Page 83 of Pain

Maxar gave him a confused look. “I keep telling you, not all of us have our monarch on speed dial. I have no idea if Anysa wants the crown or not. I’m not in her court.”

Zandren’s brows furrowed, and he crossed his arms over his chest, pouting a little. “Don’t have speed dial. Don’t even have a phone,” he murmured.

“And it’s a power challenge, not a democratic challenge? Like they can’t vote me out. I would have to be vanquished in a ring of some sort?” Omaera asked. “But that could happen, right? Any ol’ demon could waltz in off the street and challenge me to a battle? And they could kill me, right?”

Reluctantly, we all nodded.

“Fucking great,” she murmured. “I didn’t even want this job to begin with, and now I’m the only option? And if someone else wants it, I literally have to fight to the death to keep it.” Her eyes widened and she sat up straighter in her seat. “What if Iletthe person win? What if they’re not some schmuck who is determined to turn the Realm FUBAR, but actually a decent dude, or dudette, and I just say ‘Uncle—’” She blanched and rolled her eyes. “Wrong word choice. I knew it the moment it came out of my mouth. Sorry.”

Everyone but me snorted.

She continued. “What if I wave the proverbial white flag? Why does it have to end in death?”

“It doesn’thaveto end in death,” I said. “But itcan.”

“The plan Drak came up with last night will help sus out your alliances,”Kenvin said. “Particularly Anysa. She’s the wildcard. We know Ryden will be with you, and Howar is with Lerris—”

“Or, he has an agenda all his own and Lerris is no more than a pawn,” I cut in, the betrayal of my cousin still a burning coal in my gut.

“Or that,” Kenvin agreed. “Either way, we know his allegiance is not with the Queen. So we need to figure out who Anysa sides with, and we need to neutralize Lerris once and for all.”

“Do you think there could be a coup here in Hell? Or in the entire demon world, if we neutralize Lerris—and Howar?” she asked. “Is my immortality going to be spent always sleeping with one eye open because somebody out there is gunning for my crown?”

“Kind of the way it goes being the monarch, baby girl,” Maxar said with an apologetic shoulder lift.

She was thoroughly unimpressed. “Fantastic.” She cracked her neck side to side. “Well, then I guess we better get training and practicing some more, huh?”

Shoy and Kenvin shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“What now?” Omaera asked.

“Lerris went to Quintella for something. We don’t know what. Either way, he’s taking that back to Earth—back to Howar. You need to set the trap now.”

Omaera seemed to be the only one surprised at that. Zandren, Maxar, and I had all seen war of some variation, and we knew that you could only train and strategize for so long before you had to eventually take those skills, however minimally honed they might be, and go on the offense. It was better for us to trap Lerris than to wind up in another one of his traps. We needed to be proactive.

I also needed to get to the bottom of Howar’s plan and neutralize it.

“B-but,” Omaera sputtered, “I’m not ready.”

Kenvin nodded. “While I agree, I will also say that your level of improvement in the very short span of time since you’ve come here is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. You are an impressive and powerful demon, Omaera. I’m not sure how much more I can teach you. All you need now is practice, and you can do that anywhere.”

Her face fell and she sulked. “Just when I was beginning to not completelyhateHell, you’re kicking me out.”

That made the old demon chuckle. “You’re always welcome back.”

Shoy’s brows nearly met his salt-and-pepper hairline. “Wow, Your Majesty. You must have really made an impression on Kenvin here. This old goat normally hates everyone.” He playfully slapped Kenvin on the back, though the older demon didn’t seem too impressed.

“So … do we leave tomorrow morning at first light, or is this like a ‘pack your bags and get gone right this minute’ kind of thing?” Omaera asked, shifting her worried gaze between all of us. Sometimes, given the level of confidence and power she’d so quickly assumed, I forgot that she was just a twenty-two-year-old woman who onlyjustdiscovered she was part of our realm. Her wide-eyed innocence hit me hard in the solar plexus.

But before I could comfort her, Zandren was out of his chair, picking her up, and plunking her into his lap as he sat down in her seat. “Little One,” he said softly, nuzzling her. Jealousy licked through me hot, sticky, and uncomfortable. He rubbed her back, knocking me with his bulky elbow in the process.

“First light tomorrow is fine,” Kenvin said, his gaze softer than I’d ever seen it as he nearly broke a smile for her. “That way you have all day to find the portal. No need to risk the desert with nighttime encroaching.”

Only a glimmer of relief flickered in the deep-green of Omaera’s eyes. She swallowed and studied Maxar, then me, asking us each a thousand questions without saying a word.

I nodded solemnly. “First light. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can lay the trap. Kenvin and Shoy are right, we don’t know what Lerris or Howar are planning. We need to play offense.”

“And while you’re taking care of the plague that is Lerris, we’ll do what we can here to curry your favor among the demons of Hell.” Shoy gave an affirmative nod. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

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