As we pulled up to the venue, I had to at least give Requiem credit for taste. Miroirs was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, so much so that they only employed humans. Considering humans were now the rarest race on earth, it was clearly a show of how much power the restaurant considered itself to have. They also had a reputation of having the best food in the city, which also meant that reservations were hard to get. A part of me wondered if Requiem had pulled strings to get us here, or if he knew the owners well enough to get a reservation whenever he wanted.
Cissi and Stella were quick to exit from either side of Luc and I, politely telling us to wait until they made sure the restaurant was ready for us. We both had kept our hands to ourselves and remained silent on the ride, the bodyguards keeping us pressed together. We were painfully aware that any affection or talking would end the date immediately and spell the end to any hope of freedom for Luc. Requiem's rules were long and cruel, but if we passed, he would have to leave us alone in the future. For the most part.
"You look lovely." Luc whispered, and I resisted the desire to look at him. Although I couldn't see either of our escorts, I knew at least one of them had to be watching us, waiting for one of us to break a rule. Luc was barely moving his mouth as he spoke, and I wished I could do the same. "Azger's work is wasted on others."
I couldn't help the warmth in my face as I blushed, suddenly aware of how much of my chest was showing. It was not the first time Luc had told me I was beautiful, but to hear him say the same while I wore something so revealing made my heart pound. I found myself longing for privacy, but swallowed my own lust as I cleared my throat. I shifted slightly and dragged my fingers along my thigh, spelling out what I wanted to say.
"Thank you." I wrote, and took Luc's soft grunt as recognition that he had seen my writing. We were interrupted as Cissi returned, beaming a bright smile into the car.
"They are ready for us." I took the demon's hand as I raised my head, accepting the aid out of the car. I heard Luc climbing out on the other side as Cissi closed the door behind me, chuckling softly as they leaned down to whisper to me. "I can't wait to see how you do."
I grunted as I resisted the desire to walk away, opting not to respond to their obvious bait. I ran Azger's rules through my mind as I waited for Luc to join me on my side.
'Don't bow or show weakness. Only speak when it benefits me and to win over the person I'm speaking to. As the invitee, it is my place to ensure the date goes smoothly and productively.' I reminded myself, offering Luc my hand as we walked toward the door Stella was holding open. 'For all intents and purposes, I am a Demon Princess tonight, and I bow to no one.'
I smirked as the thought passed through my mind and felt more confident as we approached the reception desk. A colorful waterfall sat behind the desk as we stood in front of it and at first I couldn't see the hostess. After a moment she appeared, sighing heavily as she returned to her post. The girl behind the desk had long dark raven hair and she was quick to bow her head as we waited.
"Welcome Lucien and Lin." She spoke politely to both of us and I had to hide my surprise. I hadn't expected Requiem to hide my name, but I guess even he wasn't willing to bring that much wrath down on Luc when this endeavor was his whole idea. "This way."
We followed behind the girl as she led us into the main body of the restaurant and I glanced around discreetly as we walked. One, two… no three Angel couples, and they watched us with disdain as we walked by. I thought I recognized one of the pairs, but decided it was not the smartest idea to stare, lest they recognize me as well. I made it a point to scowl when I met their gaze, but kept my confident smile when the girl paused, showing us our booth. It was one of the rare booths reserved for royalty, with plenty of plush pillows for us to relax on and the table already prepared with hor'dourves.
"Here is your seating-"
"I KNOW there's no way you're giving that trash royal treatment." I turned sharply as I heard the voice interrupt the hostess, and scowled as I noticed it was one of the angel couples. The woman stood with her arms folded across her chest, fluffing her white wings as she continued. "I'M the Angel of Confidence, and yet you have ME and my date sitting at one of the regular tables."
"Miss Iaoel, we discussed this earlier. Being an angel of virtue does not equal royalty." The Hostess sighed and I could tell the poor girl had probably heard quite an earful when seating them. I frowned as I fully turned to face Iaoel, realizing there was a good chance she would recognize me if I spoke. Great. "We-"
"Should not be treating demons as royalty either, hell they shouldn't even be treated as living beings." Iaoel continued, and I felt as Luc gripped my hand tighter. I heard Cissi walk up to me and felt them press their hand into the small of my back, drawing a symbol into my dress. I felt power start to well within me and I released Luc as I stepped forward, fully annoyed with the angel. "Demons are-"
"Apparently better behaved than an Angel of Virtue." I interrupted, keeping my head high as I spoke. The voice that came from me was not quite my own and I appreciated the help from Cissi as Iaoel scowled at me. "It seems your confidence does not include orderliness or self discipline."
"I will NOT be talked down to by a lowly Peri who-"
"Has a better head on her shoulders than you? Truly the virtues have fallen if one such as you can count among them." I continued, feeling my own pride and pain rise in my chest. This is what had become of the Virtues, the highest order of Angels below the Angelic Council? "You harass this human for doing her job and think it makes you mightier than me?"
"I-"
"You," I interrupted again, making sure I looked down on her from where I stood, spreading my wings as I spoke. The pain that shot throughout my back under the illusion was agonizing but I did my best to ignore it. "Hoped you could incite the rest of the patrons here to side with you and have us kicked out. Well, let us see. Will any of you side with this Angel who thought it her right to interrupt your evening, or shall we have her removed instead?"
The restaurant was deadly silent as I finished speaking and I met Iaoel's eyes evenly as we waited to see what would happen. She was seething with rage that I had pointed out her ruse, and I couldn't help my slight chuckle. Iaoel had not been the Angel of Confidence when I was in Heaven, so her promotion to a virtue must have been recent, or Sarai would have told me already. She would easily lose that promotion if I showed her up here and I knew that I would win.
"I think the Angel should go." Someone finally muttered and my laughter grew as Iaoel shot the pixie who said it a dirty look.
"What did you say?!"
"He said you should go." One of the other Angels stood, facing Iaoel as he did so. I resisted the urge to frown as I heard his voice, my mind racing. Why did he also sound familiar? His face was away from me, and I was unable to make out any discerning features as I stared at his back. "As a fellow angel, I understand your issue with the demons, but causing a scene like this is unacceptable, Iaoel. We'll have to reconsider your position as a Virtue."
"Wait!" Iaoel seemed to be unnerved at the man's words and she quickly glanced between the hostess and the other angel. "It's fine, it's fine! We are fine."
The hostess seemed to be contemplating her choices as she sighed heavily, dropping her head to her hand. It was clear she wanted to throw out Iaoel, but as far as I understood it, it was not a decision she could make on her own. One of the owners would have to make that call, and it was clear despite the commotion, they had not considered it necessary. After a moment, she lifted her head, taking another deep breath.
"You can stay for now, but any more commotion and I'll have to remove you."
"Understood." Iaoel acknowledged, and the male angel sighed heavily as he sat back down with his own date. As the hostess turned to face Luc and me, I caught the scowl Iaoel tossed my way. I made it a point to smile brighter at her as I closed my wings and returned to Luc's side as we entered our booth. I did my best to hide my discomfort from the ache in my back as I settled on one of the pillows, clearing my throat to gain Cissi's attention.
"You could have acted sooner." I offered, still smiling as the demon and his partner positioned themselves as guards to our booth. The demon beamed an absolutely giddy smile at me and I swallowed my own hate of the expression.
"This will be an interesting night indeed." Was all they offered before turning away and I chuckled to hide my own sigh, already wishing the night could be over with.