I stared at him, certain I had misheard. The word "Regent" echoed in my head, a foreign, absurd concept. "The… what? No. Absolutely not. I'm a healer, not a… not a queen!"
Di Jun leaned back on the obsidian throne, a picture of dark, arrogant confidence. The chaos of the battle, the near-civil war, the betrayal of his most trusted advisor—it all seemed to have washed over him, leaving only a cold, clear focus.
"You are a healer who can unmake a demon army with a thought," he said, his voice a low, patient rumble, as if explaining something to a slow child. "You have the loyalty of my most volatile general and the strength to withstand a Shadow-Stinger. You are, whether you like it or not, the most powerful being in this realm next to me. The title is merely a formality."
"A formality?" I sputtered, pacing the room like a caged animal. "Di Jun, this is insane! Your people hate me! They fear me! They'll eat me alive!"
"They will not," he said, his voice hardening. "Because they will fear me more. And they will know that to harm you is to invoke my wrath. A wrath they have just witnessed."
He stood up and walked over to me, stopping so close I could feel the cold radiating from his body. "This is not a request, Hua Qian. It is a command. This is the only way."
"The only way for what?" I asked, my voice cracking with frustration.
"To win," he said, his gaze intense. "Ying has a celestial ally. He has an army. He believes he has the advantage because he thinks I am weakened, because he thinks you are a weakness. He is expecting me to hole up in this castle, to hide behind my walls, to play defense."
A slow, predatory smile spread across his face. "We are not going to play defense. We are going to do the one thing he will never expect. We are going to split our forces. I will take my elite guard and meet him in the Withered Wastes. And you," he paused, letting the weight of his words sink in, "will stay here and rule."
My mind was reeling. "Rule? How? I don't know anything about your people! I don't know your laws, your politics, your… anything!"
"You will learn," he said simply. "And you will not be alone. Xue will be your sword. Shi will be your shield. And Gu…" he glanced at the crumpled form of the former spymaster, who was being dragged away by silent, shadowy guards. "Well, Gu's network is now your network. All of his spies, all of his secrets, are now yours to command."
He walked over to a small, intricately carved box on a table. He opened it and took out a simple, black ring. It was made of the same obsidian as the throne, unadorned and cold.
"This is the Seal of the Regent," he said, holding it out to me. "With this, your word is my word. Your decree is law. Any demon, from the lowest imp to the highest lord, who disobeys you, commits treason against me."
I looked at the ring, then at his face. He was serious. He was absolutely, completely, insane.
"And what if I say no?" I whispered.
He didn't get angry. He didn't threaten me. He just looked at me, his expression softening into something that looked dangerously like vulnerability.
"Then we will lose," he said, his voice quiet. "Ying's forces are too large. His celestial ally is too powerful. I cannot fight them on my own and protect you at the same time. I need to be free to act, to be the weapon they fear. And I can only do that if I know you are safe. And the only way you will be safe is if you are the one in power."
He took my hand and placed the cold, heavy ring in my palm. "I am asking you to trust me, Hua Qian. Not as your patient, or your… complicated… whatever we are. I am asking you to trust me as your king."
My heart was hammering against my ribs. This was it. The ultimate test. The ultimate leap of faith. I could say no, and we would likely die. Or I could say yes, and become a queen in a land of monsters.
I looked at the ring in my palm. It felt cold, heavy, and utterly wrong. And then I looked at him. At the trust in his eyes, at the desperate hope he was trying so hard to hide.
I closed my hand around the ring.
"Fine," I said, my voice shaking but firm. "I'll be your Regent. But you owe me. Big time."
A look of such profound relief washed over his face that it took my breath away. It was gone in an instant, replaced by his usual arrogant mask, but I had seen it.
"You will have whatever you want," he said. "Now, let's get you seated on your throne."
He led me to the massive obsidian chair. It was cold and hard and unwelcoming. I hesitated.
"Go on," he urged. "They need to see it."
I took a deep breath and sat down. The stone was like ice. I felt a strange thrum of power run through the ring, connecting me to the very foundations of the castle. I could feel the pulse of the Underworld, a slow, dark, and powerful beat.
Di Jun nodded in satisfaction. "Xue! Shi!"
The two demons entered the room, their faces a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"Kneel before your Regent," Di Jun commanded.
Xue and Shi immediately dropped to their knees, their heads bowed. "We live to serve the Regent," they said in unison.
Di Jun looked at me, a triumphant glint in his eyes. "See? They're learning."
He then turned to the door. "Bring in the commanders."
A moment later, a dozen of the highest-ranking demons in the Underworld's army strode into the room. They were hulking, ancient beings, veterans of a thousand wars. They took one look at me, a mortal, sitting on their master's throne, and their faces twisted into masks of outrage and disbelief.
"What is the meaning of this?" one of them, a demon with a face like a cracked skull, roared. "Lord Di Jun, why is this… this mortal… in your seat?"
Di Jun's smile vanished. "Because I have decreed it. She is your Regent. Her word is my word. Is there a problem?"
"Problem?" the skull-faced demon laughed. "Yes, there is a problem! We will not be led by a human! We will not follow the orders of a… a snack!"
The other commanders murmured in agreement. It was a mutiny.
Di Jun didn't even flinch. He just looked at me. "Your Majesty," he said, the title rolling off his tongue with a strange, deliberate emphasis. "It seems you have your first test of leadership. How do you handle insubordination?"
My blood ran cold. They were going to eat me. I looked at their angry, defiant faces. I looked at Xue, who was watching me with a mixture of pity and expectation. I looked at Di Jun, who was watching me with an unnerving, almost scientific curiosity.
I was on my own.
I thought about what he had said. You have the claws of a viper.
I slowly leaned back in the throne, trying to look like I belonged there. I looked the skull-faced commander dead in the eye.
"What is your name?" I asked, my voice surprisingly steady.
He blinked, caught off guard by my calm. "I am Krag, Bone-Crusher of the Seventh Legion."
"Well, Krag, Bone-Crusher," I said, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous register. "You are right. I am a mortal. I am soft. I am weak."
I paused, letting my words hang in the air. The commanders looked at each other, confused.
"But," I continued, my voice dropping even lower, "the last demon who called me a 'snack' is currently a headless corpse cooling in the chasm below. So. You have a choice. You can either kneel, or you can go join him."
I raised my hand, letting a faint, golden light flicker around my fingertips. A silent, deadly reminder.
The room went dead silent. Krag the Bone-Crusher stared at me, his jaw working, his mind clearly racing. He looked from my glowing hand to Di Jun's impassive face, and he came to the only logical conclusion a demon could.
He slowly, deliberately, dropped to one knee. "My apologies, Your Majesty," he growled, the words tasting like poison in his mouth. "It will not happen again."
One by one, the other commanders, seeing their leader submit, followed suit. They knelt before me, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear, hatred, and a grudging, terrifying respect.
I had done it. I had faced down a room full of demons and won.
And as I sat there, on my throne of obsidian, with the most powerful demons in the Underworld kneeling at my feet, I had a single, terrifying, exhilarating thought.
I was going to be good at this.