the other structures, clad in rusted metal sheeting, but on opening the small side door, the building revealed its true purpose as a meeting house—or lord’s court, though that term had been fading out of use in Konstantin’s time.
Severn tripped at the sight of so many demons under one roof. They gathered in groups, propped against the old rusted car chassis or metal drums. The height of the structure amplified their murmuring. A metal walkway clung to the inside of the building a floor up but was open, so all the demons gathered above could see into the central stage area. The area Ernas was leading Severn to now.
The murmuring ebbed to silence, punctured only by the occasional cough or rustle of wings.
Djall stood at the back of the stage, whip coiled at her hip and wings clamped closed. Others stood alongside her, too, faces Severn only vaguely remembered, who appeared to have risen in power. But one face he knew well. The stern, narrow face of the concubi lord Luxen.
Samiel gently took the angelblade from Severn’s hand and veered off to one side. It was probably a good idea not to appear as an angel and armed in front of the lords.
Djall’s eyes narrowed on seeing Severn climb a set of steps onto the stage. Ernas bowed his head to the demon court and hastily jogged off-stage, leaving Severn alone, surrounded by hundreds of demons. Their collective stares made his skin tingle and tighten. Every single demon here saw an angel.
Even Jayke was here—the hard-ass demon who had helped Severn first get inside the cauldron, and thus Aerie, a decade ago.
Ah, this was a trial.
Jayke was here to give evidence.
They were all here to condemn Severn.
He searched for any sign of the madam but couldn’t see her. She was likely with the medics. He had few allies here. Even as Konstantin, he hadn’t been universally accepted as a lord. Too young, too brash, some said too compulsive to be a lord.
In hindsight, they had a point.
“Konstantin, Lost Lord of the Red Manor,” High Lord Lux began, voice booming, “you stand before the demon lords, accused of defection. We have heard the testimony of those you employed in your subterfuge. You were not made available to voice your defense, but it seems clear you went willingly to the angels, wearing your… new skin.”
As High Lord, he was the closest thing demons ever had to a king, and it was a testament to how far the demons had fallen that a sly, political-game player like Luxen ruled them now. As concubi, he stood taller than most others here, with a wingspan (currently folded) that rivaled Konstantin’s. And clearly, leadership agreed with him. He might not have been the most muscular demon here, but adorned in fitted leather punctuated with buckles and clips, his physique radiated the kind of undeniable fuck-me-feed-me-worship-me aura that all mature concubi possessed. Lux was the epitome of everything Mikhail had tried to eradicate, and in Konstantin’s absence, he’d risen to lofty heights.
Jeseph leered from among the lords, enjoying the shock on Severn’s face at having been denied a chance to speak at his own trial.
“High Lord,” Severn began, “that’s not—”
“How do you plead?” Lux asked.
“I did not know this trial was ongoing, or I would have presented myself.”
If Lux cared, his stern face showed no sign of it. “How do you plead?” he repeated.
“I did not go willingly.” How was he supposed to explain how he had technically defected, but only because of vengeance for the death of a demon who stood very much alive in the crowd.
“Then, you were captured?” Lux asked.
To be captured and held for so many years by Mikhail would be just as much a disgrace as defecting. “No, I wasn’t captured. That’s not—”
“Then you were there by choice?”
“Yes, but—”
Lux’s thin lips stretched into a grin as Severn dug his own grave with every word.
How could he deny it, standing before them as an angel? The demon court had always been fair, but much had changed, and the faces of the lords looking back at him were not sympathetic.
Severn dropped to a knee and bowed his head. “I plead not guilty.”
Furor erupted, a cacophony of descent. Lux’s cries for order initially fell on deaf ears, but eventually, the crowd settled again.
Severn lifted his head to see Lux had moved forward. He’d never felt so small as he did in that moment. Even if he’d knelt as Konstantin, Lux still would have wielded all