Chapter Ten

Caim emerged after Stolas and Murmur left, dressed in a suit jacket and tie. It didn’t suit him at all. I searched for some unknown sign that Caim and Darla had done something . After all, she’d been in the shower a while, and Caim had disappeared for no good reason.

He caught me staring and shot me a wink. I looked away, wondering what that wink meant.

Did he fuck Darla ?

I mean, it didn’t matter if he did, but it was just so obvious .

“Is dinner ready?” Caim put his hands in his pockets.

“The demon in the kitchen said it would be a minute.” Aimee supplied helpfully, knitting her fingers together and rocking on her heels. She turned to me, offering an apologetic smile. “I hope I didn’t derail your plans. You can catch up to Stolas if you want.”

After you’d told me Behem was literal bad news ? I thought, but obviously didn’t verbalize. I waved away her concern with my hand.

Caim eyed both of us. “We’re not going to Behem’s party?” His eyes lit up, and his slumped shoulders unfurled. “Where are we going?”

“That demon, Stolas, was it?” Aimee tapped her lip. “He said Maddie could come to our party instead. With you, and Malphas.”

“The Mammon party?” Caim squinted, turning to me.

Before Aimee could answer, Darla appeared in the doorway, a tiny towel barely covering her body. She squeaked when she saw us in the hall, though she showed no sign of embarrassment or desire to cover her skin. Darla shot Caim a hot look.

“You’re coming to the party?” Darla fluttered her lashes at Caim.

I rolled my eyes, but neither of them seemed to notice.

“Apparently.” Caim grinned.

“After dinner!” Malphas shouted from the kitchen.

While Aimee, Darla, and the two demons were dressed up to the nines, it seemed to escape everyone’s notice that I was in jeans and a t-shirt.

I couldn’t articulate my need for something fancy to wear without seeming superficial. Not that I wanted to wear a dress like Aimee or Darla, barely covering their underwear. They had the bodies for it, and I very much didn’t. Not that it was their fault, even if I felt vaguely sick every time they laughed or joked, looking like models from a magazine.

We took the SUV, and the girls made a good show of covering their disappointment. I supposed they were used to demons=high status .

I didn’t know Aimee or Darla well enough to know if they regretted inviting us to Mammon’s party.

I was given the window seat, squished against the car door as Darla leaned across the center console and rubbed Caim’s arm—and Caim did nothing to stop her.

He was meant to be a worldly font of wisdom. Scholars summoned demons in exchange for knowledge, and he couldn’t even see that Darla wasn’t interested in him . Just his money, status, or magic. Or whatever she thought he had in plentiful supply.

Which I was learning, he didn’t.

Malphas hadn’t said much since dinner when he had watched me like a hawk as I ate my ravioli. Aimee and Darla had eaten three pieces and declared that the pasta was delicious but that they were full.

I ate several and could have eaten more because it tasted that good. I only stopped myself because of the little voice in my head comparing me to Aimee and Darla. Again.

Prison had been easier in that regard. Same outfits, same meals.

Aimee leaned over, passing me her phone. The screen showed the map of the Red City from earlier. She pointed to a highlighted section on the map; the city was segmented like fruit. Greed was colored bright orange.

“The party is in the Epsilon Building. Right there.” Aimee pointed to a dot on the map. “It's one of the tallest buildings in the city.”

“Nova Tower in Pride is the tallest building in the Red City,” Malphas muttered, not looking away from the windscreen.

“ One of the tallest.” Aimee reiterated.

The street lights changed as the sun disappeared over the wall. The road was bathed in a sickly green glow.

Envy.

It didn’t take long for the lights to change to orange. Banks, jewelry shops, art galleries, and more lined the streets, peppered with obnoxiously detailed buildings. Pride had been mirrored, glass and steel and modern, but Greed was austere. The ornate details of every building screamed wealth, from gilded gargoyles to a wine fountain in the courtyard of a hotel we passed.

Finally, we pulled to a stop in front of a Grecian monstrosity. A skyscraper with marble pillars holding up the upper floors. I wasn’t sure it would even hold our weight, let alone the rest of the party guests—yet the skyscraper leered over the other buildings. As Aimee had said, it was one of the tallest in the city.

As we parked and got out of the car, I couldn’t help but think of Stolas on the other side of the city. No doubt, having a horrible time at Behem’s party.

Guilt unfurled in my stomach like a blooming flower. I should have gone with him. He’d bargained for the clothes on my back, and I’d ditched him for a better offer.

I couldn’t exactly join his investigation into the human trafficking ring at a party on the other side of the city.

I hadn’t even arrived at the party yet, and I already wanted to leave.

Aimee and Darla linked arms, marching past the building concierge, leaving me with Caim and Malphas. Which was just as well, because if Darla had tried to hold Caim’s hand, I would have puked.

“Nervous?” Caim nudged my shoulder.

I shook my head.

“It's her first party in the Red City. Of course, she’s nervous.” Malphas snapped. “I’m nervous.”

“You think we should ask Mammon—” Caim began to say before Malphas slapped his arm.

Caim pouted.

“Don’t talk about that shit here,” Malphas warned. “Besides, it's bad manners to make a deal with more than one of the sovereigns at the same time.”

I wondered if whatever they were alluding to was connected to their deal with the government and Asmodeus.

“ Any etiquette lessons ?” I quipped.

Caim and Malphas ceased glaring at each other.

Malphas’s eyes softened when he looked at me. “Try not to make any deals.” He warned.

Telling me not to make deals. Stolas didn’t understand what I was, or Malphas wouldn’t have said that.

“Come on.” Caim urged. “I want to get there before they run out of the good champagne.”

I was woefully inexperienced when it came to parties. Unless you classed gathering prisoners when a new batch of hooch was brewed, or high school parties where the only source of entertainment seemed to be spin the bottle, or seventh heaven.

Thinking back on my teenage years, many parties centered around kissing. I doubted demons participated in anything so pedestrian.

We rode the elevator up to the penthouse. The mirrored walls reflected my pale face back at me. The way my long dark hair tangled at the back and skin had taken on an almost sickly hue.

Caim was dressed as if he was ready for prom. His suit was at odds with his young, bright smile and the curly hair around his curved horns.

Malphas wore a deep burgundy silk shirt and leather pants, his expression bored as he stared into the distance like a brooding prince. It was as if attending a party with a literal demonic king was just another average day. Honestly? Malphas had seemed more excited about making pasta by hand than rubbing shoulders with the upper-crust of the Red City.

Aimee and Darla spoke in low, excited voices, growing quieter but no less fevered as the elevator rose to the top of the building.

Finally, with an ancient bell toll, the doors opened, directly into a room the size of my high school’s old auditorium. A room that must have taken up the whole top floor of the building. Packed to the brim with people dressed like birds of paradise, flocking together as they chatted and drank.

If it wasn’t for every hair on my body rising, like I was being watched, and my ears popping uncomfortably, I probably wouldn’t have immediately pegged any of the people milling about as demons.

There was a collection of faces, from plain to outright disturbing, too angular or soft. I didn’t recognize anyone, though I hadn’t expected to. The only demons I’d seen, aside from Stolas, Caim, Malphas, and Murmur, were at the auction—and even then, their faces had been hidden in shadow.

Malphas placed his hand on the small of my back, steadying me. The gesture was small, but it felt like everything. A life-raft in a sea of tumult. I sagged, finding my body moving before my brain caught up, as I leaned back into Malphas.

Aimee and Darla strode forward with all the confidence of people who regularly attended parties in strange and luxurious locations. They seemed to fit in immediately, disappearing into the sea of people with glittery short dresses and perfectly made-up faces.

Caim’s eyes lit up as he spotted one of the tables. “Champagne fountain!” He declared, clapping his hands like an excited child, before racing off into the fray, swallowed by the crowd.

Malphas rolled his eyes, holding out his hand as he stepped to my side. “All the wisdom of the universe in that empty head.” He waved a hand to where Caim had disappeared. “At least I can trust you to keep me company, Maddie.” He offered me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“ You don’t have another option .” I signed, looping my arm through his elbow to leave my hands free to speak. “ I’m not leaving your side. Mal. This isn’t my idea of fun .”

“Mal.” His lip ticked with a smile as he caught my slip. “I take it there weren’t many parties in prison then?”

“ None that I would want to attend. Plus, prisoners tend to call them riots. Not parties .”

Malphas chuckled. “No harm in instigating a good riot.”

“ Only a demon would say that .”

“Dischord and chaos.” He agreed readily. “Though I don’t have the power I used to, I bet I could make everyone in this room flee to the stairwell.”

“ Trying to get me alone ?” I joked. “ What is… or was your power ?”

“I’m very persuasive.” Malphas plucked a champagne glass from a server's tray and pressed it into my hand. I sniffed the rim of the glass before taking a sip. “I have no idea why Caim wants to drink from a fountain. Those things are riddled with other people’s fluids.”

“ Somehow, I don’t think other people’s bodily fluids bother Caim much .”

“Caught that, did you?”

I wrapped both hands around my glass and lifted it to my lips so I couldn’t reply.

A trickle of music rolled through the air, and I tapped my foot, swaying to the unfamiliar song. Malphas stood by my side, grabbing his own glass of champagne when the server came back around. We stood together, backs to the wall, like two awkward best friends at the prom. The last two people without partners, as everyone else coupled off to dance.

“Caim hasn’t come back yet.” Malphas hummed, sipping his champagne. “I swear, he has the attention span of a golden retriever.”

“ When is Mammon meant to get here ?” I asked. Malphas glanced at me, and I shrugged, my cheeks turning pink. “ That’s why you’re here, isn’t it ?”

“It’s rare for Hell Royalty to come to the Human Realities,” Malphas admitted. “They cannot leave Hell for long. About an hour per daylight cycle. Otherwise, the dimension doesn’t like it. Earthquakes, storms, that kind of thing.”

“ How do demons become royalty ?” I wondered.

“Hell decides.” Malphas shrugged.

“ And you were never given the option? You’re a fallen angel, aren’t you ?”

“You have a lot of questions.” He sipped his champagne but didn’t answer my question. “Murmur can’t keep a secret, which is ironic because his magic inspires anyone to speak the truth in his presence.” Malphas looked down at my hands. “Though I’m not sure his magic would work on you . Part of our deal with the human government is to report any sightings of higher-level demons.”

“ And your deal with Asmodeus ?”

The music switched from a fast-paced pop hit to a more familiar song. Something my mother had listened to growing up. My muscles locked as the familiar guitar riff tugged at my chest. I remembered my mom dragging me to the middle of the living room, lifting me to the ceiling as we danced.

I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling the uneven rhythm through the fabric of my t-shirt.

It hurt.

I wanted to scream. To cry.

Malphas sensed my need for silence as he stood by my side. I didn’t tell him why the song bothered me, but he didn’t speak until the final note faded into another catchy pop song.

I didn’t like being reminded that I was broken, especially when I was surrounded by shiny demons and bubbly champagne. I lifted my glass and drained the dregs.