Fury consumed me at his words. He could insult and threaten me all he wanted, but now he’d insulted Hannah, and I was done playing around.
Narrowing my eyes, I unleashed my hellfire again, the destructive magic rippling over his scales like lightning and tearing him apart. He let out a mighty roar as it consumed him, dragonfire spewing from his mouth in every direction, and I snapped my wings, sending me backwards and away from him. He lit up the night like a display of fireworks, until all that was left were his ashes as they blew away in the wind.
At his death, the other dragons below us let out a wailing roar, and then they loped away, giving up the fight. The remaining gargoyles hurried after them on their bat-like wings, the battle over. It surprised me to see it hadn’t been just my Fallen fighting the gargoyles and dragons, but a few angels had joined the battle—the ones I’d texted earlier. I hadn’t expected them to respond so soon, and I began flying toward them.
A scream and a crash from inside the penthouse struck me with sudden terror. Dread filled my chest as I rushed toward more battle sounds and noises of struggle echoing from the library—where I’d left Hannah.
32
Hannah
Lucifer had been gone for only a few seconds before I grabbed the sword off the wall—the same one I’d used against the gargoyles, the one I seemed able to use without even thinking about it. Lucifer’s sword, from back when he’d been an angel. Hopefully nobody would come into the library, but I had to defend myself if they did. Assuming I remembered how to fight again.
Long minutes passed by, and the noises outside the library filled me with fear and anxiety, including guttural roars that made the floor shake. Then I heard a huge crash as if the windows were shattering, like they’d done during the gargoyle attack, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to know if Lucifer was okay.
I threw open the door and ran out, swallowing hard at the sight of the penthouse torn apart again and some of the walls scorched with fire. Outside, Fallen angels clashed against gargoyles and dragons, while fire lashed across the night sky. I wondered if any humans in the hotel or down on the ground could see this, and if they thought it was another Vegas attraction. The magic of Sin City. If only they knew what really happened in Vegas.
Then Lucifer flew into view, and my heart pounded harder as he fought a red dragon a good three times his size. Was that Mammon? Dammit, I should have warned him earlier about what I’d heard at the ball, but it had slipped my mind after Jophiel kidnapped me. I gasped as Lucifer streaked upward, far out of my sight, chasing the dragon. I ran for the balcony, my slippers crunching on broken glass, hoping to see where they went.
My only warning of approaching danger was a faint whisper behind me. My instincts took over, and I whirled in time to yank up Lucifer’s blade and slice through tendrils of shadow magic that had been about to grab me.
The sword glowed bright white as Gadreel stepped forward out of the darkness. His grim smile sent tremors of terror through my heart, especially when he squared off, pointing a sword at me that looked similar to mine, except it blazed with darkness instead of light.
As Gadreel and I shifted positions, like we were about to dance, I prayed my muscle memory would hold and that I was a good enough swordswoman to match Gadreel.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “I thought we were friends! Or at least we were, back when I was Lenore.”
He slashed forward, on the offensive, and I blocked him with my glowing sword. We weren’t fully fighting, not yet. He wanted to feel me out. Probably checking to see if I had enough fight in me in this body. Asshole, I had plenty.
“You know why,” he said, his voice cold. All traces of fun-loving Gadreel were gone, leaving a stranger in his place. “Deep down, you’ve always known my true identity. Haven’t you?”
I nearly dropped the sword as clarity swept through me. My hands trembled and I stepped back, but I managed to whisper his name. “Adam.”
A cruel smile spread across his handsome face. “I’ve come for you, my wife. As I always do.”
I leveled the glowing sword at him. “Stay away from me!”
His face darkened, and he attacked again. I had to dance and move quickly to block him. As we fought, we dodged upended furniture and broken glass, unintentionally moving back toward the library. The battle was balanced, and somehow I knew in my bones that this was a fight we’d fought a hundred times before. An exhausting thought that lent a feeling of inevitability to all of it. Was it even possible for me to win against him? Or would he strike me down just as Lucifer returned?
“Jophiel thought she could hide you, but I always find you,” Gadreel snapped. “You belong to me, Eve, not Lucifer.”
He found me… My jaw dropped, though I kept my sword raised. “Did you have Brandy kidnapped?”
He inclined his head slightly, with pride shining in his eyes. “I knew it would bring you to me.”
“Why not just kill me in Vista? That seems a lot easier.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He gave me a maniacal grin as he advanced, making me step back. “No, it’s much more satisfying to bring you to Lucifer and give you some time to fall in love again, so it hurts him even more when I take you away. Like he stole you from me.”
“Lucifer is my mate, not you,” I shot back at him, as I stepped into the library. “I don’t even know you!”
He looked oddly hurt at that. “How do you not remember me? Me? After everything I’ve done to you?”
The way he said it made me want to vomit, but I had an idea. “What if I left Lucifer for you? Would that make you stop?”
He let out a horrible, menacing laugh as he came toward me. “Oh, Eve, you’re the same in every life. You think you haven’t tried that before?”
Damn. I was out of moves. Except as he drew closer, I grabbed the vase of Hades and Persephone, silently saying an apology to the long-dead artist, and threw it at Gadreel’s head. It hit him perfectly, using precise aim I didn’t know I possessed, shattering into a hundred pieces. Giving me just enough time to stab him in the shoulder with the light blade. He screamed and stumbled back, like he was on fire. I already knew from the gargoyle attack that the blade seemed to do extra damage to demons—and Fallen too, apparently.
His dark blade glanced downward as he cradled the wound, and I used the second of vulnerability to my advantage. Darting forward, I sank my blade into Gadreel’s chest, driving it into his heart as his eyes widened with shock. The sword’s white light increased, shining between us.
I gave him a triumphant smile. “Never expected me to kill you for once, did you?”
I yanked out the sword with a twist and stepped back. He rocked forward, clutching at his heart as he sank to his knees. He hit the floor hard, and I pressed a hand to my chest, sucking in a deep breath and trying to calm my racing heart.
Holy shit. I’d killed Gadreel.
Adam was dead. Was the curse broken?
Then a horrible laugh came from his body, even as his blood spread across the floor. Like some kind of zombie, he forced himself up off the floor with a groan. Ripping his shirt apart, Gadreel proudly displayed his chest, and I watched in confusion as the torn flesh and skin knitted back together.
I stumbled back, shaking my head, fear gripping my throat. “How?”
“Oh, Eve, don’t you remember? Thanks to the curse, I can’t be killed as long as you’re alive. We’re a pair in life and death.” He stepped forward again, shadowy blade in hand. His eyes had changed. They were wild before, but now they were six steps past that. He’d gone totally dark. Pure evil.
“Together forever,” he whispered, and terror rushed through me.
I tried to move, but I wasn’t quick enough. I lifted my blade, but the dark swinging sword came at me so fast, with so much fury, all I could do was surrender to the inevitable. At least I would be reborn again.
The library door blasted open, breaking off its hinges, and a shield of darkness flew up around me, blocking G
adreel’s attack. Lucifer strode through, his eyes blazing red, his shadowy wings fully extended. He crossed the room to me in a blur of darkness and threw me behind him, protecting me from any further attacks with his own body.
Gadreel took one look at Lucifer and paled, the color draining from his face. He turned and sprinted toward the broken library door, sweeping Lucifer’s old book from the desk as he darted by—the one Lucifer had been reading when I’d found him earlier.
In the living room, glass shattered and fell toward The Strip below as Gadreel launched through the last remaining windows with a burst of energy and force I hadn’t expected. His pale gray wings carried him into the night, and I almost expected Lucifer to go after him, but he turned to me instead.
His red eyes faded back to green as he held my shoulders and scanned me from head to toe. Probably searching for signs of blood or other injuries. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.” I threw myself into Lucifer’s strong arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When I saw you out there fighting a dragon, I feared the worst.”
He held me close against him, running his hand up and down my back. “It was Mammon. He and some of the other Archdemons have been plotting against me, and they’re working with Gadreel. He’s Adam, you know.”
“Yeah, I figured that part out,” I said with a slight shudder.
“I was about to tell you when we were attacked.” He looked in the direction of the library and his frown deepened. “And now he has Samael’s journals. This is bad. Very bad.”
With a ripple of magic, Lucifer’s darkness snaked out and flipped over one of the leather couches. It had large gashes in it, like it had been shredded with huge claws, but he sat on it anyway. Then he sighed before rubbing his hands over his face—the most defeated I’d seen him.
I sank down beside him. “Why is that bad? What was in that book?”
“It’s an account of what happened long ago, written by Samael. I was going through it to see if there was a way to break the curse. But there’s more in that book. A lot more.” Lucifer turned his gaze toward the window, looking in the direction Gadreel had flown off in. “And now Adam has it.”
“I killed him.” The fight played over in my head, and fear gripped my throat again. “But he didn’t die. He said he can’t die while I’m alive. Why didn’t you tell me that part of the curse?”
Lucifer took my hand, turning it over as he looked at my skin, as if committing me to memory. “I assumed Jophiel told you about it.”
“She must have left that part out.” I had a feeling she’d left a lot of things out.
He wrapped an arm around me and held me close, and I leaned against him until the shock of the attack slowly receded. But when it did, I was left with a horrible dread for the next time it would happen. And the next, and the next…
“We have to end the curse,” I said quietly. “I can’t keep doing this. Living and dying, over and over. Finding you and losing you again and again. Living in fear of the day Adam would end my life once more.” I turned toward him, but he was staring off into space, his brow furrowed. “Did you find a way to break the curse in Samael’s notes?”
“Yes, there is a way.” His dark gaze lifted and his eyes met mine, but now they were hard. Cold. A little terrifying. “But there’s a price. There’s always a price.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll pay it,” I said, though a flicker of doubt lodged in my chest.
“Will you?” He let out a haunting laugh, as darkness began to gather around him. “Or am I the one who will suffer for all eternity for the crime?”
I stood up and backed away, my skin suddenly cold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. How do we break the curse?”
He stood and stalked toward me like a predator, backing me against the wall. “Do you trust me, Hannah?”
Words failed me for a moment, as the darkness seemed to close in around us like a cage. Was he trying to scare me? If so, it was working. But I knew in my heart he would never hurt me. He was my mate, the other half of my soul, and he loved me.
“Yes, I trust you.” I reached up and stroked his face softly as I looked into his eyes. “I love you.”
Pain crossed his face just before the darkness turned the room pitch black around me. All I could see were his red eyes, glowing like brimstone, and then the shadows wrapped around my body like shackles, holding me tight.
“Lucifer… What are you doing?” I struggled against the bonds he’d twined around me, but there was no resisting the devil.
He wrapped his strong, masculine hands around my throat. “I’m sorry, Hannah. It’s the only way.”
I couldn’t talk, couldn’t protest, couldn’t breathe. I could only watch Lucifer’s red eyes burn like an inferno as his hands tightened, cutting off my air. I tried to fight, tried to scream, tried to beg, but I couldn’t move at all.
Pain exploded in my neck and lungs. Tears fell from my eyes. It grew harder and harder to see his burning eyes clearly as the darkness creeped into my vision and I struggled for air.
Lucifer was killing me.
How could he do this? Had I been wrong about him this entire time? As my vision blurred and my body grew weaker, Jophiel’s words came back to me. Lucifer is the villain. He’s been lying to you this entire time. Manipulating you. Controlling you. As he’s done with all humans for thousands of years.
You’re in danger around him.
His voice came to me in the darkness. “I love you, Hannah.”
How could that be true when he was ripping the life from my body? Was this how he ended the curse—by doing Adam’s job for him?
I’d made the ultimate mistake, trusting the devil with my heart. And the price was my life.
The darkness closed in, enveloping me completely as my lungs burned for the last time. Everything turned black as death finally claimed me, as it had done so many times before.
Except this death would be my last.
33
Hannah
With a bright flash of light, life surged back into me…and with it came power.
And memories. So many memories.
My mind flooded with events from my past lives. Every single one of them. Eve. Persephone. Lenore. Countless other humans who lived short, brutal existences.
All of their lives came rushing back to me, filling my head with their pain, joy, love, and death, stretching back thousands of years. Too many memories for one mind to hold, even an immortal one. I screamed and thrashed, clutching at my head, trying to make the torrent stop.
Then the flood died off and the memories faded away like smoke. Only a few impressions remained, fragments from some of my lives, though I knew others were within my grasp if I needed them. Only one life remained just out of reach, clouded by another’s magic. My true self had been stolen from me, my powers stripped from my body, now returned in death. But I still couldn’t access those memories.
I sucked in a breath that felt like my very first one. Power swirled inside me like adrenaline. My skin tingled with magic. How was this possible?
Lucifer had killed me, but somehow I was alive.
No, better than alive. I was whole again.
But that didn’t mean I forgave him for what he’d done.
I opened my eyes and slowly sat up, glancing at the small crowd of people gathered around me, before my eyes landed on Lucifer. My mate. My killer. My savior.
“Hannah?” he whispered.
Hannah? Hannah was dead. But like a phoenix, I was reborn. I didn't remember my name, but I knew one thing.
It was time to raise some hell.
THANK YOU for reading Demon King! Lucifer and Hannah’s story will continue in Devilish Mate, coming soon. I promise a HEA for them…eventually!
Want more in this world? I'm working on a novella about Brandy and Asmodeus now. It'll be free and exclusive to newsletter subscribers, so make sure you sign up!
Also, check out my other series Seraphim Academy, which features some
of the characters in Demon King. Turn the page to read the first chapter!
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Excerpt from Seraphim Academy 1: Wicked Wings - Excerpt
To find her brother, this succubus will tempt angels to fall…
Chapter One: Olivia
Seduction is a dangerous game, but one I have no choice but to play. And, as I’ve learned from my mother, seduction and deception often go hand in hand.
They do tonight, anyway.
I move through the party and try to ignore the growing hunger inside me. It's hard at times like this, when music is pulsing, drinks are flowing, and bodies are dancing a little too close. Inhibitions are down, temptation is in the air, and boy does it smell sweet. To me, at least.
I find a corner where I can survey the crowd, trying not to get too close to anyone. College kids at various levels of drunkenness dance, play beer pong, and try to talk over the loud beat of the music. A guy standing off to the side catches my eye and gives me a warm smile. He’s got the face and shoulders of a small-town college football hero, and for a second I’m tempted. I picture digging my nails into those broad shoulders as I ride him hard, but I quickly glance away. He looks like a nice guy. The kind who wants to take it slow and brings you flowers on your first date. The kind I avoid.
Trust me, I’m doing him a favor.
A guy with sleeve tats and a dark goatee walks into the room with a “don’t-fuck-with-me” vibe. I bet these rich snobs invite him to parties for one reason alone: he sells drugs. He’s exactly the kind of man I need tonight.
Chester’s hand clasps my elbow possessively. “There you are.”
“I was waiting for you.” I flash him a fake smile. He’s one of those kids who only got into USC because his parents bribed someone. Sandy blond hair with a perfect curl over his eye, dark green polo shirt, expensive smile—you know the type. His confidence makes him more attractive than he really is, as does his money. This is his house—bought by his parents so he wouldn’t have to live in a dorm with the common folk—and his party. It’s St Patrick’s Day, he’s wearing a “I’m Not Irish, Kiss Me Anyway” pin that lights up, and his breath smells like whiskey. It takes a good bit of acting not to cringe away from his touch, but Mother taught me well.
Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer Book 1) Page 22
