43

    I sigh angrily and sulk in my seat. This is what I wanted to deal with today. I already have Leyna trying to steal Lucifer away, and now Lilith is giving me a death glare? If there's one part about living in Hell I could truly hate, it's the man-eaters that live here.

Lucifer reaches out across the table and drags a jewel-encrusted platter towards me. Roasted venison covered in a rich wine sauce. My stomach does a back flip at the smell and I nearly faint. I'm salivating but manage to keep my mouth shut to avoid making a mess.

Lucifer smiles at me. "Eat."

I smile back. Taking just enough time to place my linen napkin on my lap, I jam my fork into the plate of steaming meat and taking a delicate bite. Queen of Hell, yes, but I was raised with manners.

The taste renders me mute for a moment, and I manage to suppress a moan. It's fantastic, along with everything else here. Swallowing my first delicious bite, I stab another piece of meat and take another delicate bite, feeding my hunger while keeping my royal charms in check.

"How long has the marriage been official?" Belphagor breaks the silence.

Lucifer grabs his own plate of food and starts to eat. "Three days."

"She's been crowned, I assume." Belphagor's crimson eyes narrow at me.

Lucifer nods. "Yesterday."

A wide smile breaks across the fallen angel's face. "Excellent."

I smile at him and, on instinct, incline my head slightly. His smile softens, though the energy from it stays the same, as he inclines his own head. My gut impulse has saved me. Queen or not, respecting these powerful figures who serve directly under my husband might just keep me alive for another century or two.

"Those things ?" Samael's booming voice snaps me out of my silent musings.

I turn to stare at him, startled and a little confused. His eyes, an electric ocean blue, are fixed on my barely-covered chest. His pouty lips are parted slightly, giving the tiniest hint of his newfound lust.

those

A proud smile rises to my lips. "Yes, they are." I glance at Lucifer for an instant. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid you'll have to consult with my husband if you want to see for yourself."

Lucifer sputters and jerks in his seat, nearly choking on his bite of food.

I'm barely able to suppress my laughter.

Samael throws his head back and bursts out laughing, the deep sound echoing around the hall. "I her!"

Lucifer swallows his food and turns to me, giving me a sly, you're-in-so-much-trouble smile. I smile back innocently and take another bite of venison.

"If you don't mine me asking," Samael's caught my attention again. "What you?"

My chin lifts involuntarily. "36D."

He laughs again and swings his arm to the side, smacking Lilith on the shoulder. "She's got you beat by a full cup!"

She scowls and rubs her shoulder. "She's still ."

Beelzebub gives an exasperated sigh. "Will you give that a rest? You've been bitching about this all week. Yes, she's human. But she's Lucifer's choice, not yours. Give it up."

She glares at Beelzebub, then flicks her eyes to Lucifer. "I just don't understand why you had to pick a girl."

Lucifer shrugs and takes another bite. "She's not mortal anymore."

That doesn't placate Lilith. "You had your choice of millions of succubae! All of them were ready and willing to marry you in an instant. And you go for a ? Why?"

Lucifer takes a long breath, closing his eyes and rubbing his temple with two fingers. Clearly, this isn't the first time my husband and Lilith have been at odds with his choice of a bride. My gut instinct tells me she's a more powerful form of Leyna - jealous that I, a human, bypassed her for the honor of marrying their master. Knowing that a grenade's about to go off somewhere, I scoot my chair an inch to the side, putting a tiny amount of distance between me, Lilith and my now frustrated husband.

Lucifer manages to reign in his anger. "Lilith, we've had this conversation before. I a human girl, so I married one. End of discussion."

Lilith, unfortunately, is persistent. "But why? She's weak, fearful, skinny. She's got no experience with damned souls or torture methods. She doesn't belong here!"

Lucifer's eyes narrow at her. "Lilith." His tone is dark, warning her that she's treading into shark-infested waters.

"I'm only saying that if you had married a demon girl-"

"Lilith, knock it off!" Samael turns to glare at her. "He found a girl to marry and it wasn't . Deal with it."

shuts her up. Lilith stares at Samael in shock for a moment, then drops her head and glares at her food. My gut was correct again. She and Leyna are both envious of me being queen. As much are her not-so-subtle anger has rubbed me the wrong way, I'm glad someone besides my husband took my side in this fight. I mentally pat myself on the head. Showing a little respect to the former angels surrounding me has earned me a few allies.

The table is silent for a moment, and I'm able to take another bite of food to soothe my raging hunger.

"The CEO of Goldman sent in a request this morning." Asmodeus, the famed ruler of the lust circle in Hell, breaks the silence.

Lucifer perks up. "What did he want?"

The angel shrugs. "Insurance. He wanted to make sure they'd be covered in case the market crashes again."

Samael scoffs. "Some people just won't accept their own faults."

I stare at Asmodues, curious. "I thought you only ruled over the lustful. How did you know about Goldman's plea?"

Thankfully, the fallen angel gives me a warm smile instead of a rueful glare. "You're correct in that I do rule over the souls of those whose libido got the better of them. But all of us under your husband have direct access to any request made from the human world. It's a failsafe to make sure that stuff gets handled if Lucifer here were to ever go M.I.A."

"Oh." I nod and smile at him. Well, that does make sense. If Lucifer happened to be tied up with creating a war - or, perhaps, tangled up in bed with me -- someone would have to make sure the place ran smoothly.

"If she were a true queen, she would have known that," Lilith growls quietly.