Chapter Three #2
Staggering away, I forced myself to continue to the mess hall—roughly rubbing my eyes. I could already hear Sabrina in my ear, scolding me for showing the slightest hint of weakness.
All too soon, I made it to the mess hall doors and shoved inside before I could talk myself out of it.
I froze to the spot, not believing my eyes.
Erlik said female demons would now be attending Abaddon Academy, and he was a douchenozzle of his word, so I shouldn’t have been shocked at the sight of them, but still... I was.
Women each more beautiful than the last flitted about the room, snapping their fingers left and right.
Gone was the dirty, food-covered floor—replaced by plush, crimson-and-ebony carpet.
Gone were the low-rent buffet tables and cheap spit guards—all to be replaced by intimate circular tables with fresh linen cloths, and all the food neatly arranged on fine plates.
As for the random platform at the end of the room reserved for the rare announcement, a gorgeous copper beauty of pinup proportions stepped up to it, snapped her fingers, and the platform stretched and widened.
A long, ornate grand table appeared on top and stairs appeared below, leading up to seven upholstered, throne-like chairs poofing one after the other around the table.
As the tablecloths, chinaware, wineglasses, and food snapped on the table one by one, I saw this new eating area for what it was—the cool kids’ table.
But as surprising as all of this was, what surprised me even more were all the guys milling around on the side, looking more subdued than I’d ever seen them.
No hooting. No catcalling. No elbowing each other in the face to get to the tasty new human girl.
On the contrary, not a single one of them looked in my direction.
But then, why would they? Women a million times more gorgeous than I could ever be were walking among them.
Somehow, that was true. Even though the ladies all had the red eyes of a demon, for some reason, they didn’t have the fish heads, snake scales, furry faces, or koala ears of a demon.
Do the lords of hell not steal the souls of the women who pass through the gates?
Even as the thought went through my head, I dismissed it as nonsense. A place that didn’t have a word for romance, most definitely didn’t have one for chivalry.
They must all be glamoured to—
“There now.” The copper beauty dusted off her hands. “Looks so much better now. Don’t you think, boys?”
“Nope,” drawled an elephant seal demon who had his finger way too far up his nose. “Looks like shit. Who the fuck told you bitches to come up here in the first place and—?”
Copper Beauty glided over to him, smile dancing on her lips, and smashed her fist into his gray, floppy nose. He hit the ground hard, bouncing his skull off the carpet.
She didn’t pause. She didn’t blink. She didn’t stop smiling. Lifting her foot, she brought her stiletto heel right down on his neck—impaling and killing him before the shout left his throat.
My eyes bugged as she ripped her heel from his body and kicked him away. “Now, as I was saying, what do you think, boys?” She swept that beaming, sadistic smile on the room. “Don’t you like what we’ve done with the place?”
“Sweet.”
“It’s great.”
“So much better in here,” they sounded off right on cue, leaving me even more dumbfounded than before.
“Pathetic, aren’t they.”
I jerked, twisting around as Ronin fell in beside me.
It irritated me that he was even more gorgeous than usual that morning.
His long, wavy locks were cut closer to his scalp, so that they tickled his horns and fell over his eyes in the most distracting way.
All I could think about was brushing his hair behind his ears where they dare not cover his swirling, tempting ruby orbs again.
Unlike me who was forced to dress like a clown every morning, Ronin looked temptingly sexy in a beat-up leather jacket, plain white tee, and black jeans with singed hems.
“But they don’t want to be,” he went on. “Right now you’re looking at the princesses of greed, lust, envy, gluttony, and wrath.”
My brows popped. “Wait, what? Are you serious?”
“Why would I lie?” he asked, turning his smirk on me.
I hated my stupid heart for fluttering.
“The Abaddon Women’s Academy is run very differently from this one,” Ronin continued.
“The species have always been separated there, so the demonesses set themselves apart by the Houses they intended to pledge loyalty to. The House of wrath. The House of lust. The House of greed, and so on. The differing factions compete for the best dorms, best study spots, the best tables, and the best and smartest bitches to do their assignments for them.”
“Different factions?” I repeated. “You mean gangs, don’t you?” I looked at the demonesses in new light. “They’re a bunch of gang members competing for territory and lackeys in AWA? But then why leave? Why come here?”
Ronin leaned in, bending over my ear. My cheeks caught fire as his warm, minty breath tickled my neck. “Because I’m here.”
I shot back, roughly rubbing my neck like it burned. “Bull crap, they’re here for you,” I snapped. “You really think you’re hot shit, don’t you?”
Far from offended, Ronin laughed out loud. “Did that sound conceited? Well then, you tell me if I’m the catch hell says I am. You see, every hell lord has an heir—even Lucifer, although his is a fallen angel—and every other hell lord has adopted a woman to be their heiress.
“Is this because they all wanted to dote on Daddy’s little girl?
No,” he sliced. “It’s because they’re all certain no woman could ever best them—and therefore never steal their throne.
Because if one thing is certain, it’s that Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Mammon, Leviathan, and Zariel never intend to step down, or die. ”
See? Chivalry is dead.
“Pigs,” I muttered. “But then why name them their heirs in the first place?”
Ronin gazed out at the new, opulent dining room.
“It’s a dangerous thing to rule with a broken line of succession.
The assassins try doubly—triply—hard to wipe you out, then rush to fill the power vacuum you leave behind.
They are princesses who are meant to be princesses for the rest of their existence—never queens. ”
I didn’t have to cast my mind back. I knew this was the longest civil conversation I’d ever had with Ronin Belphe.
“But unlike them,” he breezed, “I am not a prince in name only. As soon as I graduate, I will take my father’s place as the king of sloth.
” He winked at me. “You know, with the whole sloth thing, he never gave a shit about ruling in the first place. In fact, he asked a goddess for a womb so that he could dump all the boring and stressful shit he has to do in a day, on his heir. And when I do become king, I’ll need someone to rule by my side.
“And so I ask again,” Ronin whispered, entwining my hair around his finger.
“To a princess who dreams of being queen, who is a better match than the only man in all of hell who can make her one?” Ronin pressed a light kiss on my locks before he and his finger slipped away.
“There’s only one number saved in my phone, sweet Charlie,” he tossed over his shoulder as he brushed inside.
Five of the women, including Copper Beauty, dropped what they were doing in an instant and glued to his side. One had their hand down his pants and was fondling his crotch before my jaw had time to drop.
“Call me anytime.”
“Oh, I will,” the ladies all giggled and agreed, but I knew what they didn’t.
Those three words were for me.
Shaking him—and his touch—from my head, I stepped inside.
“Charlotte Hunter?”
I froze.
“Hello? I’m looking for Charlotte Hunter, have you seen her? I’m supposed to give this to her.”
Stiffly, achingly, I turned on the spot—meeting her eyes as she glided down the hall.
She waved jauntily at me, carrying a big, gleaming Abaddon Academy patch on her simple, black dress. “Hello! Can you—?”
I launched at her, crushing her to my chest. “Dora!”
Dora grunted in my hold. Dropping the bag she was carrying, she tried to wriggle away—the way she used to all the other times I smothered her in a bear hug.
“Dora, I can’t believe you’re here! I can’t believe—”
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” She craned her neck, blinking her red eyes up at me. “How do you know my name?”
“Huh? Wha—?” I laughed. “Haha, very funny. I know you’re mad at me because of...
well, everything. I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.
I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her and what she did to you, but everything’s going to be okay, Dora.
” She blinked huge, owl eyes at me when I grabbed her cheeks. “I promise.”
“Uhh... okay. Thanks.” She beamed at me. “You seem super nice. Hey, can you help me? I’m looking for someone named Charlotte Hunter.”
I rolled my eyes. “Goodness, Dora, stop it. I told you, joke’s over.”
She just stared at me—smiling that wide, blinding smile.
My own dimmed. “Dora, are you kidding me right now? I’m Charlotte Hunter. You know that.”
“Oh, really? You are!” Clapping, she broke free of my hold, picked up the bag, and slipped the strap over my outstretched arms. “Then this is for you. Daddy said I had to bring it to you right away, and that it would make you very happy.” She bounced up and down studying my face.
“He was right! Look, you have the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. ”
My mouth was definitely as big and wide as it had ever been, but it wasn’t because I was smiling. “D-Daddy?” I rasped.
Opening the bag, I pulled out a book exactly like the one my mother wrote in on the night of the ritual. Driving the point deeper into my heart, were pages and pages of her handwriting.
“The research is coming along with my present for you— Well, half of my present for you. If you want the rest, you’ll have to earn it.”
“Dora...” I croaked, hands shaking. “Do you know who I am?”
She laughed. “Well, of course I know who you are. You’re Charlotte Hunter.”
“Dora.” My tone was hard—insistent. “Do you know that I’m your sister?”