“There are still six thousand demons this side of the gates.” Gabriel’s voice betrayed his extreme displeasure at this fact.

I took a quick tally, discounting my own household. “Five thousand eight hundred sixty-four,” I corrected him. “And angels are to do nothing about that. If there’s an issue, it needs to come to my attention. I find out any angel, Grigori or otherwise, has been delivering vigilante justice, and they’re mine to punish.”

I just flat out wouldn’t tolerate that shit. Not now. Not ever again. Demons had risked everything to fight side-by-side with angels. Not just my household, but Remiel’s, Doriel’s and several others. Ancients had stuck their neck out to help their former enemies. Never again would we be anything but equals deserving of respect.

“And I want another vote on lands here that are under demon control. I’ve tagged someone for administration who will be fair and thoughtful. I’m requesting the areas formerly seized by the Samael impersonator. That way we can rebuild them, and work to regain human trust.”

“No.” Gabriel said flatly.

I heard Lux make a disapproving clucking noise. I’d had to bring him to the meeting because all my sitters were otherwise occupied. And little shit that he was, he’d insisted on being hauled around in a baby carrier strapped to my chest.

Yes. He’d grabbed my boobs three times so far. I didn’t care, but his father was beginning to get irritated.

Gregory reached his hand out to grip my shoulder. “Cockroach, this was discussed and voted on previously. It was decided that the demons would not be allowed any claim on humans or their lands.”

Decided. I had been out-voted, and I was still bitter about it. “We fucking fought on your side. We deserve an equal stake here in the human world. I’m not asking for half the land-mass, I’m asking for three states. Oh, and I’d also like a section of western Canada, all of Mexico and Central America.”

That was far more than I’d accept, but it was always best to start with an extreme position and allow room for negotiation and compromise.

“No. The demons can be here as closely monitored visitors, but no more,” Gregory told me.

“No. You need to fucking learn to compromise and do it in the next five minutes,” I argued. “We need a clean slate, and we need a show of faith on the part of the archangels.”

“There are some things we cannot compromise on,” he told me. “Let’s table this and in a few thousand—”

“Now. There was a time when you refused to compromise and you still carry the scars from that decision—you’ll forever carry the scars and the guilt for that decision. Don’t let history repeat itself.”

His gaze softened and I felt his spirit-self caress mine. Lux made a gagging noise and I shushed the little angel.

“I want to see us come together, Cockroach. I want demons and angels to live together and love together and create those who may return to Aaru and reclaim the legacy we lost through pride and anger. I want that with all my heart. But I cannot sacrifice the future of humankind in the process of pursuing that future. We’ve done them grievous wrongs. We must correct that and ensure their positive evolution. If that means the reconciliation of our kind is delayed a million years, so be it.”

“We will rebuild, gain their trust. Besides, demons won’t do any worse to humans than the angels have already done,” I countered.

“I vote yes,” Raphael said. “The Iblis has clearly demonstrated that she has all of Hel under her control. Because of her we were facing five thousand demons instead of thirty thousand. We would never have won that battle without her, or the war without help from her allies.”

“I agree,” Uriel said. “Human losses and damage were minimal compared to what they could have been, and losses on our side could have been far worse.”

Nyalla elbowed Gabe in the side and he grudgingly spoke up. “The human leaders of state were very impressed with how quickly this was resolved. Someone told them of the key role the Iblis played, and they are incredibly grateful for her intervention and support.”

I was willing to bet that the “someone” wasn’t Gabriel.

“All in favor?” Raphael asked, raising his hand.

It ended up being me, Uri, Rafi, Nyalla, and Ahia. Gabe, Asta, and Gregory dissented. And too fucking bad for them because I had the majority on my side.

“Okay,” Gregory sighed, shooting me an apologetic smile. “Let’s all come to an agreement regarding basic standards of conduct—angels, demons, and humans, and proceed from there.”

“The humans should have a say in that as well,” Nyalla chimed in. Uri nodded in agreement.

“Speaking of the humans,” Uriel added. “They should be free to leave if they don’t want to live under demon rule. Humans have a complex system in place for permission to change country of residence similar to how we handle requests to change choirs. I suggest we do the same for humans wanting to go from demon areas to the angel ones.”

“Or from the angel areas to the demon ones,” I told her.

“I also want a group of human spokespeople who gets the final say on common rule of law,” Uriel said.

Ahia’s hand went up. “Human spokespeople to include a minimum of one werewolf and one Nephilim.”

Rafi’s hand went up. “The Nephilim in the group of human spokespeople has the power of binding arbitration.”

My heart pounded and I felt lightheaded with the realization that I’d won this battle. Me, an imp, had won.

No, me, the Iblis, had won.

“Agreed,” Gregory said. “Ahia, I want you to head the formation of the human council. Work with Candy to pick a werewolf representative or two, as well as the Nephilim. Work with Gabe to identify human heads of state to contact and allow each independent country one representative. We’ll weigh their votes based on their population size.” The archangel turned to Asta. “You work with Uriel and put together a proposed list of common rules of law as well as behavioral standards. Use the ones the humans already have in place as guidance, and add to that rules that would make sense from an angel and demon perspective. I will continue to monitor gates and head the Grigori, while Raphael is now in charge of the rifts and any who come through them.” He turned to me and what I saw in his dark eyes took my breath away. “The Iblis will be ultimately responsible for the demon-owned areas and their compliance with the rule of law, regardless of who she puts in charge of administration. She is also in charge of policing and disciplining any demons who choose to live in the angel-controlled areas. These are your demons, Cockroach. It’s your responsibility to ensure they behave.”

My eyebrows shot up. Lux snickered.

“Well, your definition of behave anyway.”

That was better.

One by one the angels left. Gabe and Nyalla headed upstairs to possibly undress and discuss the day’s events. I turned to Gregory, Lux still strapped to my chest his little hands firmly affixed to my boobs.

“Moon?” Gregory asked, his voice husky, his eyes dark as he looked at me. “Maybe some private time first, then moon?”

“Can you give me a couple of days?” I unstrapped Lux and handed him to Gregory. “I want to take care of a few things in Hel first before I spend a day relaxing on the moon with my family.”

He cuddled Lux against his chest and nodded. “Understood. After that show of power you just performed, I could imagine you would need to head back there and reinforce your leadership ability.”

Yeah. I wanted to have a serious chat with Remiel about where we stood going forward, as well as present him with the profiles of some angels I thought he might like to take on a date. Hopefully he’d swipe right on one or two. Then I needed to talk to Doriel, make sure my Lows had enough bitey fish and that the demons in my dungeon hadn’t died. I also needed to fly around Hel and basically glower at the residents, ensuring they remembered who exactly was in charge now.

Weird. I didn’t really feel in charge, but I guess this was one of those fake-it-until-you-make-it things.

“Two, three days max,” I told him. “Enjoy some time with Lux, and if you need a break, Nyalla can give you a hand, or Snip, or…Gimlet. If you can find him.”

I hadn’t seen Gimlet since I’d returned, and I got the feeling he didn’t want to be seen. That was okay. Some things took time. Some things took millions of years. And if he wanted to show up in a revolting Low form to take care of my kid, then that was okay with me. He was Lux’s uncle, after all.

I sat beside Doriel, sipping the wine one of her staff had brought to me. She still looked like shit. Well, her spirit-self looked like shit, and would always bear those scars even after she’d healed. Her corporeal form was looking much better than the last time I saw her.

“I’ve never met this guy, but someone told me on good authority that the Samael imposter was an Ancient named Luziel?”

She started. “Luziel? He died during the war.”

Figures. “You actually saw him die?” I asked, just in case.

“No, but he served under Amendadiel, and he claimed Luziel died. I remember it was right after the battle for the sixth choir, the one before that final battle.”

So Samael lied. No big shock there. “Is this Amendadiel guy still alive?” I asked, wondering if it had been him impersonating the former Iblis.

“He was at the fall. I don’t recall seeing him afterward, but I slumbered quite a bit as did he. We weren’t awake and active at the same time. Besides, we never really got along. Although we got along better than Luziel and I.” Doriel sniffed. “That angel. Joins with Samael one time, and thinks they have something special going on. Nasty orange bug of a creature. As if Samael would even look twice at something like that.”

Ah, jealousy. Seems that wasn’t just a trait inherent in Angels of Order.

“Luziel claimed that he and Samael were partners,” she continued. “That they were inseparable, that he knew the Iblis better than anyone. Liar.”

I bit back a grin. “So Samael got around, huh? Luziel, an endless stream of Angels of Order…you.”

She shot me a narrowed glance. “Samael made no one promises. If there was mutual pleasure to be found in an action, he was always willing and usually the instigator. That angel could tempt the Creator to sin. So yes, he got around, and no, he would never have been exclusive to Luziel, no matter what that worm may have said.”

Well, whether it was Luziel or Amendadiel, or Billy Jo Bob, the guy was dead. And at Samael’s hand too. I wondered if the demons, or angels at the battle had spread any rumors.

“I guess he’s truly dead then,” Doriel added somberly. “Samael, I mean. I was such a fool to trust that imposter.”

“You had hope,” I told her. “That’s not a foolish thing.”

“Well, it is foolish to hang on to the past when it hinders you from your future.” She shifted on the seat to better face me. “And are you here to tell me a bit about that future?”

“Yes I am.” This time I did grin. “We have demon lands across the gates. And as soon as you are able, I want you to take administrative control of them. I’ll send you the list of agreed-upon policies and procedures from the Ruling Council meeting, and you’ll need to coordinate with both human government as well as the oversight committee, but I’m putting you in charge of it. Don’t fuck up.”

“I won’t.” She grinned back. “I’m not an imp.”