Arriving at school in a limousine wasn't exactly discreet. Especially when an army of butlers had decided to kneel at your exit, under the gaze of all your classmates.

But for the moment, Lisa wasn't there.

Lilith and Rwine found them buried under the rubble of her house. Unconscious, Satan had not had the opportunity to pull her out. Awake all the way, she had the misfortune to see the whole of her home fall on her husband, making a barrage of her body. He hadn't had time to move her elsewhere. All he had been able to do was bear the weight of her home, until he passed out. The two demons found them thanks to Cerberus, whose three heads had popped up from the carnage when he woke up.

Neither of them saw fit to take them back to Hell. Not while the king was unconscious.

Then, she discovered that the demonic royalty had a house in Toulon. A pretty little house, hidden behind a gate. Oh, no. This was the janitor's house, apparently. Oh... Well... It was huge.

They were greeted by demonic servants, hidden from the eyes of the others by a protective barrier planted all around the house. And above it too, since the appearance of the drones.

In short, about thirty servants were waiting for them in the middle of the night, dressed in the white and black robes of a maid or butler. All bowed as they passed, no one made any comment, but all started to move at Rwine's orders.

-Do you know what happened? asked Lilith.

All she had seen was Satan come back suddenly after their argument, and jump on her, just as a dark red light was blowing up the living room. Her sister-in-law nodded her head, before remaining silent.

Soon they saw a zombie doctor arrive. Mute as a grave since he had neither vocal cords nor tongue, he went to treat the king with his wobbly gait, a case heavier than himself in his hand.

A skeleton maid asked Lisa if she wanted to have dinner. She didn't ask how she could speak, since she didn't have the necessary organs either. The mysteries of magical creatures.

In short, she found herself with a simple soothing chamomile tea, waiting. For once Lilith did not speak, and neither did she. Still tired, Cerberus was sleeping on Lisa's lap, relieved by her caresses. In fact, the small warm body of the demonic canine relaxed her a little.

The zombie doctor returned. His thumbs up was more explicit than any words. Then he walked away, fidgeting so much that Lisa thought he was about to collapse more than once. In any case, he was not her priority.

In his modern-looking bedroom, Satan lay unconscious in a large bed. Given the size, Lisa wondered briefly how many sexual partners he had invited at once to fill it, in the past. But that was not the point.

-He's fine, but he's very weak, Rwine explained. He woke up just enough to ask how you were, my Queen. I told him that apart from a big scare, there was nothing wrong with you.

No, it was true. They had checked on her during the trip.

-Do you know why sex is important to us demons?

-Rwine, this is not the time, said Lilith, looking at her brother's face.

-No. I want to know.

They nodded to her. Sitting next to her husband, Lisa had placed Cerberus on the royal feet, to warm them.

-Tell me everything, Rwine. Please do.

The butler, hands behind his back, very straight, considered his young queen.

-We demons are creatures intrinsically linked to magic. It is part of us, but we need to exchange it constantly. Through sex, we share our power with our partners and our partners share theirs, so that we maintain our magical balance. As for children, it is the simple contact with their parents that allows them to receive and share. But this ability more or less disappears with age.

-We need these exchanges to survive, Lilith continued. Otherwise, our magic wears out, dulls, burns itself out. We need constant renewal. It's like the air you breathe, Lisa. You need to breathe to live, we need magical exchange to survive.

Seen like this, she understood better. Magic was their air... Reflectively, she considered Satan.

-So, how... has he had any partners since we've been married?

Don't be stupid, muttered his sister-in-law.

-Our king is faithful to his queen, Rwine explained. That's why, after his confrontation with the dragon, a simple explosion could have put him in this state. Touching you just allows the basic maintenance of his powers. His regeneration is compromised, for the moment.

Lisa considered Satan's face. His eyes were closed, his breathing was regular, and there were no marks on him. Nevertheless, a slight smell of blood hung in the room, and on the sheets droplets of blood were visible. She even feared that one of the stains was spreading.

-His loyalty is killing him, she murmured.

-It will kill us all, especially.

Lilith was staring at her now. What did she mean?

-It is Satan who maintains the shields between the dimensions. If he doesn't have the energy anymore... The angel dimension will be able to invade us. And this is very, very bad, Lisa. Great wars are deadly. No one wants a conflict on a dimensional level. Trust me on that.

So she spent the night lying next to her husband, thinking about all the implications of the situation, wondering who was responsible for the explosion. Even though in her heart she knew it. It was Lucifer. Again.

What could she do?

Worried as she could be, she snuggled up to Satan, hoping with all her heart that a part of her childhood had remained in him. Just to be able to communicate a little of her magic to him, if she has any.

*

Satan woke up well before her. He had time to eat, to wash himself, before joining the bed in which his wife had turned into a burrito, rolled up in the comforter. He wondered for a moment how to recover the said comforter, before opting for the simplest option: he lay down beside it.

So Lisa awoke with scratching on the top of her head. The scalp massages tended to relax her instantly, and she emerged from her burrito-blanket with a blissful smile.

-Sleep well, my little wife?

Opening her eyes with a grunt of satisfaction, she told herself that she was warm and that she was fine. While continuing to scratch her head, Satan congratulated himself for having found a weak point in his wife.

-Lisa?

-Mmgnhn...

That, at least, it was clear. Well decided to wake her up, he kissed her gently. No resistance. Surprised, he studied the face of Lisa, whose smile had increased. Good. New kiss. New enlargement of the smile.

He thought he was losing his heart at that moment. She was... lovely.

The urge to jump on her was tugging at him, when she half-opened her eyes, to say in a smoker-trucker voice:

-Is it the matter?

This time he laughed. He loved his wife!

-S'tan? she gurgled as she tried to stand up, before realizing she was wrapped up in the comforter. Are you alright?

-Yes, I'm fine, he said, kissing her on the forehead. I'm sorry I worried you. You weren't hurt?

-No... But you? Magic... Enough?

She had a hard time waking up! Blinking her eyes, she told herself that for nothing in the world she wanted to leave her cocoon of warmth. She was very well, there!

-Yes. Did you talk to Rwine and Lilith, to ask me this question?

Closing her eyes, she nodded weakly.

-Yes... But we didn't have sex so...

-You stuck with me all night, honey. Believe me, it cured me better than all of Grandma's toddies.

-I thought... Only children...

-And spouses. Husbands and wives have a special bond that allows them to exchange tender touches, he explained, scratching her scalp again.

-Mmmh...

He had knocked her out. Lisa fell back to sleep almost instantly. Exhausted by the day before, she really needed to rest. And then, after all, why not? Fetching another blanket, Satan covered his wife and himself with it, before snuggling up to the burrito containing Lisa. They had the right to sleep in, right?