The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,199

one with the Riddick guy."

Nick jerked his chin at Ron. "Want to grab some pillows and blankets? I'll move the coffee table, and we can all lie in the middle of the floor."

And just like that, my legion shifted from crisis to cuddling, because we had this. Besides, what was the point in being evil if we didn't take a little time to just enjoy the debauchery?

Epilogue

God

Sparks flew off my wings as I sailed over Fire Island. The demons were right. There were no fairies left here at all. While I'd been distracted with my children on Vesdar, enjoying the solitude of life as a dragon, my worlds had fallen into disarray. I'd told myself that this was the price of free will. That they had the right to live or die by their own decisions, but that wasn't what had happened. The angels had come and taken those choices away from them.

So now, I needed to fix this.

I'd spent hours talking to Ronwe and Beelzebub while we were on Earth. From their perspective, I'd failed them, and that wasn't what I'd intended. I had honestly thought I was allowing them to be free, to live their own lives, for better or for worse. When I asked how I could make it right, they said I couldn't. I could only make up for the mistakes of the past. Not in those words, but that was what they'd meant.

Which was why I was here. Of all the mistakes I'd made, allowing angels to take slaves was the biggest. Free will shouldn't be a one-sided thing. I had never intended for it to empower the strong while thwarting the weak. Wanting something wasn't the same as deserving it, yet I still didn't know how to find the right balance. How could I allow people to make mistakes and learn from them if I was always stepping in?

And yet, the Devil seemed to know. To her, it was inherently clear. Hopefully, she'd help me become a better creator without turning into the same kind of monster my beautiful angels had become. In return, I'd show her how to be as powerful as possible. Then, together, we could work side by side to take care of these miraculous little creatures.

The first step was to put things back in balance, but Sia was as limited as I was. We could both use our strengths to mimic the other's, but it wasn't the same. We might be nearly equals, but we each had mastery over our own domain. Mine was creation, and this time, I was going to create something much better. I was going to give my creatures a chance at a better life.

As I flew over the land, I encouraged it to change. Jagged peaks smoothed to become rolling hills. Sandy soil shifted to become more fertile. Sia thought that she would rescue these slaves and send them all back to their former lives, but she'd forgotten about one thing. Most of those midworlders on Angelis had been born there. They knew nothing else.

So I was going to make them a haven. The coastline had to rise, and the currents had to be dangerous enough to dissuade the other inhabitants of this world from exploring. I didn't want them to mingle. Not at first. Once the refugees had been sorted and placed, I'd deal with those left here. I'd change them all to survive in the slower time on this plane, making them perfectly compatible. Just another race of sentients on a world that was already rich and diverse.

When the land was done, I moved to the next phase. These people would need a city. They would need the basic tools to survive and a community where they could actually thrive. That meant shelter. Tilting my wings, I circled high above the land, imagining it all in my mind. There would be a large neighborhood there, plus an elegant building for their communal organization, and more spacious homes spreading out on all sides. In the fields beyond, I encouraged plants to grow so there would be ripe fruit when they arrived. I brought forth small trees so there would be available wood for things like tools.

Everything they could possibly want, I created so they could have it. Let them call this place Eden or Nirvana, I didn't care. It was what they deserved after the atrocities I'd ignored for too long. I couldn't erase what had happened to them, but I could do everything