Page 116 of Demon's Beauty

“Great. Vayla is still there finishing up, but we were able to get the medicine to everyone who needed it.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Eren and I were very concerned by the reports we were getting about the fever.”

Eren.

King Eren Ashblood.

Allie’s husband, and the ruler of this entire realm.

Kind of wild, actually, to be reminded you’re talking to royalty.

“Hey Soleil,” Joan chimes in, “long time no see.”

“Uh, yeah,” I say with a forced laugh. “It’s been a while.”

“This is Rhett,” she says with a nod to the demon beside her, then looks to Finn. “And I take it this is…”

“Finn,” he supplies smoothly, shaking her hand, and then clasping Rhett’s forearm.

“Alright, well,” Allie says, pressing her hands together in front of her. “Good. Introductions are good.”

A slightly awkward silence falls, and she turns to Marianne next, much more wary this time. “Did my mother send you?”

“Nope,” Marianne says with a smirk. “I’m here on my own. No High Priestess permission involved.”

“And you’re here because…”

“I need to talk to Soleil. Not sure if you’ve been brought up to speed, but her leaving the coven hall has caused a bit of a… situation.”

Dread drops into my stomach. “What kind of situation?”

Marianne frowns, glancing around at the curious looks we’re getting from all over the atrium.

Allie lets out an uncomfortable laugh. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why they have to announce me like that every time. It makes a bit of a scene.”

Joan grins. “Because you’re a big fucking deal and you deserve the spotlight.”

Allie’s blush deepens, and she shakes her head. “Yeah, well. Come on, I know a place we can go for some privacy.”

She starts off toward one of the atrium’s exits, and I turn to Finn.

“I think it would be good if I… handled this on my own. Whatever Marianne has to say is probably about the coven, and…”

“It’s alright,” Finn says gently, leaning in to press a kiss against my cheek. “Come find me whenever you’re finished?”

I nod, grateful for the understanding. “I will.”

“You can find somewhere else to be, too,” Joan tells her own demon mate. “Girls only. No boys allowed.”

Rhett wraps his tail around her waist and pulls her close, whispering something in her ear that makes her flush before he lets her go.

The weight doesn’t leave the bottom of my stomach as I follow after Allie, Marianne and Joan. Through the atrium—so impressive and magnificent as it soars stories and stories above—and into the great hall.

I only got a brief glimpse of it last time I was here, and today it’s set with long rows of tables leading up to the dais where Allie and Eren must take their meals. Instead of stopping, though, we continue on through the room and past the dais to a door tucked away in an alcove, which opens into another smaller chamber.

It’s no less impressive, though, as Allie gestures for us all to sit around a table that looks like it could easily seat thirty people.

“Less formal than the hall,” she explains as she takes her own seat. “Sometimes used for council meetings, or for dining in a more intimate setting.”