Page 1 of Married to the Devil

1

STELLA

Fuckity fucksticks,I’ve really done it now.

The thudding of my heart makes it hard to focus.

The last few days have been a whirlwind leading to this very moment. I stand in the middle of a hotel room. It’s luxurious in shades of cream and gold but dominated by the giant bed behind me.

I don’t spend much time looking around. My attention is solely on the open doorway where a tattooed gargoyle speaks softly with the guards there.

The dust is settling like after a seismic event, but my insides still quake.

Our guests are enjoying themselves in the hotel ballroom a few floors below us. The wedding ceremony was tense, each contingent expecting violence from the other, but this location is neutral ground, and the bar is open.

Which leaves me alone with myhusbandfor the first time.

Holy fucking shit, I’m married. Each breath I take threatens to escalate into a panic attack at the uncertainty of what lies before me.

But I chose this. I chose what I gained from this anyway. Now I’m dealing with the consequences.

Everything has been a rush. Shutting down my charm making business, signing the engagement contract in blood so that my best friend’s dragon mate could dispose of my father. The monstrosity of a wedding full of false congratulations.

I haven’t even told my mother yet.

I shelf the guilt of that. She would have tried to interfere if she had known. I have a little more time. I’d surprised her with a long cruise when I committed to helping the dragon Kalos take down Lorenzo Leonid.

And now, I have my revenge. The man who rejected my mother and ruined her family after I was a born a witch, rather than a lion shifter, is dead.

I just never knew the cost would be so high. Or that the burn of righteous anger would leave a hollow feeling in my chest that gives more room for the chaotic anxiety of my heart.

In order for Kalos to destroy a fellow territory leader, Lorenzo had to be dethroned from within. Since I’m his oldest daughter, whether he claims me or not, my chosen mate would be able to usurp my father while still keeping within our laws.

Enter Remy Stoneheart. A territory leader eager to grow his holdings who doesn’t mind upsetting those in power.

Even facing away from me as he closes the doors to the room, Stoneheart is as intimidating as his reputation. His dark wings take up space even as they clasp around him like a cloak. The black swirling ink on his chest that distracted me during the ceremony continues over his shoulder and down his spine, the top part obscured by his dark hair pulled into a low ponytail.

A gargoyle with no lineage who ruthlessly built a sizable territory within a decade by conquering small holdings one at a time. He’d earned the title the Devil from enemies and allies alike through his ambition and cold-blooded calculation.

And now he has another title, my husband.

“What now?” I ask.

Stoneheart turns toward me, his horns gleam under the soft light of the room as if they’ve been polished. He isn’t as formally dressed for the occasion as I am, only wearing his usual dark kilt that leaves the gray skin of his chest open for ogling. If one dares to.

The heavy silver rings that generally grace his fingers are absent tonight. The small hoops decorating his ears remain, but he’s removed the labret piercing through his lower lip. I only glance over the mystery before his voice derails my pondering.

“We commence with the wedding night,wife.” His deep voice would have been pleasant if there weren’t an edge to it.

I try to not flinch at the new role I’ve received. This whole situation is ill fit to me. I was a simple witch. Powerless to the politics and feuds that dictated the beginning of my life. A pawn on the chessboard that had already been discarded because of a freak accident of genetics.

My pride and joy had been taking the business I’d poured my time and effort in from scraping by to success.

And now that’s gone. I’m a co-territory leader. A wife to this enigmatic gargoyle who most speak of in whispers.

“Oh.” My exhale is a little shaky. I knew this was coming.

We can’t afford to give the Council who governs the magic community a reason to doubt this union. They’re greedy for legal grounds to strike against Kalos.

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