“Sure, yeah.” I turned to Archion, placing my hand on his leg. Until tomorrow, friend.
Until tomorrow. Dream sweetly.
I patted his glittering scales and turned. “Do I need to dress for dinner?”
“It is…as you…what you want.”
I frowned at the demon for a moment. “Did you short out? What’s the matter?”
It looked at the ground. “Nothing, your heinous. Brain chasm.”
Brain fart, it meant. It was trying to learn my sayings to make me feel at home, apparently. It was so delightfully weird that I went for it.
“And the druid?” I hooked a thumb at Cahal, slinking up the castle steps behind me. He wasn’t happy, I could see. Since I’d moved him, his only joy came from riding. He hated seeing me practice, or create practical jokes in the castle. He hated my delight and good humor, basically. He no longer liked that I didn’t need a safety blanket. And if he weren’t so damn melodramatic about it, I’d probably take him more seriously.
“Not this evening,” Mr. Boobs said as we entered the castle. “The Great Master worries he might have to attend to some business for a couple days, and he would like you alone for the evening.”
“Sounds good. You can escort Cahal to his apartment.”
“You’re not even going to walk me to my estranged home?” Cahal asked, arms straight at his sides, back bowed just a little.
“Cahal, I just spent an entire afternoon riding with you. Surely your balls must hurt? Get some ice. Or a pretty demon to rub them better. Then chill out and stare out the window while brooding. It’s your favorite pastime, and I want to make sure you have ample time to do it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
His gaze lingered on me for a long beat, but then he ripped it away and started off toward the opposite stairs. I took a deep breath and hovered up to the correct landing before jogging to my rooms to get freshened up. He’d be fine. This way, he got alone time to read without being annoyed by me, my unwanted assistants, or my requests that he drink more. This way, he wouldn’t have to spend his evenings telling me I was derailing. It saved us both the hassle.
In a passable dress and leather pants, I made my way back down again. Lucifer didn’t seem to mind my odd fashion choices, and I liked to wear pants, just in case. He basically wore the same thing day in and day out.
On the second floor, at the back of the castle, I arrived at the closed double doors of the private dining room, a demon attendant standing to either side. Each wore a type of tux, with long flaps at the back and a bow tie but no actual pants. Instead, they had hairy goat legs ending in duck feet.
“Odd choice for formal wear,” I said as they opened the doors for me. “You got the pants wrong.”
“Yes, thank you, princess,” the one on the right said.
“We thought that we wouldn’t need pants, since we have animal parts,” the other said, obviously with a better grasp of the nature of my comment.
I’d just learned to go with this place making no sense. “Yup, good logic.”
They puffed out their chests and waited for me to enter before shutting the doors again. Lucifer sat at the head of the table, as usual, and stood when I entered the room.
“Reagan.” He stepped to the side, dressed in his button-up white shirt and jeans.
I laughed and took the antique-looking chair beside him, the back carved with lion heads and topped with spikes. The large oval table—dark brown, almost black—held three candelabra, each with three candles, all lit. Paintings in gilded gold frames depicted battles or love scenes. Two crystal chandeliers set in the paneled celling dripped down over the table.
“What’s funny?” he asked, sitting down as I did. Attendants, previously waiting around the room, stepped up to push in my chair.
“Nothing. Just the fashion of this place. It’s very different from the Brink.”
“Good or bad?”
“Good, because I never cared much for fashion.”
“Yes, it’s an arduous waste of time.” He leaned back as an attendant filled our wine glasses from a brown jug. The deep burgundy drink was not wine, however. It almost tasted like punch, and it was quite a bit more alcoholic than its grape counterpart. “How are you? I missed our training today. How was your flight?”
“I’m good. The ride was great. Archion did a flip in the air, and I stayed on.”
“Fantastic.” He beamed, reaching for his glass. “That’s great. You are taking to the air like a squirrel takes to water.”
“Not…no. A duck— It doesn’t matter. But yeah, it’s a good time. It’s a rush.”
“Yes, it is. I have always enjoyed it.”
“Were you busy today? Why’d you have to cancel training?”