Time to use his bargaining chip. He started to shift, his horns and wings burning.

“No fair!” she cried. “Okay, okay. I’ll . . . limit the pranks.”

“Good enough.” He transitioned back, loving her relieved expression. She truly preferred him demonic. Considering her wholehearted approval of this form, he’d even begun to see himself differently.

She grasped his hand and kissed his palm, her eyes shimmering teal.

The color would always remind him of the hellfire tale passed down through his family.

Calliope had taken him to see the towering blue inferno she’d described, but the hellfire had disappeared, its light unnecessary.

Calliope was Sian’s fire, and he was hers.

He muttered in Demonish, “How can I resist you?”

She replied in the same, “But we’re just getting started. . . .”

Pando-Sylvan Trade Negotiations

ROUND 2

Sprawled on their bed, Lila and the demon stared at the ceiling with their limbs tangled.

One of his wings gave a halfhearted flutter, then drooped over the side of the mattress.

She stretched, loving her new role as her queendom’s chief negotiator. Though she’d much preferred to live within Graven, commuting to Sylvan via Uthyr’s portals, she’d acted put out to Abyssian. “Must we live here?” she’d asked. He’d answered, “We must.”

She’d scored all kinds of concessions for Sylvan in that round. She suspected her husband saw right through her, but, man, did he like the games they played.

Now she asked him, “How much did the legions strike today?”

“I fear telling you lest you bleed me for even more.” Abyssian’s peace project was a success. The legions had already hit the mother lode.

Slaughter Gorge was now officially known as the Orelands. Arm in arm, Lila and Abyssian had gazed out over the valley. In Demonish, he’d said, This is for you, brother. My queen and I will honor your legacy and care for hell in your stead. . . .

“They did that well, huh?” Though she acted mercenary about the gold, both Pandemonia and Sylvan benefitted as trade partners and allies. Sylvan had limited gold to pay for imports and no ore for weapons. Pandemonia had no crops and only one slow-growing forest for lumber.

The two realms fit as well as Lila and her demon, needing each other to a symbiotic degree.

“We had a banner day,” he admitted. “So I have much to negotiate with.”

She walked her fingers up his chest. “Then where were we?”

“I was about to mount you from behind and pound your flesh till you scream for me.” He rose up on his knees, reaching for her.

Sexy demon. “I meant with our negotiation.”

“So did I.” He flipped her over on her belly, then maneuvered her to all fours. She could feel his heated gaze as he murmured, “So fucking beautiful.”

Wriggling her ass, she said, “I’m taking a bold position this round. Do you think it’ll pay off?”

Gripping her hips, he gave her curves a light slap. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Pando-Sylvan Trade Negotiations

ROUND 10

With a groan, Abyssian collapsed onto his back. “Mercy, firebrand! You’ll get your gold. You’ll get anything in the godsdamned universe.”

Lila curled up against his side as they caught their breath. “Then these negotiations have officially concluded.” At last, she had power over her own destiny—and others’ as well. Her pie-in-the-sky dreams weren’t so far-fetched after all. “I’ll send you a memo.”

He groaned again.

“Demon, you really do love me, don’t you?”

His thought hit her. —She has no idea.—

She rose up to slide him a grin, her heart ridiculously full.

“There’s that soft look. You really love me as well, do you not?”

—Duh, relic.—

He chuckled, the sound making her toes curl.

She rested her head against his chest. “There is one other boon I’d like from you.”

“Name it.”

“I was really angry at those Sorceri bounty hunters at first, but now, I want to thank them. I’m not saying we should send them a fruit basket or anything, but could you make their dimension stop spinning?”

“I can look into it. And I won’t even demand anything in return from you. I’m thankful as well.”

She lazily grazed her nails over his torso. Wait . . . where’s my— “Oh, shit.” She shot upright. “Have you seen my contraception ring?” She rooted through the tangled sheets.

Abyssian helped her, but they couldn’t find it. “Let me check something.” He traced away, then returned a split second later with the ring. “It was among your jewels.”

“How? I never took it off. . . .” Her eyes went wide. “You think Graven did this?” Was the mystical demonic castle influencing their lives like a fairy godmother?

Abyssian nodded, sitting against the headboard. When he reached for her, she crawled across the bed to him. “I suspect our home would prefer to be filled with younglings sooner rather than later.” He pulled Lila across his lap, then handed her the ring.

What a wild, incredible place for kids to grow up. Hellcats and spiders, hidden corridors and a jade beach, sea creatures and hellhounds.

Uthyr had already volunteered for “pup duty.”

“But I was hoping to enjoy you all to myself for a while.” She slipped the ring back on. “Will Graven take it again?”

“I believe so. It might not happen for a century, a year”—he nuzzled her ear—“or a day. But when it does go missing three times . . .”

She sighed. “We would never refuse a fourth.”

 

EPILOGUE

The storyteller noticed that her audience had grown, and she was pleased that her listeners clamored for the ending of her tale. She told them: ‘You see, our truehearted fairy princess and that cunning dame of darkness clashed—figuratively—and became one: a fitting mate for an adoring beast king with two faces. She would be his consort of Pandemonia, and he would be her consort of Sylvan, two united halves of one whole—for the betterment of all elven- and demonkind. And they lived happily ever (after a bitch of an Accession) after.’ The moral of the story is that the Sylvan fey just allied with Pandemonia and the Møriør.”

The Valkyries who’d gathered to listen to Nïx’s tale exchanged looks, then broke into heated discussions about this development.

“But all fey are our staunch allies!”

“This is how alliances crumble: one power at a time!”

“I would do the dragon. What? Don’t fucking judge me.”

“Why would Nïx aid them?”

“We must take back Sylvan before this hell queen solidifies her rule!”

Amid the chaos, Nïx rose and slipped outside. Gazing up at the stars, she whispered, “Your move, Orion.”