The Demon’s Queen (A Deal With A Demon)

Aside from that mess with Mina and her vampire lovers, no one has attempted to summon me in longer than I care to count. It takes me several long beats admit to understand what the gentle tugging in my chest means. Longer still to give in to the pull.

I have no interest in contracts and deals at the moment. In the days since I delivered Eve home, it’s rapidly become clear that I’ve made a terrible mistake. Everything is wrong. The light is dimmer. Food tastes of nothing. Everyone is furious with me, from Ramanu to the damned castle. They don’t understand.

If I hadn’t taken her home the first moment I could, I never would have. I’m not proud of that realization. Letting the woman I love wither away to nothing, trapping her in a life away from everything she’s ever known, welcoming her hate because at least that means she’s feeling something for me . . . I would have done it.

That makes me a monster.

I endure Ramanu’s spiked silence and Lenora’s cutting remarks. I don’t complain when the castle makes every trip four times as long as it needs to be. I even endure a strongly worded letter from Alice about how I’ve fucked up.

And now someone has the audacity to summon me. The tug in my chest becomes stronger, more insistent. They aren’t giving up. I should kill them where they stand. I’m certainly in the mood for it. But when I materialize in the human realm, it’s not a stranger outside the summoning circle.

It’s Eve.

She’s not alone. At her right, Pope lounges against the arm of her sofa, dressed in a suit with far too many buttons undone to be entirely decent. At her left, the witch responsible for the summoning, a white man with short blond hair and a world-weary expression. He sits back the moment I become corporeal. “Good luck.”

“Thank you for your service. Your fee has already been deposited,” Pope drawls. Their gaze rakes over me. “This is your true form? I have to say I prefer it.”

It’s only then that I realize my glamor hasn’t taken hold. Maybe that’s something to be concerned about, but I can’t quite manage to focus on anything but her. Eve kneels just outside the circle. She’s still wearing the same thing she was when I brought her home, loose pants and a tunic. Her hair is even the same, braided back from her face. “How long?”

“Less than twenty-four hours.”

I look around the space. This must be Eve’s apartment. I’ve never had cause to visit—some lines shouldn’t be crossed, even for prospective bargains—but it feels like her. “What am I doing here, Eve? You have no reason to be dissatisfied with the terms of the nullification. I gave you enough money that you should never have to work again if you’re not interested.”

Pope hisses out a curse under their breath, and Eve looks at me like she wants to bludgeon me with something. She shakes her head. “You’re a damned fool, Azazel.” She reaches behind her and produces a single sheet of paper. “I want a new contract.”

My racing thoughts slam to a standstill. “What?”

“New terms.” She waves the paper at me. “Read it.”

But I can’t make my body move. “The only thing you wanted the entire time you were with me was to be free.”

“Yes. Freedom.” She waves the paper again. “That word has many meanings. Read it.”

I carefully take the paper and scan it. I reach the end, and my confusion only blooms. I read it again. And then a third time. “What is this?” On the fourth time through, things start to click into place. “You’re . . . proposing.”

“Yes,” Eve says primly. “You offered me a lifetime contract before. I want a new one—on equal footing.”

The contract is simple enough as such things go. It’s got similar terms to the one she signed all those nights ago, except it’s designed to go both ways instead of my protecting her from harm. She wants to . . . protect me too. I reach the clause about children and I actually stop breathing. “You want kids.”

“I want to keep the door open on the decision about whether or not to have children.” When I manage to tear my gaze from the paper to her face, it’s to find her blushing. She clears her throat. “It’s something that should be discussed at length, but if I have your children, they will not be taken from me.”

This can’t be real. Surely this is a dream that I’ll wake from at any moment. “But . . . why?”

Pope scoffs and leans down. “Good luck with this, darling. Remember to visit.” They press a kiss to the top of her head and saunter off. A few seconds later, the sound of a door shutting announces their departure.

Eve rises unsteadily to her feet. “It’s because I love you, Azazel.”

Words I’ve desperately wanted to hear from her. Words I know in my heart of hearts that I don’t deserve. “But why? I’ve lied to you, kidnapped you, kept you trapped in my home for months.”

“Yes,” she agrees easily. “I’m not saying you weren’t a high-handed asshole for doing all of that without talking to me first—or that I’ll allow it going forward.”

I feel like I’m lost at sea and have just sighted land but I can’t trust the sight enough to be sure it’s real. “Then why?”

“Because you’re a good man.” She takes a slow step forward, breaking the line of the summoning circle. “Because you’ve sacrificed and fought and done the hard work to help your people, even if there were those among them who didn’t want the change. Because you want to share that prosperity instead of keeping it only for your territory.” Another step and she’s close enough to touch. I don’t dare lift my hand. Eve smiles softly. “Because, even though it was the only option you had, you didn’t want to kill Brosh.”

I flinch. “It shouldn’t have come to that.”

“I know.” She gently places her hands on my bare chest. “I won’t pretend that things will be smooth sailing between us. You’re overprotective and I’m fiercely independent. You’ll try to make decisions for me and I’ll shut you down the moment you do. You’ll step back and allow me my freedom, even if it scares you. We’ll figure it out. I have the utmost faith in that.”

I can’t stop myself from catching her hips and tugging her a little closer. “You have a life here. You have your work. And Pope.”

“Yes,” she says simply. “I’d like to visit Pope when it’s feasible. But the rest? There’s no shortage of work to be done in your territory.” Her smile broadens. “Your sex workers don’t have a guild like the other trades, even if they’re not persecuted the way professionals are in this city. I’d like to create one for them.”

She takes my breath away. “That will take time and a lot of effort.”

“It’s a good place to start.”

I nod slowly. “You’re right. It’s a good place to start.” I make myself release one hip to stare at the slightly crumpled contract again. “You really mean this, Eve? A marriage. A partnership. Potentially children?”

“I love you.”

I shiver. “I’ll never get tired of you saying those words. I may need to hear them a few hundred more times. Immediately.”

She laughs, the sound pealing through the apartment. “Sign the contract, marry me, and you can hear them as often as you like.”

I pull her with me as I move to the short table in front of her couch. There’s a trio of pens there, as well as another stack of papers. “What’s this?”

“Oh, I had to figure out what to do with my stuff and finances. I signed it all over to Pope with instructions on how to donate. Their notary was already here with the lawyer, so it will be done as soon as I’m gone.”

She hasn’t been home long enough to change her clothes, but she’s managed all this? It seems to defy belief. I look into her dark eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Her brows pull together. “Are you? I realize that I just threw this at you and you may need some time to—” She watches me sign and smirks. “Guess not.”

I take her hand and bring it to my lips. “Marry me, baby girl. Be my queen.”

“You aren’t a king. Technically.”

I shrug. “Both things can be true at the same time. You may not—technically—be the territory’s queen. But you’ll be my queen.”

Eve beams. “In that case, I accept. But you should know that I want a lavish wedding and will likely drive you bonkers in the planning.”

I can’t keep a goofy grin off my face as I rise and pull her into my arms. “Believe me when I say I literally cannot wait. I’ll relish every moment.” I kiss her. “I love you. Come home with me.”

She smiles against my lips. “I love you. Take me home. Forever.”