Burn

Malden considered it for a moment and then shrugged. “That would be their decision, and I would have to respect it.”

“But don’t you see the consequences of that?” asked the same Prime. “The lairs of the more powerful Primes would therefore grow. Knox Thorne already has a large lair. It would get bigger and bigger and bigger with every fuck up you made. And you would fuck up – all leaders do it sooner or later, because you just can’t please everyone.”

“He has a very good point,” Jolene said to Harper quietly.

A Prime near the back of the room called out, “Think of what would happen if you started pissing off the Primes, Malden, or if they found they couldn’t take being under the rule of someone else. They would all unite to overpower you…and then we’re right back to where we are now. Sure, our kind has problems the way things stand now. But there will always be problems. To elect you might solve some of our issues, but it would just bring us new ones.”

Murmurs of agreement spread around the room. A few more questions were asked before Malden stepped down and returned to his table.

“I have to say, Malden surprised me.” Raul leaned back in his seat. “I didn’t think he was taking this all that seriously.”

“I thought he just wanted to avoid answering to another demon, but now I’m thinking he’s very interested in being Monarch,” said Beck.

“I don’t believe any of the Primes will support him,” began Knox. “None of them are interested in having a leader. But I think that if placed in a position where they felt forced to answer to someone, they would rather it was Malden, since he doesn’t want to make many changes.”

Jolene nodded. “The rest of the U.S. demon population, however, might very well be in favor of him.”

And that was a scary thought.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Harper, if you don’t want me to break the dog in half, you need to get him away from me now,” Devon warned.

Sighing, Harper glared at Tanner, who sat further along the bench beside Devon, sniffing her. He’d accompanied Harper, Raini, Devon, and Khloë around the Underground while they went shopping before finally stopping at a restaurant…and he’d done nothing but taunt Devon the entire time. “Tanner.”

“She doesn’t need your help, Harper,” said Tanner with a smile, his eyes on Devon; there was a challenge there. “She can take care of herself. Can’t you, pretty kitty?”

“He’s trying to rile you because he wants to know what you can do,” she told Devon. It was a stupid move on his part, since Devon could seriously hurt him if she wished to do so.

Devon’s smile was a little feral. “You want to know what I can do, pooch? I can shove my foot so far up your ass, you’ll feel it in your throat.”

“Now you’re just lying.” That got him an exasperated hiss.

Harper shuffled along the bench, making room between her and Khloë, whose attention was fixed on her BBQ wings. “Devon, come sit here.” The hellcat did so with a huff. Harper turned back to Raini. “Now…you were telling me about everyone’s response to Malden’s speech last night.”

“Like I said, most people don’t like him much – he’s got a real smarmy way about him.” Raini paused to drink some Coke through her straw. “But his promise of a voice really got people’s attention.”

Devon nodded. “A lot of demons are mistreated by their Primes. They don’t wish to leave their lair because it would mean leaving their home and family, but they also have no one to go to for aid. Malden is offering that.”

“And the fact is that he’s right – our Primes make our decisions for us,” continued Raini. “We don’t have a say whenever there are debates among the Primes, even though the results of the debates affect us. It doesn’t bother everyone, but it does bother most.”

Swallowing a bite of her steak, Harper frowned. “Does it bother you?”

“No, because I trust Jolene to always look out for us,” replied Raini. “But not all Primes have the best interests of their lair at heart.”

“And there are times when the other Primes overrule Jolene,” began Devon, “which means that even though her actions benefitted us, they came to nothing simply because the other Primes didn’t support her. If every demon had a voice, things like that wouldn’t happen.”

“Yeah,” agreed Harper, “but I don’t believe Malden would truly act on votes.”

Devon’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“Seriously, why would someone in such a high position of power leave major decisions up to ‘the little people,’ huh? He wouldn’t. He would hold a vote, sure, but he wouldn’t count the votes and base his decision on them. It would just be for show.”

“Giving people the illusion of power so they didn’t feel controlled when, in fact, they had no say whatsoever,” Devon realized. “You’re right. But I don’t know if the public will see that and – oh my God, stop sniffing me!” She whirled on Tanner, who had moved so that he was once again beside Devon.

Wiping her hands with a napkin, Khloë stared at him curiously. “Why are you sniffing Devon?”

He smiled. “She smells like candy.”

“Yeah? What kind of candy?” Khloë sounded genuinely interested.