Demon Queened Ch. 14-13.5 Redux

"Wait... Were you serious!? You actually like her? No way... You're just putting on an act, right? Maybe trying to keep Devilla's little pet from reporting back to her mistress? I mean, there's no way you'd have come here if she actually meant anything to you."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, in complete disregard of all those wonderfully rational thoughts about her baiting me and me not trusting her. There was something different about that last sentence, though. It wasn't really anything concrete. Her voice was still annoying, her words were still bitchy, and her expression was so damn haughty that I was constantly struggling against the urge to punch her in the face. But there was something almost angry in her words, and that somehow made it feel sincere. And, judging by the way Bailey started growling, I wasn't the only one who thought so.

"What do you think it means?" Nivera asked, rolling her eyes.

I continued to glare, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect. The downside of having pitch black eyes - great for hiding sarcasm, terrible for letting people know just how pissed you are at them. Lucky for me, Bailey was there to pick up the slack with a deep throated growl and a showing of very sharp teeth.

"Are you seriously going to make me spell it out for you?"

"Are you seriously still trying to fuck with me?"

Nivera snorted. "Please. I haven't even begun to fu-"

"What she means," rumbled a voice from behind Nivera, "is that your request for a meeting ruined General Doll's efforts to shield you and Devilla from bloodline politics. And that she wants to know whether you're a well meaning idiot who actually cares about her precious childhood friend, or just a dumb bitch who just doesn't give a fuck."

Nivera spun around to face the doorway, while I moved over to the left of her to get a better look without the lamia's bulk in my way. And to avoid getting splattered by the drink Nivera had been holding onto, which was currently rolling its way across the carpet now that Nivera had given up on balancing the tray. Bailey, meanwhile, seemed to have noticed the newcomer before either of us - I couldn't be sure, but I had to wonder whether her sudden aggression had actually been directed at her.

The woman in question was maybe four feet tall, with boots on, and probably smaller without. Not much smaller, though - her mud caked footwear was obviously built for function over height compensation. If anything, she seemed to embrace her stocky build, with tight blue shorts that hugged her wide hips, and drew attention to her thick green thighs. Her eyes were narrowed in annoyance, and her lips were pulled down into a frown, and while I've got no clue how she managed it from her height, there was something about the way she looked at me and Nivera that it feel like we were being looked down on, despite her needing to crane her neck just to look us in the eyes.

"What the fuck, Yara?! You were supposed to wait until I was done!"

Author's Note (2): And that's the chapter! I hope you enjoyed seeing Abigail's side of things, because you can expect to see chapters like this with some frequency going forth. Specifically, I'm sort of planning to split things in two - Abigail will be handling things in the tower for Devilla, while she travels with Lucy, while giving us some insights into tower life in the process, as well as demon culture as a whole. That isn't to say that Devilla won't be doing anything towerside, though! She'll be coming back regularly, talking with Abigail (among other activities), and handling issues as they arise. It's just that Abigail will be doing the legwork, so that Devilla can more easily jump back and forth between the girls.

Other than that, I just want to give a quick shout out to my proofreader, FallingLeaf, and wonderful beta reader/cheerleader Lulla. This chapter would have been a lot harder to pull off without them, and that's really saying something. If you enjoyed, please do consider leaving a like, rating the story, or commenting. Feedback in particular is great fuel for the writing process~)