Chapter Twenty

Peni

“We’re going to speak to the king now?” Peni was still sorting his new experiences into fresh boxes he’d had to make in his brain. They were still in the bedroom, although Peni had thrown his clothes back on the moment they’d woken, and Merihem had cleaned them up. But then he remembered what he’d vowed to himself before Merihem had totally melted his brain. “I mean, yes, of course, we should go now. I don’t want you getting into any more trouble with your king. Should I shower first?”

Merihem shook his head. “There is no shame in that we smell of each other. It will reinforce to the king the strength of our bond,” he said, his voice deepening. “Unless the smell is offensive to your precious nostrils.”

“No. Not offensive.” Just really strong. Peni didn’t think he’d ever smelled so intensely of anything other than himself before. He knew he hadn’t. His goat half was snickering in his head, thrilled that his human half was overcoming his limitations , as his goat called it, and now Peni was going to have to meet a Demon King, smelling… unlike himself. “I can do this, and yes, we will go. What do I wear to meet a king? Is there a protocol for that sort of thing?” He looked down at his worn pants and t-shirt. “Should I have a button-up shirt? I could go and buy one…”

He felt the tingle of Merihem’s magic sweeping over him and gasped, his hands running over the new material. “You got me a new coat. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a vegan leather.” Merihem grinned. “I know these things are important to you.”

“It is, thank you.” Peni rubbed over his arms, hugging itself. “But, you know, will I even need a coat? Isn’t it hot where we’re going?” He peered up at his mate, hoping he wasn’t suggesting anything offensive.

“We’re not going to hell.” Merihem burst out laughing, slapping his still naked thigh, half bent over with glee. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Is that what you thought, little one? That I lived in hell? That I would subject my precious blissful one to fire and brimstone and the screams of the damned?”

Horns. Unusual colored skin. Claws and fangs. “I wasn’t sure. I’ve never been to another realm before.” Peni went back to examining his new coat. The dark brown material was soft under his fingers. The coat went all the way down to his knees, and it had two big pockets, one on each side. “But for future reference, it sounds like you know that place, and shifter ears are very susceptible to extremely loud noises like screaming.”

“I would never take you anywhere that would cause you any discomfort,” Merihem promised as he held out his hand. “Ready to go?”

Peni looked at the hand, and then down at Merihem’s naked… legs. Yes, it was the legs. Nothing else to see, nope, nope, nope. Peni wasn’t going to get distracted. He was just looking at the legs. He waited. His mate was intuitive.

“Peni? Peni. Did you have more questions?” Nope, not intuitive. Confused.

Tapping his toe on the soft rug under his foot, which didn’t make the necessary noise he needed, Peni sighed instead. If his eyes were lasers, Merihem’s legs would have holes in them.

“What are you looking at?” Merihem looked down in the same direction as Peni’s gaze. “Did I miss a bit of cum? No. I got it all. What’s wrong with my legs?”

“Really? What’s wrong with them?” Peni glared at his mate’s face. “I can see them.” He waited, but Merihem was still looking at him with that sweet, confused expression that only a ruggedly handsome man could give. “If I can see your legs, then other people can see your legs.”

“I’m going to be in demon form when I speak to the king,” Merihem said slowly.

“And your demon form is going to be wearing pants when he stands in front of other people who have eyes, I assume?”

Peni could see the “no” hovering on Merihem’s tongue, but then his mate straightened and sighed. “It will likely be unbearably uncomfortable, but my demon will wear pants while we’re out. Just for you,” he added, clearly thinking Peni wouldn’t get the point.

“Thank you. You do that, and then we’ll go.” Time for a smile. Merihem didn’t need to know Peni was terrified of meeting a royal person—a royal demon. Nope. If his demon could overcome the habits of a lifetime and wear pants, Peni could bury his fear and meet the personage with his head held high.

The demon realm wasn’t what Peni expected. For one thing, he was glad Merihem had magicked him up a coat. Looking around the bleak hall, with its super high ceilings and the tall columns made of gray stone—a color theme—that was everywhere Peni looked. “Is this a castle?”

“It is Asmodeus’s waiting room. I suppose you would call it a castle on the earth realm.” Merihem was in his demon form, and Peni had to bend his neck back even further than usual to see his demon’s face.

“They don’t believe in chairs?” Peni dropped the demon’s finger he’d been holding and turned in a full circle. There wasn’t a single table or chair anywhere. There also weren’t any pictures or windows. Just stone as far as the eye could see. Everything felt big, gray, and harsh. The only break in the stone walls and columns was a set of giant black curved doors that were covered in elaborate carvings depicting scenes Peni didn’t want to examine too closely. They reminded him of activities he’d gotten forced to see when he lived at home.

“Our king doesn’t like for his demons to think this is a place they can just hang out and spend time in. He values his privacy and only sees demons for important matters.”

“Were we meant to make an appointment?” Peni couldn’t hear anything except his own heartbeat.

“Asmodeus knows we’re here.” The demon’s chuckle was so much deeper than Merihem’s, but Peni felt there was a touch of nervousness there as well. He curled his hand around Merihem’s finger again, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“Is there…” A bleat fell out unbidden as the huge doors slammed open. The demon standing there filled the doorway—he was that big. His horns were longer than Merihem’s, his shoulders wider, his legs stronger, and yes, Asmodeus was wearing pants. But the lighting glistened on the demon’s chest muscles, causing them to shimmer like Peni imagined dragon skin might do.

“Merihem and personage. Interesting. Enter.”

A demon of few words. Peni could appreciate that. He bit his own tongue, not wanting to suddenly start rambling—something he was prone to do when he was nervous. Everything about Asmodeus was intimidating.

As he strode across the floor, Peni noticed the bigger demon was graceful. There was no lumbering in those strides. Asmodeus turned and sat on a golden throne that had deep red cushions, likely there to stop the royal butt from falling asleep during meetings.

“Sit.” He waved a finger at a couple of chairs that suddenly appeared in front of the stage the throne was on.

“Many thanks, sir.” Merihem’s demon bowed his head, and then a large hand ushered Peni towards the seats. Peni perched himself on the edge of the hard wood—no cushions for visitors, he noticed, although Merihem remained standing.

“Sir, Gebre has caused grievance against my blissful one, and I have come to seek permission to deal with him in accordance with our laws.”

The words were strong and respectful, but rather than ask questions or anything, which Peni thought a king might do, Asmodeus chuckled.

“You are that intent on your vengeance, you don’t think to introduce me to the person by your side first?”

Merihem clearly wasn’t expecting that. “Sir, my apologies. I did not wish to waste any of your valuable time. This is Peni, a pygmy goat shifter and my blissful one. We have claimed each other.”

“I’m aware.” Asmodeus got up, came down the steps, and knelt in front of Peni’s chair, studying him intently. Up close, the man’s power was overpowering, yet Peni didn’t feel there was any threat coming from the demon. At least my goats claimed now and not trying to lick those horns. Although his cheeks flushed as Asmodeus chuckled again. My gods, can he read my thoughts?

“How did you and my demon meet, little one?”

Glancing up at Merihem’s demon—his demon wasn’t showing any emotion—Peni looked back at the king. “I was cleaning Mr. Dakata’s house, Your Kingship, and Merihem came to stay. He chased me around the kitchen and my goat told me we were mates.”

“Ah, yes. Something I learned recently. Shifters refer to their blissful ones as mates, don’t they?”

Peni nodded. It was difficult to meet Asmodeus’s eyes. “Merihem explained the words might be different, but the bonds are the same.”

“And Gebre threatened those bonds?”

How much do you already know? “I saw a demon driving a truck that crashed into the taxicab Merihem and I were in. The crash was intentional. I blacked out for a short while. The driver, a bear shifter, is still in hospital I think. I didn’t want to say anything to Merihem at the time because I didn’t want him to get into trouble on earth. But I described the demon to Merihem when we got back to Mr. Dakata’s house, and he determined it had to be the one you mentioned. Unless that demon has a twin?”

Straightening up, Asmodeus shook his head. “No. Gebre has no twin, and those are the actions I would expect of someone who let a recent promotion go to his head and will do anything to hang onto it. But in the spirit of the same fairness you endeavor to show, we will confirm the identification first.”

There was a tug in the air. Peni felt it and just as he was looking around, wondering what was going on, another demon appeared at the side of them.

That face!

Peni gasped and shrank back against Merihem’s leg, and his demon snarled.

“Sir.” The demon bowed low and kept his head down. “Is there a problem here? Did you need me to take care of these two for some reason in my position as Controller?” The words dripped with disdain.

“Idiot.” Asmodeus sneered. “As if I couldn’t do that myself if that were my intention. Look up, worm. Show your face.”

“I’m showing respect for your position, my king.” Gebre wasn’t looking up. “After being granted such an auspicious promotion to such an important position in your realm, I would never overstep—”

“Shut up. Look up. Look at me!” Asmodeus’s roar bounced off the walls. Peni wanted to cover his ears, it was so loud, but it stopped quickly.

“Answer me, little one.” Asmodeus had gentled his voice. “Is this the face you saw?”

Nodding, Peni remembered it was probably respectful to use his words. “Yes, Your Kingship. That is the person who caused the car crash that could’ve killed me, and severely injured our bear shifter driver.”

“That’s all I need.” Peni got zapped out of his chair, and suddenly he was sitting on Asmodeus’s arm like a parrot. “Gebre, you’re fired. Merihem, permission granted to avenge your blissful one and resume your controller position. Sentence to be carried out immediately.”

Merihem looked conflicted. “Thank you, sir. What about Peni? He shouldn’t see…”

“You’re absolutely right, Merihem, and I am pleased my reinstated Controller has such respect for his blissful one’s feelings. I will look after him. You can come and find us when you’re done.”

“Sir?”

But Peni heard nothing else because Asmodeus just zapped them away into yet another room. This one was comfy, with big couches, soft rugs on the floor, and a fire blazing in an oversized fireplace.

“Don’t be nervous. Take your coat off, have a seat, and get comfortable. Would you like refreshments?” A large silver tray appeared on a solid wooden coffee table.

“If you had some juice, that would be lovely, thank you.” Peni took off his coat and laid it on the seat beside him. “This is very kind of you,” he added.

“Not what you expected, I’m sure.” Asmodeus did have a lovely smile. “Merihem has a messy job to do, and I’m curious about blissful ones. They are very rare, and we have few records of them in our archives. I would love to hear about your experiences with my demon so far. Do you mind?”

Probably better than watching Merihem tear Gebre’s head off his shoulders. “What would you like to know? We’ve not been together very long, but I’m happy to share anything I know.”