It’s ruining me.
So, when I found myself sitting on my throne, welcoming Angelica and her team into the palace to be awarded for their work on uncovering all the human trafficking houses, it was hard to focus.
Her being there just reminded me of Eve. Reminded me of the time we broke her out of the whorehouse. Reminded me how I failed her.
Fuck, I miss her.
Since taking over, Oros and I had put in a lot of work to save the humans who had been used and abused, but Angelica had done all the heavy lifting.
We made it illegal for demons to traffic humans, effectively putting Madam out of business, and put out anti-human consumption campaigns. Unfortunately, since humans had been demons’ main source of food for longer than we existed, it wouldn’t be feasible for us to outlaw it altogether.
But we could start changing things slowly. We could save the humans who had been brought here against their will. Give them jobs. Take them home if they wanted to go. Create more campaigns. Change the sentiment around them.
It would take some time, but it would be worth it.
Eve would be happy. And proud.
“Thank you for your work,” Oros said as Angelica stood by the steps leading up to our thrones. “Each of you will be granted citizenship, and the leader, Angelica, will be given her own realm to continue to run her organization.”
The court members were lining up on either side of the room. Most of them looked pleased. We had removed all of Father’s followers by having them judged for their crimes and for having been accomplices in what he’d done. They’d besentenced to death, while others had fled before we could get our claws on them.
The dangerous ones were outright killed without a trial.
We wanted to change his ruling, of course, but we weren’t stupid. We would leave no chance for him to get free from the basement or for his people to try and take over.
We were demons after all. Some things just couldn’t be changed.
“Thank you, Queen Oros,” Angelica said with a polite smile and bowed. “But I’m not the one who ran these operations. I merely provided the people and supplies. It wouldn’t be right for me to take all the credit.”
Angelica wasn’t the one who did it?That was surprising since she never gave over control of her operations to anyone. She didn’t trust a single soul in the realm, human or not.
“Then who should we thank?”
A hooded figure stepped forward and, with two hands, removed her cloak. My breath caught in my throat.
Evestood there with a smile on her face.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined Eve making it back to the Demon Realm on her own. But there she was, clear as day. My heart pounded in my chest. It took all my strength to stay seated.
Oros looked at me, and I could see the happiness on her face as she fought to control herself too.
All I wanted to do was run to her and take her into my arms. Apologize for how stupid I had been to take her back to the Human Realm and just leave her there.
We were idiots.
She hadn’t changed much. Her hair had grown longer. The cuts and bruises she had left with were gone. Instead of a dress, she was wearing one of the all-black uniforms Angelica’s people wore.
“Eve?” Oros asked, her breathing failing her. “You did all this?”
Eve’s smile grew, and she gave her a shrug.
“After making my way back to the Demon Realm three months ago, I decided I wanted to help. It took a long time, but with the help of the humans we rescued, we were able to piece together where the rest of the houses were. It was a team effort.”
Three months ago? But that meant…
“Led by Eve,” Angelica said, shooting her a glance. “She may want to undersell herself, but I won’t. She single-handedly strategized, gathered intelligence, and executed the rescue missions. If anyone deserves a realm, it’s her.”
“Then she shall have one.” I got up and sent her a smile. “You both shall.”
