by T. O. Smith
I finished chewing my food. “You act as if I was wasting time before.” I snapped at him, getting defensive. “If I remember correctly, I was in a fucking coma and trying to heal.”
“Easy, my little destroyer.” Lucifer soothed, his blood-red eyes meeting mine as he lightly gripped my chin, tilting my face up to look at him. “Your power is touching me. Calm down.”
I sighed and wordlessly continued to eat my food once Lucifer released my chin from his grip. Everyone stayed silent, and no one spoke until a demoness came and took my plate away.
“Close your eyes, Bela,” Kyle commanded.
With a disgruntled sigh, I obediently closed my eyes. “I want you to look deep within yourself.” He told me. “I want you to locate the part of you where your magic is stored.”
A frown pulled at my lips. “How will I know what it looks like?” I asked him.
“Everyone’s is different.” He told me. “But you’ll know it when you find it.” He assured me.
Drawing in a deep breath, I forced my body to relax as I searched inside of myself for whatever the hell Kyle was talking about. My eyes almost flew open in surprise when I actually found a small, golden orb, but I kept my eyes firmly shut. “What now?” I asked quietly.
“See if you can grab it with your mind,” Kyle told me, his voice low, allowing me to keep my concentration. “Picture trying to utilize it and see what happens.”
I tried doing what he said over and over, but every time I got close to finally having it within my grasp, it slithered away, almost as if it weren’t ready for me to touch it or use it yet.
“This is stupid.” I snapped as I opened my eyes. “I can’t fucking grab it. This is a waste of time.”
“Keep trying,” Kyle ordered.
“I have been!” I yelled at him, getting angry and frustrated. Golden light pulsed around me, but Lucifer moved as quickly as light, and he wrapped his arms around me, absorbing all of my power. He softly growled in response as it knocked into him before he slowly released me.
I watched as my king knelt before me on the floor, and he rubbed his hands over my thighs. “Close your eyes.” He softly commanded.
Sighing in defeat, I closed my eyes again. “You’re safe.” He told me softly. “We just want you to become the greatest you can be so you can protect yourself and those that you love and care about.” His voice was still soft and soothing, calming me in a way only he was capable of doing.
“Try grabbing it again, my queen.”
It was easy to locate the orb, and this time, it stayed still, allowing me to grab it with my mind. I gasped in surprise and opened my eyes, looking down at my king. He grinned. “Fucking beautiful.” He breathed. “Your eyes are glowing golden.” He stood up and leaned down, grabbing my face in his hands to kiss me. “You just needed to feel safe – that’s all. You should be able to tap into it anytime now.”
Kyle grinned and grabbed a rope and a book that had to be an entire twelve inches thick and dropped them onto the table in front of me with a loud thud. “Now the real fun begins. You’re going to untie a knot.” He informed me.
I frowned at him. “That’s easy,” I muttered.
“With your mind,” Lucifer told me. “You’re going to use your magic to untie the knot – not your hands.”
“Oh, boy,” I whispered. Cerberus laughed at my expense, but Lucifer knocked him off of his chair, this time making me laugh.
I stuck my tongue out at my beast. “Serves you right.” I teased.
Cerberus laughed at me. “Always ready to serve, my queen.”
I rolled my eyes. “Go find me a snack,” I told him. “I’m hungry.”
He scoffed. “What do I look like – your personal maid?” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as he passed me, making Lucifer growl. I reached over and grabbed my king’s hand, instantly calming him. He knew Cerberus didn’t mean anything by it, but it didn’t stop him from being jealous, nonetheless. “Coming right up, my queen. Water or soda?” He asked.
“Water,” I told him. I smiled up at Cerberus, feeling extremely happy now that I had successfully tapped into my power. “Thank you.”
He flashed me an easy-going smile before he dipped out of the room. Lucifer dropped onto the chair Cerberus had just been sitting in. “If I didn’t know Cerberus like the back of my hand, I’d rip his head off of his fucking shoulders for that stunt.”
I smiled at my king. “You know I only have eyes for you.” I reminded him.
He flashed me a sexy grin that had every nerve ending in my body lighting on fire before he leaned over and took my lips in a soft, sweet kiss. “I love you, my queen.”
I swooned. How was someone so bad so damn perfect?
“And I love you,” I promised. I looked at my brother. “Let’s get this bullshit over with.”
TEN
I sat between Lucifer’s legs on the couch in the library as I focused on untying the knot. Kyle had tried teaching me the spells, but it seemed as if my magic was different from normal witches.
It worked solely by what I willed it to do. Spells didn’t work for me. I had to personally connect with my magic.
I began to feel the rope slowly untie in my hands. I stayed focus as I opened my eyes, watching as I willed one end to slide back through the loop before I straightened it out in my hands solely with my mind.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. Lucifer leaned forward and settled his chin on my shoulder. “I fucking did it,” I said quietly in astonishment. “I really fucking did it.”
Lucifer pressed a kiss to my neck. “You sure as fuck did.” He praised. “Proud of you, my queen.” My light shimmered at his praise. “You’re growing stronger. I can feel your power vibrating through my own body.”
Kyle suddenly appeared in the room, the tips of his massive, black wings trailing the floor behind him. I stared up at him in alarm. He was supposed to come back for some more training, but the fact that he was in his Angel of Death form meant that something had happened – something bad and dangerous.
“We’ve got a huge fucking problem,” Kyle stated. Lucifer quickly maneuvered himself out from behind me and stood up, the room turning ice cold. I shivered and crossed my arms tight over my chest.
“What the fuck is going on, Kyle?” Lucifer snarled.
Cerberus sat beside me on the floor where I was settled on the couch. A low rumble sounded from his chest. I silently reached forward and scratched behind one of his six ears, my eyes focused on my brother and my king.
“I finally tracked Mother down,” Kyle informed us. My breath hitched in my throat, my eyes widening with fear. “I tried to fucking stop her – but fuck! She got into Hell.” Kyle told Lucifer. Cerberus released a vicious snarl, the snakes of his tail hissing.
“I didn’t feel her!” Lucifer roared, shaking the walls as his wings ripped from his back. I squeaked in shock, my heart pounding hard in my chest.
“She’s using black magic,” Kyle told him. “Black magic – it makes shit that normally wouldn’t be possible fucking possible. There’s no fucking telling where she’s at right now. I can’t sense her.”
“Goddammit!” Lucifer roared. “Father is behind this. I fucking know he is. He doesn’t want me with Bela. She was supposed to only be a chance at redemption for me, to be my chance to gain back my white wings and go back up to Heaven.”
“You really think he would give Mother access to fucking black magic over something like this?” Kyle asked in disbelief. “Doesn’t seem like Him.”
Lucifer snorted. “Well, it’s certainly not me like so many of his precious fucking humans would like to believe, now is it? I don’t even have the fucking power to create shit on Earth like so many of them have been led to believe.”
“Luc.” I softly called. He turned to look at me. “Yelling about it isn’t going to help solve this problem.” I gently reminded him, being his voice of reason. “We need to set some kind of plan in place.”
Spoken like a true queen
, my lady. Cerberus spoke into my mind.
I scratched behind his ear again as I kept my gaze focused on my king. “Cerberus, stay with Bela. I need to call forth all of my guardians – set a protection detail into place around this castle and Bela.”
“Are you leaving?” I asked him, fear making my skin crawl as I remembered what happened the last time that he left me while my mother was in Hell.
“Not a chance, my little destroyer,” Lucifer promised. “I’m not leaving this room.” He assured me. I breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Kyle. “Find Asmodeus. Tell him I need to meet with him here in the library. And then I need you to continue searching Hell – see if you can locate your mother.”
Kyle nodded once and disappeared from the room. Lucifer leaned down and gripped my chin in his large, calloused hand. His touch was ice cold, much colder than it normally was. “I will rip her the fuck apart before she puts you through any more pain.” He swore.
“And you?” I quietly asked him. He arched an eyebrow at me in question. “What about your safety and protection, Luc?”
A humorous smirk tilted his lips, making me scowl. “My queen, I am the inflictor of pain. Father has made me fucking immortal in every way. It’s not me he’s aiming to hurt and kill. It is you.” He brushed his lips with mine. “So, do not worry about me, my little destroyer. I will be perfectly fine.” He promised.
✶ ✶ ✶
A massive man stepped into the library, and my eyes widened in alarm at his size. I’d never seen someone so big. He had to be about seven feet tall, and his eyes were black – soulless. Ripped, burned wings protruded from his back. He was so muscular that his veins stood out against his skin.
He turned his eyes to me. “My queen.” He said in greeting, his voice rough. The smell of smoke filtered into the room as he spoke. He looked at Lucifer. “My king. I was summoned by the Angel of Death.”
“We have an intruder in Hell,” Lucifer informed him. A rumble of displeasure sounded from Asmodeus’s chest, shaking the floor with the vibration. “I need a protection detail put on the castle, and I need more guardians posted at the gates.”
“I’ll put my best guardians here,” Asmodeus answered immediately. Lucifer nodded in agreement. “I suggest having four with the queen wherever she may be, even if you and Cerberus are with her.”
“I can agree with that,” Lucifer told him. “With that being said, I would like you to be one of the four that is with her, and your best guardian will need to take your place when you are doing your rounds.”
“It would be my honor, my king,” Asmodeus told him as he respectfully bowed his head to Luc.
“Bela is injured at the moment, and walking is a bit of a task,” Lucifer informed him. He walked over to me and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. “Can you stand, my queen?”
I nodded and placed my hands in his, wincing and biting my lip to hold in my whine of pain. Cerberus instantly placed himself behind my legs once I was standing, ready to catch me if I were to fall. Drawing in a deep breath, I turned to Asmodeus and held my much smaller hand out to him. “Hello, Asmodeus.” I greeted.
He knelt to one knee and grabbed my hand in his, pressing a light kiss to my fingers before pressing his forehead there. “It is a pleasure, my queen. I look forward to serving you and protecting you.” He told me.
“Thank you,” I told him, meaning it from the bottom of my soul.
Asmodeus stood back up and looked at Lucifer as my king eased me back down onto the couch. Asmodeus frowned and looked back at me. “Apologies if I am overstepping boundaries, my queen, but I sense magic and power – lots of it.”
“I am apparently a witch,” I told him with a tiny shrug. “I’m just now learning how to tap into it, and it’s been a bit of a task.”
He looked to Lucifer. “I sensed magic earlier today. The magic from our queen is not the same magic I sensed earlier. Hers is purer and sweet. This one – it was dark. Black magic.”
Lucifer growled. I grabbed his hand, doing my best to keep him calm. He linked our fingers together, flickering his blood-red eyes down to me for a moment before focusing back on Asmodeus. “You did not think to come to me about it?” Lucifer angrily demanded.
“I was trying to track it, my king. Coming to you would have taken me away from the trail.” Asmodeus answered, not at all intimidated by the King of Hell like so many others normally were.
“Where did it end?” Lucifer demanded to know.
“It has not ended yet. I had my best tracker take over when the Angel of Death told me I was needed here. He is still tracking it.”
Lucifer nodded once before turning to look down at me. “You look exhausted, my love.” He knelt and lifted me from the couch, his wings wrapping around me once I was cradled against his chest. “Call your other three guardians and communicate to the rest of your demons of the changes taking place. I need her guards outside of our chambers immediately. Nothing will happen to my queen while that bitch is here in Hell.”
“I will follow,” Asmodeus told him. “And I will stand guard. I will also hold my meeting outside of your chambers. We will be silent – the queen will not be disturbed from her rest.” Asmodeus assured him.
I rested my head on Lucifer’s shoulder. “What is going to happen?” I asked my king.
“I do not know for sure, my queen.” He said softly, and that knowledge sounded like it bothered him a lot. “But I will protect you. Of that, you can be sure.” He promised.
ELEVEN
LUCIFER
I slowly opened my eyes as Kyle stepped into my chambers. His eyes flickered to his little sister for a moment before he focused them back on me. “Nothing.” He quietly informed me, letting me know he was not able to track her.
I nodded once. “Asmodeus has trackers on her,” I informed him. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. “Asmodeus sensed her, and he was tracking her when you found him. He put his best trackers on her trail before he came here.”
“Well, shit,” Kyle muttered. “How the fuck can he sense her and I can’t?”
I shrugged. “He’s the King of Demons – one of the most powerful beings there is besides the man upstairs.” I reminded him. “He can sense shit that we can’t.”
Kyle sighed. “How is she?” He asked as he looked back over at Bela.
I shrugged. “Tired,” I informed him. “She’s been asleep basically since you left,” I told him. “She needs her rest. Shit has been rough for her lately, not to mention the strain she’s been under while trying to deal with her pain and learn how to wield her power at the same time.”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hairline before he nodded once at me and disappeared from my chambers. With a tired sigh, I rolled over and wrapped my arm around Bela’s waist, holding her in my protective embrace. I brushed my lips to the back of her head before I shut my own eyes, falling asleep.
✶ ✶ ✶
I sighed in irritation as Kyle appeared in our chambers again. Bela lightly smacked my arm as she smiled up at her brother. One of these days, these people were going to burst into our chambers and get a show they didn’t want to see.
The demoness that served Bela her food every day silently slipped into the room and took the breakfast tray before she quickly slipped out of the room again.
“I was up all night researching to see if there was a way that I could help Bela heal.” He instantly began.
I silently arched an eyebrow at him. Bela slightly tilted her head to the side in curiosity. “Well, did you find out anything?” She asked him.
He nodded. “I can heal you.” He informed her. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she would finally find relief from all of the pain that her burns were putting her in. “The only downside, though, is that it’s going to be extremely painful for you. There’s no way around it if I’m going to heal you.”
“No.” I instantly snapped. I would not put her through more pain – not even if it would heal her. She was already
still hurting enough as it was. “I’m not going to allow you to put her in more pain. It’s out of the fucking question.”
“My king, she fucking needs this,” Kyle argued. “It’s only a matter of time before Mother tries to make her strike against Bela, and Bela needs to be in her best shape to face her if it comes to that.”
“It won’t fucking come to that,” I growled at him, my red eyes glowing with rage.
“Luc,” Bela softly called. I turned my eyes to hers. She pressed her hand against my cheek, cupping my face in her small, soft hand, “Kyle is right.” I clenched my jaw. “We can’t predict what may happen. I need to be in the best shape possible. He needs to heal me so that can happen. If I have to go through an immense amount of pain for a little while to finally be out of the pain I’m constantly in, then I’ll do that.”
