel of being in my own realm again. When Lucifer had crafted this dimension, he’d done so, unwittingly, with the power of death and had consequently infused much of this world with that energy. It was like he’d carved a piece of himself out of his spirit and created this realm, and now that Azazel and I had taken over the power of death from him, Hell itself felt as familiar to us as our own bodies. Much of this dimension lived and breathed in sync with us.

And all of the animals born of this realm instinctively gravitated toward us, which was how I’d found myself with dragons wanting to cuddle at the most inopportune times, and every hellhound I met wanted to be my best friend.

Now, as I walked through the palace, repairs and updates happening all around me, a pack of inferni followed me, and contrary to my first encounter with that predatory species that was a mix of feline and canine, they didn’t intend to eat me. They simply trailed me around sometimes, as if keeping me company.

When I stepped into the throne room, which was filled with members of the court, supplicants, and emissaries from the outer territories, my powers—both those born of my demon nature, and the cold one taken from Lucifer—rose in anticipation, in recognition.

Even across the distance from the dais with the two thrones on it to the massive double doors, Azazel sensed my presence, for his head snapped in my direction, and he signaled for the demon currently talking to him to be quiet.

The demons around me noticed me then, and immediately, they fell to their knees or bowed deeply, depending on their rank, and murmurs of “Your Grace” went through the crowd.

While I crossed over to the dais, the rows of demons parting before me, Azazel watched me with hungry eyes from where he sat on the throne, looking every inch the ruthless ruler.

“Court dismissed,” he said, his voice carrying into the farthest corners of the room.

It was a testament to how much respect and authority he’d already garnered among our people that every single demon rushed to comply with his command, even though many of them must have had cause to speak with him. In the time it took me to reach the dais and ascend the steps, the entire throne room had emptied.

It was only Azazel and me, and the bond glowing between us.

My gaze fixed on him, I closed the distance to his throne, and then I climbed onto his lap and straddled him.

Resting one hand on my hip, he thrust his other into my hair and pulled me to him until our lips were only an inch apart. “Welcome home, love,” he murmured against my mouth.

I smiled into the possessive kiss with which he claimed me, while my soul hummed with pleasure and love.

Yes. Now, I was home.

---