Of all the demon traditions, who decided being late to dinner was an acceptable practice? The list of possibilities is short—Lucifer, Lilith, Hades, Beelzebub, or my father, Chaos. Each ruler of Infernis has been responsible for their own set of rules, or lack thereof, that keep the mayhem of our realm alive and well. After all, a demon's job is to cater to the human energies that thrive on pure havoc.

And that is what makes me a total failure.

I rest my chin in my palm and tap my pale-pink nails against the black granite tabletop. Concentrating on the vines and skulls carved into the ebony doors that lead into the dining room, I impatiently wait for my parents, six brothers, and their partners. It's possible the demands of preparing to rule their circles of the underworld held them up, but I wouldn't know. My father won't even allow me to reside in my circle until I've chosen an eternal partner. But I'd rather let reaper demons disembowel me on my clean kitchen floor than bind myself to a disorderly demon forever.

The door crashes open and I straighten in my high-back chair at the far end of the table. My older brothers enter the room, shoving, laughing, or playing with their phones as they make their way to their seats. No one questions if we are siblings. We all inherited our mother's red hair and long legs, and our father's dayglow green eyes and plump lips. The boys even share the same monochrome wardrobe full of the finest silk, leather, and tailored suits. The only thing that sets us apart is our choice in partners.

Each brother chose a demon whose unwavering support will make them a strong lord over their circle. Some bonded themselves with their best friend, and others found the love of their existence. Tall, short, fat, skinny, white, brown, black, tailed and without, their eternal partners add spice to our family dynamic.

Mandis sits next to me with his eternal partner, Grub, on his other side. I scoot my chair over to make room for his burly frame. He pulls on the lapel of his suit jacket and runs his palm over his neatly-trimmed red beard. "Let me guess, you've been waiting for an hour," my brother says, with a voice so deep it vibrates through me.

I raise my brows and shake my head. "An hour and fifteen minutes. That's when dinner was scheduled."

"And you should have known everyone would arrive late."

Grub leans past my brother and flashes me a pointed-tooth smile. He places his plump hand on mine, his warm brown skin a sharp contrast against my pale complexion. "I sometimes wish we had dinner on time too. It feels like ages from one meal to the next."

Mandis drapes his arm over his husband's shoulders. "But you find other desires to overindulge in between meals, like feeding me your cock."

"That I do." Grub tilts his head up and kisses my brother.

Avaros holds up his wine glass, and his leather jacket falls open, bearing the sculped planes of his naked chest. "That's how you do it, boys. Let your lover be greedy."

I wrinkle my nose. This is the exact kind of behavior I don't quite approve of—the constant PDA between not only all of my brothers and their partners, but every other demon in this realm, including my parents, which is a whole other kind of disgusting.

"Do you all always have to talk about your bedroom habits in front of everyone? And Lux and Bernadette!" I screech, nodding down the table at my second oldest brother and his wife. Bernadette's long spiked tail sways behind her slender hips while they make out, mouths and hands exploring places that should be left in private. The serving staff maneuvers around them, placing onyx plates piled high with Ceasar salad on the table.

"I'll never understand why you are so weird about something as natural as sex. Why not freak out about demons who wear socks with sandals? That is a crime against all living beings," Feir says, brushing his fiery long locks away from his high cheekbones.

Julius places two fingers adorned with black fingernails and jeweled rings into his mouth and gags. "What about those holey plastic shoes humans bedazzle with plastic pins of cats and footballs? I can't decide if I'm truly appalled or jealous that they can discard great style for ugly comfort."

Colére lifts his hooded gaze from the cell phone in his hand and with a deep, quiet voice, says, "It's not like we're slaughtering tiny animals at the table."

"Although that might be fun as well," Jezebeth says, twirling her sharp, red nail in her wine and bringing it to her thin, crimson lips. She locks eyes with Colére, and the best friends exchange wicked smiles.

"True. I don't get what your problem is."

I roll my eyes and lazily lift my wine glass to my lips. "If you don't understand, I can't explain it to you, Gourmandise."

My brother elbows me in the ribs, hard enough to earn a grunt. "Please do not address me by that monstrosity of a name. I don't know what Mother and Father were thinking when they named me that."

"That you're literally the embodiment of glut—"

My mother and father enter the room, and everyone falls silent. The flames in the silver candelabras placed on the table and standing in each corner of the room grow brighter. As we shuffle to our feet, I glance at the enormous gothic paintings on the wall. One depicts a bloody battle scene—a tribute to our realm's influence on human wars, the other piece of art paying homage to carnal desires with an array of naked beings in compromising positions. My parents saunter past us hand in hand, their elegant image reflecting in the glossy black floor.

My mother is graceful with her pointed chin held high and a diamond and ruby crown perched on the top of her head. Her red hair spirals down her back in thick curls, and her skintight silk gown hugs her hourglass figure. To an outsider, she appears haughty, unapproachable. But we don't miss the slight upturn at the corners of her heart-shaped lips. She loves dramatics, but she also appreciates a hearty laugh. And no one makes her laugh the way my father does.

The king of demons leans into his wife's side and whispers in her ear. The way her cheeks redden tells me he is either flattering her with sweet words or seducing her with very dirty ones. It's a toss-up on what it could be. My father is the most menacing demon in all of Infernis—tall, bulky muscles from head to toe, and a jawline that could cut glass—but he is a big pile of mush when it comes to his wife and children.

And if anyone should forget how frightful my father is, they only need to look to the black crown made of his enemies' bones that circles his bald head or the ax that chopped those bones fastened to his side. It hangs from a chain, the sharp, jagged head swinging against his leather pants and knee-high boots. His demonic subjects don't dare to cross him.

My parents reach the head of the table, and we bow.

Father motions for us to sit and the staff to serve the main course. "Greetings, my dear family," he says, taking a healthy gulp of the wine from his jeweled chalice.

"Good evening, Father," we say together.

"All phones away, it's time to connect as a family," my mother says before taking a sip of wine.

One by one, my parents ask my brothers and their partners how they are doing, inquiring about the state of the circle they will one day rule once they know their personal lives are going well. I don't miss the way he rushes each discussion along, or the side-long glances Mother casts in my direction. By the time the conversation turns to me, I'm clenching the skirt of my lavender lace dress. I know exactly what this dinner is about.

Father's bright green eyes, a reflection of my own, meet mine. "Desideria, my darling daughter, have you any prospects for a partner?"

My face reddens as everyone's eyes dart toward me. I hate talking about my love life with anyone, let alone in front of my entire family at the dinner table. But when my father asks me a question, I answer it.

"No, nobody appeals to me! I have tried! Most of them are too chaotic. And even if they had any potential at all, they wouldn't date me because of all of you!" I glare around the table at my brothers, keeping my narrowed eyes away from my father, but this is for him too. I shoot a pleading glance in my mother's direction. She is the only one who seems to understand how difficult it is for me to find the perfect eternal partner.

My mother and father fell in love the moment they laid eyes on each other. He was the powerful and handsome son of Beelzebub, and she a demoness oozing with lust and pride. Not to mention that my father admired her tactics in wrath. It's like they were designed for one another.

I haven't so much as found someone who turns me on enough to desire a kiss. The imps drive me up the wall with their constant attempts at mischief, and the poltergeists are too busy invoking fear to concentrate on a romantic date. Incubi are too worried about sex, reapers are consumed with gruesome deaths, Charme are too jealous, and Occiors only want to fight. Demons are simply too chaotic.

"I understand that you are putting forth effort, but perhaps you are being too picky. You have searched for the perfect eternal partner for years, and time is running out. These Circles can go no longer without their own rulers. Things are slipping into madness. We all love chaos, obviously, but madness cannot be tolerated. Demons everywhere are failing to do their jobs and energies are being lost to the angels. It is of the utmost importance that all seven circles of our realm carry their weight. The longer you let it go, Desideria, the more difficult it will be to rein in. No one can step up to rule until you all do. And it's all on you now. It is time to make a choice and ascend your throne."

"Make a choice. You say that as though it's like deciding what pair of underwear to put on in the morning. This isn't that simple. We can't all be as lucky as you and Mother. Some of us have to work for it," I say, and I know immediately by the look on his face that I've gone too far.

"That's quite enough, Desideria. This has to stop. You have one month."

My jaw drops, and I squeak, "What? One month? To choose the person who will stay by my side the rest of my existence? That's not possible, Father. I need time to understand their habits and figure out if we are compatible. I need more time to fall in love!"

The vein on the side of my father's head pulses, and I know this outburst coupled with the one before it is the last straw. My father is fair, but he has a temper that rivals my brother Colére, who will rule the Circle of Infernis that holds the most wrathful energy.

"You've had one hundred and twenty-three years to figure it out!"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This isn't a new conversation for Father and me. He has voiced his concerns over and over again, and I've always convinced him to give me more time. I just need to keep a clear head and remain calm. "Time is a human concept," I say.

Fier snorts. "Says the girl who shoots daggers with her stare when we're late to dinner."

I snarl at my brother and focus on Father again. "I'm so young in the grand scheme of things. Great-Grandfather Hades was over a thousand years old in human years when he met Grandmother Persephone."

Father shakes his head and lowers to his chair. "The population of the human realm and this one were substantially smaller when my grandfather ruled. I have more responsibility than any ruler before me, and that's why I've called upon you and your brothers to help. I cannot oversee the demonic activities in the human realm, ensure this one is meeting the needs of the energies who have chosen it as their eternal home, rule every circle, and most importantly be a good father and husband. Not to mention I refuse to lose the competition I have with Angelo."

My brothers make disapproving sounds at the mention of our rival realm's ruler. The seraphim angel has sat on Pax's throne since the beginning of time. My father says he is a pretentious narcissist who refuses to step down and let one of his many children take over as the angelic leader. Every century the two meet in the human realm and discuss how many energies they've acquired in the last hundred years. My father has left the winner for the past three centuries, with most human energies choosing to spend eternity in our chaotic realm after they leave their bodies.

Angelo and my father earn nothing more than bragging rights when they win. It doesn't make one realm better than the other. Especially since the choice is ultimately up to the human. But that doesn't mean that the two don't try their damndest to sway the humans to their side. The bet is mostly a stroke to their over-inflated egos.

"All your brothers have settled with an eternal partner and are ready to take their place. They have stepped up and are training and preparing to rule, and it's time you do the same," Father says.

My mother folds her hands in front of her, and her gaze meets mine. The rich amber of her eyes can warm the coldest of hearts, and her voice is a rich calming tone as she says, "This is important to your father. The energies that choose our realm give us purpose, and he has worked hard to make every demon feel like a vital part of our community. Your father has asked you all to take some of the burden of ruling; he deserves our help. All you need to do is find someone who can be your rock as you take up this responsibility. This shouldn't be so hard for you, Desideria."

My cheeks burn and I want to scream at the top of my lungs, but as always, I stay in control. I can't lose my mother's support in this too.  "Mother, Father, may I please speak with you in private?" I ask, glancing around at the room full of people who hang on my every word.

"No, I think we—" My father starts, but my mother holds up a hand in his direction.

"Yes, my dear." She shoots my father a look that says I'm in charge right now, and he relents, nodding once as the three of us vacate our chairs and slip into the empty hallway.

"Desideria, you have five minutes, and after that we are returning to our meal as a family," my father says, crossing his arms over his chest.

I plant my hands on my hips and look my parents square in the face. "Do you want to know why it's so hard? I do not want to take on a platonic eternal partner or someone that I can just see as a 'rock' in times of struggle. I want to marry for passion. I want to be so madly in love with the one I choose that I can hardly think of anything else." I take a deep breath and close my eyes, willing away the tears that are pooling there. "I want what you two have," I murmur, my voice breaking, my ever-present control slipping through my fingers. "I want to be with my soulmate. And I truly believe that for me, that is not a demon."

My father's eyes snap to mine but my mother doesn't look wholly surprised. She and I have had this conversation before, when she's braided my hair before bedtime or given me a manicure before one of the many royal balls we've attended over the years. But it's been a long time, and it's not surprising that it's slipped her mind before this moment.

"What exactly are you saying, Desideria?" my father asks, the confusion evident in his tone.

"I don't want my eternal partner to be a demon. Everyone here is too chaotic. I need structure. I need someone who can rule with me and keep some semblance of order, and I will never find that in my Circle or any other here," I admit. "I know this complicates things, and if you have any suggestions, I am all ears."

Mother and Father exchange a look before she shrugs and says, "There is another option for her."

"It's only been done once before, and the risk is high," he responds.

"But it worked out and they were happy until their chosen end."

My attention darts between them, setting pace with my rapidly beating heart.

My father groans and tilts his face to the ceiling. He takes several measured breaths and faces me again. "You could go to the human realm and find a suitable partner there."

It's my turn to be confused. "Human? A human eternal partner? How will that work?"

"Just like it did for Hades and Persephone. There is an immortality transformation that can be done. It is rare, and it is dangerous. But desperate times call for desperate measures," my father says, glancing at my mother, who nods in encouragement, like this is the idea she'd wanted him to suggest all along.

I have never been there, but I have to admit, the human realm has always fascinated me for one reason: the balance found there. Disorder and order, dark and light, love and hate—they get to choose who they want to be, and there is nothing I want more. Just because I'm a demon doesn't mean that I should have to fit the molding of one.

The prospect is intriguing and gives me hope for the first time in ages. I'm not connecting with anyone here; why not try something completely different? "Thank you, Father," I say, moving to wrap my arms around his neck.

He holds up his hand. "Hold on. Here are the terms. Now that I'm sending you to a different realm, you have ninety days to find someone. If you don't, you are going to leave me no choice but to choose a demon for you."

"I can do that."

He nods once. "I know you can. And I'll make sure you have nothing to worry about except for finding a partner.  You will have access to plenty of money, and at least one of your brothers will be checking up on you regularly to make sure you're okay. But I'm serious, Desi. Ninety days. Not a day longer. Got it?"

I bounce on the balls of my feet. "Yes, yes, I got it. I won't even ask how you have access to human money."

He shakes his head and pulls me into a hug. "There are some things you don't need to know, child. Now, let us go finish dinner, and we'll call the Medium to ready the Portal for your journey tomorrow morning."

As we re-enter the dining room, I grab my mother's hand and squeeze. "Thank you," I whisper, tears stinging my eyes. "Thank you."

"You deserve a chance for a sweeping love story, my Desideria. Your name, it isn't just a nod to your insouciant Circle; it speaks of desire. I know you long for love. You deserve it. I hope you find it," she says, lifting the back of my hand to her lips and kissing my knuckles.

I swallow over the lump in my throat, and all I can do is smile in return.