Page 92 of Dancing With Demons

I smiled tightly, thinking of nothing but the company I’d prefer. “No, Ronin. I belong to you, and beside you.”

Surprising me, he turned away—irritation etched in his handsome face.

My brows twitched together. What’s his problem? Aren’t I giving him exactly what he wanted?

“Besides,” I went on, feeling the princesses’ murderous glares stabbing me in a dozen different places. “I’m on your side. I’m working with Ronin and Dora to get Lucifer to hand over the keys to his kingdom.”

Kama snorted. “You are? What the fuck can you do?”

I just smiled blandly at her. “He brought me to hell for a reason. I’ll make it clear to him that if I get what I want, he’ll get what he wants, and then you’ll get what you want. A classic win-win-win.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I don’t care as long as you deliver. And I’m sure you will”—she tapped her shoulder with a smirk—“because it’s not as if you’re in a position to refuse us.”

Us. How quickly she became an us with Ronin in her mind.

But with that, the other princesses lost interest in me and took their seats—awaiting their food.

“Anyway, like I was saying, Father received word of our plans,” Sauda continued. She was gorgeous as usual in a leather dress with long, sheer sleeves and a spiked collar. “He forbids it. He says there’s to be no more talk of this empire of sin bullshit unless it’s the empire of envy. All Houses are to cede their land, territory, and trade agreements to him, and name him the undisputed emperor of hell. If your dads do so willingly, they’ll be named his advisors. But if they allow any of you to marry Ronin and go ahead with this plan, House Envy will declare war.”

War? I sat up straighter in my seat, heart squeezing. Whoa, wait. I just wanted to get these five off my back. I didn’t want to be the first domino that fell in the Rube Goldberg march to war!

“My father said the same thing,” Ursula added. “Although he said he’s going to kill all of you, imprison your fathers, and fuck up the pretty faces of sloth for having plotted this the whole time, but only revealed it when all the princesses were of age.”

“Well, my father says I’m not to marry anyone, and neither are all of you,” Kama said, snapping my gaze to the other end of the table. “He says marriage is as ridiculous as monogamy, and if I or either one of you use it to declare yourself more powerful than him, he’ll kill us all.”

The ladies exchanged looks, their faces grave, then burst out laughing.

“Miserable old fuckers,” Eris howled, slapping the table. “Got ’em running scared now!”

“Like their threats are actually going to stop us,” Ursula said, giggling away. “Two seconds after I say I do, I’m going Greek on his ass. I’m trapping Father on an island where the water recedes every time he tries to drink, and the fruit trees rise whenever he tries to eat.”

“Well done,” Raven praised. “As for me, I’m going to imprison my father in our deepest, darkest dungeons, and every day regale him with the tales of how I’ve promoted, freed, and made wealthy all of his worst enemies. There’s nothing he’ll hate more than knowing the wrath he visited on them came to naught.”

“Sweet,” said Sauda, once again ping-ponging my googly eyes to the other side of the table. “Now y’all are making me wish I was more creative. I’m just going to drop dear old Dad in a vat of acid and seal the cauldron.”

“Hahaha,” all five of them sounded off, clutching their sides and barely keeping themselves from falling out of their seats.

“Umm,” I said softly. “I don’t understand. They all hate their fathers?”

“Of course they do,” Ronin replied. “Didn’t you hear me say their fathers only adopted them because they believe women are too weak to defeat them? They were adopted to be replaceable pawns and shields for assassination. They were never meant to rise higher than they are now.”

“Hmm.” I looked away, gaze sweeping over the mess hall. “But why do they believe female demons are so weak when no one else does?” I heard myself ask. “Everyone here was quaking in their boots when Erlik announced the school was going co-ed.”

“Because they’re not weak. Female demons master and wield dark magic better and quicker than their male counterparts.”

“They do?” I blurted. “Is it a woman thing? Like how everyone keeps telling me about goddesses blessing mortal women with magic, but they’ve said nothing about the men.”

“No gods or goddesses are involved with this,” Ronin murmured. There was an odd quality in his voice. “Dark magic is powered by hatred, and, in hell... male demons give women plenty of reasons to hate them.” He nodded at the ladies who were currently in the middle of plotting their adopted fathers’ violent ends. “Case in point.”

“Male demons give women plenty of reasons to hate them...” Through my lashes, I peered at the five women who were adopted to be powerless, and then threatened with punishment and death when they tried to do something about it... then my gaze drifted to the room full of vile leches and pervs who howled and stepped over each other to rape me first... and then my eyes drifted down, falling on the tattoo emblazoned on my skin for all to see.

And beside me, Ronin tracked every sweep of my gaze—his own drilling into the side of my head.

When I snapped up, I was all smiles. “That’s a bummer,” I finished, “but hopefully, when Lucifer gives in and you all create your new empire, that’ll all change. There’ll be a lot less hate and a lot more unity in hell, and I’ll be by your side through it all. Right where I belong.”

“Tch.” Shoving back from the table, Ronin threw his wineglass at the aye-aye demon who chose that moment to return with the food.

The guy sputtered and coughed as Ronin stormed off.