Infernal God (Claimed By Lucifer Book 3) by Elizabeth Briggs (summer reads TXT) 📕

"I... I don't understand," he said. "The Fallen don't have an Archdemon."

"They do now," Hannah said with a big smile for her friend.

I nodded. Until now I'd acted as both Demon King and leader of the Fallen, but it was time to delegate more. Plus, Samael deserved a promotion for everything he did for us. "It's something I should have done centuries ago."

"Agreed," Lilith said, giving Samael a sultry smile. "You've basically had the job all these years anyway, Sam. It's high time you were recognized for it."

"Thank you," Samael said, bowing his head, and the other Archdemons offered their congratulations. "I will do everything in my power to serve the Fallen as their leader."

"I know you will," I said. "And I hope this will address another issue—the belief among some that Fallen are not true demons, or that I favor them over other demon races. That is false. We are all creatures of the night and children of Hell, and Hannah and I will rule over all demons equally and impartially."

This was something Mammon had brought up as a reason why he was trying to overthrow me, and after speaking with some of the other Archdemons privately over the last few weeks, I'd discovered it was a larger problem than I'd realized. I hoped that by making Samael the Archdemon of the Fallen it would solidify him as their leader and representative, and allow me to treat all the demonic races as equal subjects. After all, I wasn't really Fallen, not anymore, and neither was my queen.

I steepled my fingers on the table as we moved on to the next order of business. "As for the imps, we will give them one more week, and if an Archdemon is not named, we will choose one for them. Does anyone have a person they would like to nominate?"

"That won't be necessary," a lilting voice said from the doorway. Audible gasps went up around the room as our unexpected guest strode into the room. I hadn't seen the man in hundreds of years, and though he could change his appearance at will, I recognized that cocky swagger immediately—Loki.

Today he wore wavy black hair, cheekbones that could cut glass, and mischievous green eyes, with his trademark crooked smile. An ancient imp, he was the cousin of Nemesis, and also the father of Fenrir, who had taken after his wolf mother in his powers. Was Loki here to swear his loyalty—or here for revenge?

I rose to my feet, preparing myself in case he launched an attack. "Welcome, Loki. It's been a long time."

"Where have you been all these years?" Bastet asked, with a toss of her dark brown hair. The way she said it made me think they had once been an item.

"Oh, you know. Here and there." Loki waved a hand with a mysterious smile. "I've been hanging out, doing my own thing, but it seems I'm needed now. I'm here as the new Archdemon of the imps, and ready to swear my loyalty to good ol' Lucifer and his lovely queen." He winked at Hannah as he said that, and I barely held back a growl.

Instead, I raised an eyebrow at Hannah, silently asking her if he was speaking the truth. She studied him closely, no doubt reading his aura, and then nodded to me.

"Oh good, I see I have your approval." Loki swept into an elaborate bow before us. "I am your humble servant, my king and queen. I pledge my loyalty to you, and swear to serve as your Archdemon to my best capabilities."

I didn't like this, not one bit. Loki was the most famous trickster of all time, and damn crafty too. If he'd emerged after centuries there had to be a reason, one we might not know for many years—and I didn't believe for one second it was because the imps needed him. But what was that saying—keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?

I flashed him one of my own charming smiles. "We're so pleased to have you with us. Please, take a seat."

Everyone's eyes were on Loki as he draped himself across the chair. "With pleasure."

Hannah cast a warm smile around the table and drew everyone's gaze back to her when she spoke. "Now that the Archdemon issue is settled, we can move on to the next thing on our agenda. Hell."

"What about it?" Baal asked.

I sat back in my chair. "We're going to start rebuilding it."

That got everyone's attention.

"Do you plan for us to return there?" Valefar asked. It was another thing his father, Mammon, had wanted. After speaking with the other Archdemons, it seemed many of my subjects also wanted that—while many others had absolutely no desire to leave Earth.

"Eventually, yes," Hannah said. "Once we've rebuilt some of Hell and determined it is habitable again, we'll open passage to any demon who wants to return there. We know many have made their homes on Earth and will not want to leave, but there are others who long to return to our old realm."

"We'd like to set up a team with representatives from all seven demon races to lead this project," I said. "Please choose five of your people whom you think would be best for this task and report back by the end of the month."

Baal gave me a respectful nod. "This will go a long way into reuniting our people."

"Will it?" Lilith asked. "Or will it set up another divide of Earth versus Hell demons?"

"We'll try to prevent that from happening by allowing demons to pass freely between the two realms," Hannah said.

Valefar stroked his chin. "My people would approve of that. Hell is much safer for my dragons than Earth, but with our numbers so few, we also need to be in this realm to reproduce and rebuild our race."

Bastet leaned toward me and asked, "But will you be ruling the demons on Earth or the ones in Hell?"

"Both." I leveled a gaze