Chapter 34

As Theanna cleaned up and changed out of her battle attire she grabbed a small bite of food and something to drink. Talos was absolutely horrid and she wanted to get every bit of it off of her. The girl that took care of her hair and was simply a magician with it, Gracie, quietly appeared behind her. “Have a seat, my Queen. I think tonight you should wear your universe stone and have a hairstyle that not only shows off your Daemoni horns, but shows your grace and prowess as our one and only High Queen.”

“I couldn't agree more, sweet Gracie. You’re such a magician with my hair. I could never even get close to making it look as beautiful as you always do. If you ever need anything, I hope that you feel you can talk to me. I'd love to be able to help you as you help me every day.”

Gracie started to blush prettily. She was a slip of a girl only slightly taller than Thea with brown hair and eyes. She was soft spoken but such a treasure to Thea. “Thank you, my Queen. I'll remember that. There. You’re all set. How does it look?”

Thea looked into the mirror and smiled broadly. “Perfect! I look like a badass Queen. I love it! Thank you so much!”

As Gracie bowed and vanished, Thea left the bathroom to return to her sitting room where she found Hezin guarding her bathroom door and looking on as Damian and her Generals were in a deep discussion about what treasures Azorack had hidden from all of them. She smiled as she took the opportunity to steal another quick bite of food.

Just as she swallowed, a member of her Royal Guard appeared in the room and approaching Theanna, whispered into her ear. Her smile widening she said loud enough to capture the attentions of Damian and her Generals, “Excellent! Come, we have special guests arriving to join us in celebrating our victory!”

As she led everyone out of the room, Damian smiled at Thea’s enthusiasm. They arrived in a very ornate greeting room where Lord Lucifer and his mate, Cailynnia, awaited them. Everyone immediately bowed to them with the exception of Theanna who teasingly greeted as she hugged Lucifer, “Took you long enough, old man! You missed out on all the fun!”

“He had to use all his hair products and face creams to look just so,” Cailynnia teased as she pulled Theanna away from her mate and into a deep hug.

“Whatever, Lady of Outfit Indecision,” Lucifer grumbled. “Did Dad and Sis show up yet?”

“Dad and Sis?” Gaia asked as she appeared with Lord Chaos. “Since when have you referred to us in such ‘human’ terms?” Gaia was incredibly beautiful and looked a lot like her father. While Chaos was very large, Gaia was actually quite petite, which is where Thea got her size from. Gaia had the same stark white hair and iridescent eyes as her father as well as an air of timeless beauty.

As Thea hugged her, Lucifer chuckled and said, “If the shoe fits... Sis.”

Gaia shook her head at him as the room filled with a bright light. Within the light, three men appeared, all incredibly handsome. Only two wore armor and were apparently guardians. The third gave off an air of mystique and power. His ice blue eyes and his black, almost blue hair gave him an exotic handsomeness. Theanna's Generals were stunned when they saw their stark white, feathered wings. They were Illuminare.

“Lord Uriel!” Thea exclaimed. “Welcome to the Dark Realms! Welcome to my home!”

“Thank you! It’s different than I expected and fitting of its name! You'll forgive me. In our realm, this is our deepest night. It takes a bit to get used to.” Lord Uriel smiled tenderly at the High Queen, his great-granddaughter. None of his offspring were as powerful as she, or as goodhearted. Theanna was his only descendant not of his home and yet she sat closest to his heart. He'd been watching her for a long time and was so very proud of her.

With a slight wave, Theanna brightened the room. “I hope that helps! I'm excited to finally be able to build an alliance with the Illuminare and further improve our realms. Darius is here as well, he's currently with the Lycan leadership. I’m sure you'll want to see him while he's here. Shall we head to the throne room for all of the official pomp and circumstance before we can relax?”

“Just try to keep the feathers from getting everywhere!” Lucifer murmured.

Uriel narrowed his eyes at his old rival. “Hmmm, back with the feather comments I see. Haven't you learned any new insults?”

“Why, when the old works just fine.”

Chaos immediately rolled his eyes and engulfed Thea into a hug as he murmured, “I pray you have a good bit of alcohol on hand to get me through the ‘fun’ of the evening.”

“Of course. It’s not a proper party without it,” Damian replied with a grin.

“Very good! I look forward to seeing Reniac and what your choice of punishments will be,” Chaos chuckled wickedly.

“I believe he's still howling his protests at being defeated,” Theanna replied. “But enough about that... shall we join everyone for what I’m sure will be quite the interesting night?”

As they started to head towards the room’s exit she smiled as she noticed Gaia taking Uriel’s offered arm. Her smile turned purely wicked as she caught her great- grandmother’s eye and winked as her purple Daemoni horns emerged along with something few had ever seen, her darkest purple angel wings.

“Really? Feathers is what he gave you?” Lucifer threw his hands up exasperated. “At least you got horns from me.”

Thea giggled at Lucifer’s reaction. Turning to Uriel she said in all seriousness, “I’ve only discovered them rather recently and was hoping at some point you could show me how to properly use them. Damien tried but his Daemoni wings work so much differently than Illuminare wings work. I can use them just a bit but haven't been able to outright fly.”

“I would love to,” Uriel smiled at her. Getting to know her better one on one was something that he would thoroughly enjoy doing. “I love the unique color of your wings and how they match your Daemoni horns. With your beautifully colored eyes and hair they give you a unique look that is deceptively gentle looking. It's always best when your enemies underestimate you.”

“Oh absolutely. That’s the main reason it was so easy to defeat Reniac, his ego caused him to underestimate me at every turn. Now Lucifer,” Thea started as she wrapped an arm around his arm. “Don't feel bad about the feathers, I've your wicked sense of humor and sense of justice. Which means tonight is going to be quite entertaining.”

Lucifer chuckled at her as he placed a kiss on her temple and murmured into her ear. “I don't care about the feathers. I just love to mess with him. I’m so very proud of you Queen Theanna. Very proud!”

Theanna blushed as he returned to his mate and Damian joined her with a deep smile. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her hand. This night was going to be truly interesting in so many ways.