Set five years after the events of 'Daughter of Darkness', the ruling family of Regnum Infernale receive a peculiar visitation from their distant past. The visitors urge them to undergo a dangerous magical feat that could change their world forever...
Anathem and his sister stood in a formation line with all fifteen of the other demon spawn in the sanctuary in the Cooperative agency branch. Two androids were present to make the current process move along faster, the process in which they identified themselves and signed a form to consent to the study Isla Fitzgerald was conducting on them. Desdemona was standing right next to Cecilia, the short-haired blonde girl she had seen at the Azazel Academy. Her platinum tresses were tousled, and she was clad in all black – a turtleneck and a pair of pants that were form-fitting and matched. She physically looked to be eighteen or nineteen, about the same age as Anathem. The Princess' attention was caught by her because she glanced to her side, almost afraid to make eye contact with her relative much higher in status than she.
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"Can I help you?" asked Desdemona.
"Oh, I...uh... never mind." I'm really looking at her brother, Cecilia thought to herself. "Your Infernal Highness." She bowed informally and faced forward.
"You didn't answer my question. I'll ask again... can I help you?" the Princess demanded.
"I..." Cecilia looked over at the Princess and leaned in. "I am really just looking at His Infernal Highness, your brother." She paused, and her dark hazel eyes turned dreamy. "His hair is gorgeous, fine as silk. It would be an absolute honor to comb it."
Anathem rolled his eyes, hearing every word: "you whisper like thunder. I could hear every word. You are not going anywhere near my hair."
Cecilia's eyes widened and she shook her head: "I'm sorry, Your Infernal Highness, I just-"
"I hate women..." Anathem mused, looking at her as though she were a piece of dog poop on the side of a walkway in summertime heat. "Don't think you have a chance at becoming Queen."
"Don't be such a brat!" Desdemona exclaimed. She then looked to her relative and rolled her eyes: "he's a bratty Prince."
Cecilia just giggled at the sentiment, but she was met with a contemptuous glare from the Prince, who was approached by one of the two androids; it was in the form of a female, humanoid, with tan flesh and her dark hair in a bun. In fact, anyone who did not know about androids would think she was an ordinary human. She came with a clipboard and adjusted the pages under the clip before bowing to her royal superiors and speaking.
"Your Infernal Highnesses," she began. "I have been specifically instructed to pull you both aside, as well as..." She looked at Cecilia. "Your name please?"
"Cecilia Blackwell."
"Age?"
"Six."
"Date of birth?" The android Cooperative associate was writing all of this down on the slip of paper, and Cecilia answered.
"April 4, 2027."
"Parentage?"
"Look, don't you have all of this information?" asked Cecilia with minor irritation in her voice.
