“I can't imagine you cracking jokes in a battle.”
“I was always the one who people rolled their eyes at. Bad jokes, nicknames, puns, movie quotes; I loved it all. I think the humor helped get me past the horror. I've even mocked gods as they've tortured me.”
“That's badass,” Sin said with a smile.
“It definitely throws them off their game.” I smiled back.
“14 floors?” Sin asked as waved at the buttons. “From outside, there looked as if there were more. You must have made some high ceilings.”
I pressed number 14. “I did, but there are also more than 14 floors. That's only as high as this elevator goes. Another elevator will take us up to 16, where your suite is, and one goes up from there to the 17th floor, where my suite begins, and there, a final elevator extends up to 19, the top floor.”
“Three floors for yourself?” He lifted a brow.
“The floors get smaller the higher you go.” I shrugged. “In case you didn't notice; the keep is shaped like a tower.”
The elevator dinged, and we stepped out into a bright hallway with pale stone walls and creamy marble floors. I led Sin down a curving corridor to another elevator on the opposite side of the keep. We went up to the 16th floor and stepped out into a masculine room of onyx floors, dark gray walls, and heavy but sleek furniture.
“What do you think?” I asked Sin as I strode across the immense Persian carpets toward his balcony. “I can change anything you don't like.”
Sin strode around, admiring the dark dais his king-sized bed ruled from, running his hand across an ebony side-table, and peering through a doorway into the dressing room done in dark hardwood. He wandered into the other rooms; his private dining room, a living room with a flat-screen TV, and an extra room I'd left empty for him to furnish as he wished. Then he joined me on the balcony and stared at the waterfall that rushed down to the left of it. The spray added moisture to the air, purifying the dusty scent and refreshing my skin. Sin sighed as he leaned on the stone railing and stared out across the desert.
“I love it. Thank you. I don't think anyone has ever given so much. Especially not within 24 hours of our introduction.”
“This is only the beginning,” I said softly.
Desert stretched to our left but to our right, cities could be seen on the horizon. Bahrain may be an island, but it was a massive one. Technically, it was an archipelago, a collection of islands, eighty-four, to be exact. I had taken control of the main island; Bahrain Island. I'd need to correct that uncreative name soon but at the moment, I had other things to focus on.
“Star has secured the archipelago for me,” I turned to speak to Sin. “The military is under my control, the ruling family, as I mentioned, has been banished to Saudi Arabia, and that enormous bridge that connected Bahrain to Saudi Arabia—”
“The King Fahd Causeway?”
“That's the one. It's gone for now. We'll replace it later when we need to move troops but right now, it's better to be harder to reach. They'll be coming for us soon.”
“Understood.” He nodded crisply, suddenly the soldier.
“The human population of Bahrain has been advised of the change in rulership through public service messages, and Star has calmed any unrest this caused. I'll go out among them soon and check out my kingdom—my queendom—but first, I'm going to take a tip from Tiamat and make some allies.”
“You're going to make your allies? Why do I have a feeling that you mean that literally?”
“Did I not mention that I have the power of creation at my disposal?” I smirked at him.
Sin gaped at me.
Maybe I'd even make myself a husband. The thought made me smile; a man formed to my exact specifications. What could be better than that? No more dealing with traits that annoyed me or overbearing attitudes. No more men pestering me to birth their children or be who they wanted me to be.
First, we should make your council, Star advised. Then we can create your lovers, as many as you'd like.
Just one, I said immediately. I have no desire to deal with multiple lovers again.
I don't blame you, she muttered.
Shouldn't my new husband be my general? Perhaps I was too hasty in offering Sin the position.
You think you should follow Tiamat's example in that as well?
Why not?
Tiamat's husbands died; both of them. Do you really want to put your new lover in that dangerous position?
I frowned as I considered it. I wanted a strong man but did I want a commanding one? A man who might oppose me one day? No. I wanted someone sweet and kind. Someone—
No, you don't, Star interrupted me. You want a badass motherfucker who can stand beside you and rule the world with you. Someone on your side who will support you but not cower before you. A sweet, kind, simpering man would drive you mad.
Azrael is sweet and kind, I protested as an ache filled my heart. He didn't drive me mad.
He also bent you over a couch once and fucked you in his Death Angel guise. There is more to him than sweetness.
True. I smiled at the memory.
He's literally Death.
Yes; he certainly is.
Now, stop thinking about that asshole. Azrael wouldn't support you in this. He chose to leave, remember? He tried to trick you. I swear; Angels are the worst. I think its the feather; it makes them flighty. When we make you a lover, we'll make him strong and loyal. Completely loyal.
You're right. My heart hardened against the traitors who I'd married. I strode back into Sin's suite and then over to the final elevator.
Sin came with me, casting me hesitant
