Page 2 of Taken to the Demon Court (Stolen Demon Brides #3)

EROS

“ T hat’s a strange way to say you’ve been stealing royal coin to pay for your human addiction,” I said, looking down at the once-respected treasurer.

Zag. He had been Father’s right hand for as long as I had existed.

He didn’t care about what was right for the people; instead, he just did whatever my father told him to.

A coward.

“Eros, play nice,” Oros scolded, though there was a smile in her tone telling me that she was enjoying herself just as much.

It wasn’t every day that one of the bastards we had vowed to take down managed to do it all on his own.He had been one of the last for a reason. He covered his tracks well, and Father trusted him. There weren’t many people he would personally step in for, since he didn’t care about others.

If anything, he was just protecting himself by making sure Zag never got caught.

There was no telling what he knew.

But we didn’t need that. We already knew what he had done. The problem was getting him to admit it.

So years went by as we worked down our list, taking out each and every one we could so that Father would be left with no one by his side and we could swoop in for the kill.

“Eros, Oros. Enough. ”

Father’s voice was grating, but it did its job in silencing not just us, but the whole court. The silence was sharp, the fear exuding from them sweet on my taste buds but nowhere near as alluring as a human’s.

Demons of all ranks and statuses in the court stood in the throne room, their eyes on Zag. It was normal for things like this to be public, even if it was humiliating to prosecute Father’s right-hand man.

But he had no choice.

Not after Oros published that lengthy article about his misdeeds and distributed it across the realms. Father had already been made aware of his crimes and had planned an informal private meeting with him, but that wouldn’t do.

He couldn’t just cover up this shit and expect us to be okay with it.

Oros went as far as making sure it was strewn all over the cities lining the edge of our kingdom, the headline in big, bold letters. There was no way he’d be able to sweep this under the rug when every demon in those cities knew just what the high-ranking official was doing with their tax money.

“You have been my confidant for many years. The people trusted you. I trusted you , ” Father said, standing from the throne and walking down the steps to stand in front of the demon, sounding heavy with betrayal and anger.

He was good at faking it for the crowd. His back was to us, the cropped pink hair we shared the only thing I could see besides his glimmering crown and fur cape.

I longed to see his face. To see just how well he was holding up as he sentenced his own best friend to death.

The death sentence was common. The demon court didn’t play around with transgressors, and if he was given anything else, well… Demons could survive almost anything and torture wasn’t enough when some got off on it, so there was a need for a more permanent option.

The demon looked up at him, pain twisting his face. I savored the feeling of seeing one of the people who ruined our mother’s life finally feel the fear they deserved.

I wanted more. I wanted it to be drawn out. Wanted him to be paraded around the realms while demons shouted and threw things at him, destroying his body until all that was left was his barely working brain before Father put an end to it.

But that was unreasonable. I knew that. So I settled for a good old-fashioned head crush.

“I was misguided,” he said, his voice shaky. “I knew what I was doing but could not stop. I beg you to take mercy on me. As your friend. As someone who has given his life to the court.”

“You stole from me,” Father replied, his hands balling into fists at his side. “You stole from the court. The people. And for what? Not even your own power. For pleasure. ”

I shot a look at Oros, who was hiding her smile, though the light in her eyes gave it away. I didn’t try to hide mine, letting the whole court see how I felt about this.

That was the big deal. Not just the stealing, but what the money had been used for. Humans were often used as playthings in the courts, but more often than not, a demon was supposed to eat their human. It was our main source of nutrients after all.

And very delectable.

That was considered normal and common. Fucking them? Okay, many demons partook. But paying for it? And only for sex and not to devour them after?

He became the laughingstock of the demon world. Especially when the court had their own gaggle of humans to choose from at any given moment.

Buying a human pet to keep at an auction was permissible, even if it was considered a bit crude for our stature, but he didn’t even keep them. He fucked them and let them go on their merry way.

Well … To be more accurate, he paid them to fuck him . To each their own, I guess.

“Misguided, my king,” he said. “Please have mercy.”

Father looked down on him as silence echoed.

Sentenced to death.

The seriousness of what he was about to say hung heavy in the room. There was no other punishment. Father was known for his cruelty and strict attitude. It was what we were waiting for.

“Break his horns and send him to wander the Deadlands.”

What?

“Are you fucking kidding me?—“

I hadn’t even realized I had started moving toward Father until Oros had her hand on my shoulder and was yanking me back. She was saving me from making a mistake that would cost me my life—and maybe hers.

But I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when Father had done that.

I saw red, my clawed hands forming fists at my sides. My fangs ached for flesh. It angered me. It hurt . Years and years of trying to get them for what they’d done, and when we’d finally come so close, this was what we got?

His actions were unprecedented. Friend or not, Zag’s head should be rolling on the floor. His fangs pulled out. His blood splattered all over the shiny rose quartz floors.

Father looked back just enough for our eyes to meet. It was a warning. Maybe not obvious to the court, but I knew what he was trying to say.

Don’t interfere unless you want to take his punishment instead. Be a good, silent little demon like your sister.

He had said those words to me so many times it sounded like they were whispered in my ear whenever he gave me that look.

“Father, he stole from us,” I said, regaining my composure.

“No,” Father said. “He stole from me . And I dictate how my people are to be punished.”

He wanted to remind us— no, everyone —that he was the one still in charge of the demons and all their realms. That there would never be a time when Oros and I would rule.

Even if we were next in line, we had to wait until Father was either dead, unable to rule, or cast out by the people. None of which would happen if he kept swooping in and saving himself and his associates’ asses every time there was a fire lit under them.

I could kill him, I thought for a second, but that would be a hard thing to manage . As soon as I made a move, there would be guards on me in seconds. They might work for the royal family, but their main priority was and always would be the king.

Oros’s hand on my shoulder was the only thing keeping me grounded. Reminding me that even during a moment of anger, we had a plan, and we just needed to adjust.

I trusted her. And I knew we had to figure out what we were going to do in light of Father’s foolish actions.

“Remember what our goal is,” she whispered in my ear once the ceremony was finally over and we were watching the people file out.

She was right. Always. I knew she would work it out for us. I just needed patience and an unwavering belief that we would avenge Mother.

But it’s so damn hard.

“It just seems so far away now,” I whispered back, eyeing my father as he mingled with the court.

I wish I could just run over there and sink my claws into his neck. His blood splattering all over those ass-kissers while they screamed at me to stop ? —

“I have some intel about a human,” she said. “One with a strange power.”

I turned to give her a look, the murderous thoughts coming to a quiet buzz in the back of my mind. They became easy enough to ignore, but nothing could fully extinguish them.

I’ll use them for fuel later.

“This one can sense lies,” she added. “If we have her…”

This can be over in a matter of days.

For the first time since our mother was left brutally murdered outside our gates, hope sparked in my chest.