Page 79 of Demon's Bane

Elric glances over at me. “We’re almost there. Just through the main atrium.”

A moment later, we step around a bend in the tunnel, and my breath catches in my throat.

The entire center of the mountain is hollow.

It stretches up and up and up, with a tiny, distant circle of daylight at the very top. All around the sides of the atrium, different levels of balconies and ledges ring the space, all of them lined with archways leading further into the mountain. The whole place is a hive of activity, with demons flying up and down the center of the space and walking along the ledges above.

The longer I look, the dizzier and more off-balance I feel. The enormity of this place, the sheer scale of it, makes me suddenly feel very, very small.

Unexpectedly, Sam chuckles. “I take it this is your first time at court?”

Attention drawn away from the impossibility of what I’m looking at, I turn to find him watching my awe-struck face.

“Yeah,” I say, returning his small smile with one of my own.

“And you?” Elric asks Rhett, and he shakes his head.

“I’ve been here before. While I was working as an apprentice for a merchant out of Gales Harbor.”

The two other demons nod in understanding, and I tuck my sharp curiosity over that little piece of his history away.

The four of us make our way around the perimeter of the atrium, toward a pair of huge wooden doors. They’re covered with intricate carvings of demons and this realm, with landscapes and battle scenes, kings and queens, oceans andforests. My eyes rove over them until Elric steps forward and swings one open, nodding at us to step through.

On the other side of the doors, another cavernous chamber sweeps open. It’s some kind of grand hall, with hearths set around its edges, burning chandeliers hanging from the stone ceiling, and rows upon rows of tables filled with demons and… humans.

Witches, to be more specific.

Scattered throughout the hall, I catch sight of more than a few familiar faces where they’re sitting and talking with the demons gathered for breakfast. Smiling and laughing, and all with a demon admirer or two at their sides.

“Queen Allison and King Eren are on the dais,” Elric says, gesturing to the far end of the room. “We’ll escort you there.”

I nod silently, starting up the long center aisle that cuts the room in two with Rhett still firmly at my side. As we go, I can’t help but notice the quiet falling in our wake, or the stares fixed on us as we pass.

I try to ignore it, choosing instead to keep my attention firmly forward.

At the opposite end of the hall, a stone dais rises a few steps off the floor. It’s lit with several candelabras and flanked by more guards wearing armor and carrying swords. There are two thrones positioned in the center of the dais with a breakfast-laden table in front of them, though only one is occupied.

And apparently it’s a seat built for two.

Eren sits on his throne with Allie sprawled lazily across his lap, their heads bent together, speaking softly. He has an arm curled around her waist, and when he says something that makes her laugh, he tugs her closer so he can kiss the giggle off her lips.

It only takes a few more moments, though, for them both to notice the silence falling in the room and the echo of our slow footsteps.

Eyes wide, Allie jerks upright in Eren’s lap. “Joan?”

Scrambling off of him, she steps around the table, down the steps of the dais, and up the aisle to where Rhett and I are standing. She catches me in a fierce hug, nearly squeezing the breath out of me.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, pulling back a few inches when she notices Rhett. “And who’s this?”

Before I can answer, Eren’s deep voice calls out from behind his queen.

“Joan,” he says warmly. “Welcome to our realm.”

Allie steps aside so he can give me a welcoming hug, too, but as soon as he touches me, a harsh growl breaks from Rhett’s chest.

The sound sends a wave of tension through the room. The guards at the foot of the dais draw their swords, and so do Elric and Sam where they’re standing just a few paces away, but Eren only pulls back and gives Rhett a once-over, a knowing smile turning up the corners of his lips.

“I take it you’re with her?”

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