Hell's Throne (The Devil's Assistant Series - 5 ) - Unedited

Hell's Throne - Chapter 29

Many little girls wanted to be a princess. I had been one of them. I had wanted to have a crown and wear the pretty dress. It was a child's dream; one I had grown out of by the time I was ten. Life had come knocking to remind me that fairy tales were not real.

And yet, here I was. Somehow, the single mum had become the queen of the underworld. And the reality was so much harder than the childhood fantasies.

I fought the urge to twist the ring upon my finger as I took a seat upon the throne. Instead, I leaned back against the surprisingly warm surface and forcibly released the tension in my muscles. It was stupid. I couldn't even pin point the cause of my nerves. I had been thrown into the deep end of my role, restoring the underworld and taking care of the demons with only Castiel by my side.

It had been tough. But finally, the debris clean-up had been completed and the repairs had begun.

The throne room had been repaired first. In the beginning, it had been a temporary shelter for those who had been displaced. But after months, enough homes had been repaired for the demons to go home and regain a semblance of normality. But, much like the walls surrounding me, no matter how much we tried, not all of the damage could be repaired or forgotten. Cracks still remained.

Castiel entered silently, his steps rapid as he crossed the room. He offered a smile before giving a bow of his head.

My hand subconsciously came up to toy with the circlet of metal now resting upon my head. It was odd. I still didn't understand why I had to wear it. But Castiel insisted. Apparently it was a gift from a friend but I still hadn't been able to twist his arm enough to find out who.

"You can stop with the formality. You know you're family, Cass." I chastised, causing the fallen angel to crack another smile.

"How are you feeling about today?" He asked, turning to survey the room.

I shook my head. "Unprepared. Scared I'm going to say the wrong thing." A sigh whistled between my teeth. "It's tough."

Castiel nodded his head. "Ruling isn't easy. If it was, everyone would do it." He reached out and placed a hand upon my shoulder. "I have faith in you."

"Thanks." I replied before glancing back towards the doors. "I wish Lucius could be here."

Castiel's face closed off and he glanced away. After swallowed past the lump in his throat, he nodded his head. "And he does too. He certainly tried to as well which is why I had to drag him back into bed when he collapsed on the floor.

"At least he's improving. Seeing him so -." I cut off, unable to finish the words. Just the thought of his pale face as he laid in a deep and healing sleep. He had never looked so weak. So frail and human.

"I know."

Straightening my shoulders, I glanced at the closed doors ahead of me. "I think I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. Shall we let them in?"

"I'll let them in." He took a step away but hesitated before he went any further. "You're doing a great job. You know that, right?"

And then he was opening the hall doors. Demons poured sedately into the room, their faces tired and worn from the struggles of the past few months. My heart thudded so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it.

It took several minutes for them all to file in. Finally the doors closed behind them all and the quiet chatter drifted into silence. Expectant eyes stared up at me. Each of them was slightly different; brown eyes, blue eyes, and even eyes that were almost catlike. Blue skin, red skin, white skin, brown skin. Yet each demon exuded lingering pain and grief. But there was also hope.