I hear a soft snickering coming from behind me. If I knew who it was, I would smack them.
“So, tell me, have you ever been to my Kingdom?” he asks.
“No, not unless you count the cave type affair where I got my Powers.”
“Cave type affair?” He laughs and says, “There are many of those. We will go. I will take you in a bit but right now, I am more interested in what your plans are.”
“Why don’t we start with what you would like my plans to be and we’ll go from there.”
He looks amused and says, “Okay, I’m happy for you to be our Queen. We don’t have an issue with it due to your Dragon heritage.” He pauses to let that sink in: accepted only because of my Dragon heritage. “However, I would…prefer…it if you left the day-to-day running of the Domain to me.”
I don’t even have to think it over. “Agreed. For now,” I say.
He looks surprised, clearly expecting a harsher negotiation, but what do I know about ruling a bunch of Demons? “Well, that was easy,” he comments dryly. “I was expecting that to go a lot differently.”
I smile. “I still have a lot to learn about your kind. I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to jump in with both feet. You may continue to run your Domain without interference, but you will keep me apprised. I don’t need to know the small stuff but anything, say, a ‘six and over’ I want to know.”
“Agreed. Weekly staff meeting?” he asks, with a wink.
“Done.”
“Excellent. I wish all of my negotiations went as smoothly. Can I take you there now?”
I glance at CK, who nods. Better to get it over with and then we are free to do as we please.
“Sure, but a quick question first. Does time move differently there?”
He looks curiously at me. “That’s an interesting question, but no. Same as here.”
I nod briskly. “Good. That time shift in the Dragon Realms is a real bitch.”
He laughs out loud. “I know what you mean. You’ve been then?”
“Twice and a trip out due next week,” I say, sensing Devon’s interest in that but ignore him.
“Be sure to say ‘hello’ to your mother from me. It has been too long since we saw Her.”
“I will. We?”
“My family. I’m taking you to see them now. My own mother is dying to meet you.”
“Well, let's not keep her waiting.” I stand with a smile and CK follows suit. Everyone has remained silent and impassive during our little meeting and I’m grateful that they have let me sort this out without interference. Any questions or concerns will be dealt with later by tacit agreement.
“Come and find me when you get back. There is that thing you promised me that I’m anxious for,” CK murmurs to me.
“I won’t be too long. I’m quite looking forward to seeing what you brought.” I kiss him lightly and turn to Lincoln. “Fill everyone in.”
“I will do.” He hugs me and whispers, “Be careful, V.A., okay?”
I nod and smile at Scott, who is looking fairly concerned and mutters, “I’ll catch up with you later.” I nod, getting his meaning that he has things to tell me. I gaze swiftly over Devon who is looking at me curiously. Probably wondering if I’m going to speak to him. He is also probably more than int
rigued with our new addition. I ignore him and direct my attention to Sebastian and jokingly say, “Keep him out of trouble till I get back.”
He laughs. “Where’s the fun in that?” He comes to give me a quick squeeze. “Hurry back. He’s already getting moody,” he murmurs in my ear. I see Devon’s eyes go cold. He has clearly met Sebastian in the limo on the ride here and knows exactly who he is. I snicker as I look at CK. He isn’t looking very pleased, mostly because Sebastian hasn’t let go of me yet. “Maybe when you get back, we can try again,” he says with a salacious wink. I shake my head with a smile. I step back and let Xane take my hand.
He Astraports us down into The Underworld.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO