by Cate Corvin
Azazel gazed towards the wastelands, which were obscured by a veil of fog. “We’ll have to travel north along the River Styx and past Acheron. I’d say… three days by flight. A week on foot.”
I appreciated that he took walking into account. Tascius’s eyes had darkened at the mention of flying. I gripped his hand, squeezing his fingers. “Two weeks, then.”
“We can spare them.” Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest. “Belial will serve as regent for your half of the Seventh Circle in your absence.”
My lungs seemed to freeze. Two weeks, there and back, all the while leaving Belial far behind me.
“Well, we’d better be as quick as we can.” I pushed the grass towards the city. “I’m not giving Satan a chance to gather any more Brides.”
Azazel began to dissipate at my side, and I thought I felt him reach out to touch me. “I will wait for Vyra to awaken and make arrangements.”
“Good. I need to speak to my Chainlings. They’ll have to hold down the fort.”
I smiled up at him despite my weariness and sweat-soaked skin, and he leaned in to brush a careful kiss across my mouth before vanishing entirely.
We made our way to the edge of Dis and walked down the main thoroughfare, ignoring the stares of thousands of demons. I had zero illusions now that some of the bystanders reported straight back to Satan, and unless I missed my mark, Belial likely had spies tailing me, too.
The Chainlings were in an uproar when we arrived.
“I felt the links of the Chain shiver and tighten, my Lady,” the leader said. “You’re leaving us.”
I blinked, wondering if they’d felt that sensation of Wayland making us a pact, the promise to create a sword that might change the very landscape of Hell.
“Only for a few weeks. Prince Belial and Vyra will watch this half in my absence.”
The Chainling followed me inside, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
Haru Sakai was in my arena. He was stripped to the waist, revealing sculpted muscle, and wielding his katana against Blind Luck.
“What is he doing here?” I asked, and his pointed ears twitched.
He dodged a blow from Luck with a smooth motion and grinned at me. “I come with a letter of recommendation, Lady Wrath.”
“Did you need a change in scenery that badly?” Lucifer asked, his voice dry.
“Better than Yomi, and better than guarding a door day and night.” Haru’s smile faded as he parried a series of blows from Luck’s daggers. “I promise not to snack too much.”
“You won’t snack at all here unless the food is already dead,” I said sternly. “While I’m gone, whatever Vyra says, goes.”
“Vyra.” Haru said her name with a caress in his voice, then swung his sword low, forcing Luck to stumble. He flickered in and out of sight, appearing behind the stunned fighter, and placed his blade at Luck’s throat. “Yield or die. That’s a lovely name.”
He didn’t sound winded at all.
“Yield,” Luck gasped.
Haru smiled and wiped the blade of his sword with careful deliberation before sheathing it in a lacquered case. “Ah, I won my first fight. I suppose I’m now sworn to you, Lady Wrath?”
I eyed him suspiciously but found no reason to kick him out. I’d taken in Lady Savage and Blind Luck, after all. “If you’d like to be. I don’t need to warn you what will happen if you disregard our rules.”
“Not at all.” He tossed a sheet of auburn hair over his shoulders. “I’m at your service. Mister Celamentum asked me to pass on his regards.”
We stared at each other, but Haru broke into a sly grin, seemingly incapable of being serious.
“Welcome to the arena, then.”
I moved to go up the stairs, but Haru flickered again and was suddenly blocking them, leaning insouciantly against the rail. “Where are you going? Perhaps you should consider an extra sword.” His tails waved behind him as he spoke.
“Nowhere that’s any business of yours,” I growled, unable to push aside my initial dislike for the smirking kitsune. There was no way I could possibly like anyone who looked at me like I was food. “If you want to make yourself useful, help Vyra keep these fighters under control. I don’t want to come back and find my arena reduced to rubble.”
Haru held out an arm to lead the way. “Then on with you, Lady Wrath. I’ll put all my considerable talent to helping your Vyra.”
Lucifer and Tascius strode past, but I paused when I was just level with Haru’s eyes, several steps above him. “And you keep your hands off her. Understand? Unless she explicitly asks you, she’s not to be touched.”
Haru touched his chest, his smile never faltering. “You have my word.”
I caught up with Lucifer, who was already in my room, tossing clothes on the bed. “Can we trust him?”
“Haru?” Lucifer held up one of my Azazel-gifted leather corsets. “Yes. Celamentum, unlike most demons, has a reputation to uphold and does extensive background checks on his employees. He wouldn’t have given him a recommendation unless he strongly approved of him.”
He handed me the corset and grabbed a pair of boots. “Besides, it might be helpful to have him around. He’s the sneakiest bastard I’ve ever had the fortune- or possibly misfortune- of meeting.”
I laid out my clothes and sat at my small desk, pausing with my pen over a piece of parchment. What could I tell Belial that didn’t sound like I was running away from him or avoiding him at all?
After nearly half an hour of staring at a blank page, I laid down the pen.
I wasn’t going to write him a note. I’d tell him in person, the way he deserved.
Tascius and Lucifer had packed several bags of necessities when I turned around. Then I realized it was the three of us, alone in my room, and that they were giving each other death-glares.
“Um… why are you staring at each other like that?”
Tascius’s arms were crossed over his chest. “We’re settling which one of us gets to shower with you.”
My eyes flicked between the two of them, unable to linger on only one. They were both shirtless, showing off the admirable ridges of their chests and abs, streaked with sand and dirt that I was dying to wash off with my own hands.
“Well, this might sound like a wild and crazy idea, but… how about both of you. At the same time.”
My mouth went dry when they both looked at me.
Then Lucifer cast a narrow-eyed glance at Tacius. “We both wear her feathers.”
“That’s true.” Tascius glanced back.
“One way or another, we’ll need to learn to share.”
“Agreed.”
“The lady has a point.”
“That she does.”
They stood and deliberated for a moment. Lucifer finally nodded, and his shoulders relaxed. “We’ll give your wild and crazy idea a try, Melisande.”
They both came towards me at once, and I found myself being stripped down by multiple hands that seemed to work in unison, like they were reading each others’ minds.
Tascius picked me up, and Lucifer’s mouth twitched, but he let the Nephilim carry me into the large bathroom and pull the chain. A waterfall of steaming water crashed down on our heads.
Lucifer slid his pants down and stepped out of them, kicking them aside and wading into the shower to take me from Tascius so the Nephilim could lose his clothes, too.
When they were both totally nude, every muscle on display, I realized the drumming in my skull and chest wasn’t the water pouring down on me, but my heart in my throat, threatening to burst free from my ribs.
There was so much naked male in here at once, I had no idea what to do with myself.
“I’m not really sure what to do with my hands,” I said, sounding a lot smaller than I felt.
Tascius ran his over my hips, his cock pressing against my ass. “You put them wherever you want.”
“Everywhere you want,” Lucifer purred, cupping my face, then slid his fingers down over my collar
bone, to my peaked nipples, and lower.
I was sure my heart was galloping so hard it was actually going to implode.
His fingers delved between my legs, stroking my slick folds and clit. I wobbled, but Tascius held me up, his cock throbbing as he pushed closer to me.
Lucifer leaned down and kissed me, his tongue sliding in and catching mine even as he kept swirling slow circles against my pussy. I wrapped my arms around his neck, caught between the desire to pull myself closer to him, and the need to push back against Tascius’s cock.
The Nephilim made my choice for me, cupping my breasts and gently pinching my nipples while Lucifer kissed me. I was gasping for breath when he finally released me, grazing his teeth over my lower lip.
“Bed, now,” I said shakily.
It was the most perfunctory shower I’d ever taken. I wasn’t even sure real shampoo was involved, just that they were both all over me, their thick cocks sliding against me as they moved.
Lucifer picked me up when the water finally slowed to a trickle and died, carrying me out to the bed with a low growl. I bit back a shriek when he tossed me on the bed, climbing between my legs and sliding his cock over my aching clit.
I beckoned to Tascius, writhing against Lucifer the entire time.
The Nephilim climbed up too, getting on his knees beside me. I wrapped my fingers around his thick length, lightly gliding my fingers up and down the silky shaft. A droplet beaded at the tip of his flared head, and without thinking, I opened my mouth and licked him, running my tongue all around the crown.
Lucifer groaned, watching me suck Tascius, and my muscles bunched up as he pushed inside me. The pressure of his cock stretching me out made me moan around Tascius’s cock, and the Nephilim lowered his hand, tangling it in my hair.
This was Heaven, having two men I adored more than my own life all over me. I arched against Lucifer as he pumped into me, his thumb stroking my clit in time with his thrusts.
The heat kindled inside me, swirling through my abdomen. They were the two I’d chosen first, the ones who made me feel like I was protected no matter what. They were my shield against the darkness of Hell.
Being filled with them felt right, like everything I wanted was right here in this room. I was meant to be here.
I ran my tongue along the underside of Tascius’s cock, enjoying the way it jumped in my mouth and the sound of his rasping groan.
Lucifer pushed my legs up, which made it feel like his cock was going deeper, filling my pussy to capacity. I pulled Tascius’s cock from my mouth with a gasp, the pressure building low in my stomach.
“Come for me, angel,” Lucifer whispered, his thumb stroking my clit.
I tightened my muscles, clenching around him, and was rewarded with the sight of Lucifer’s eyes rolling back in his head.
“No, you come for me,” I gasped, and wrapped my mouth around Tascius again, taking as much of him as I could.
The Nephilim’s fingers tightened in my hair, and Lucifer groaned, his cock hardening before he came. He slammed in hard, spilling all of himself in me.
“My turn,” Tascius growled, and he pulled me off his cock by my hair, somehow managing to be rough and gentle at the same time. Lucifer pulled out, his stomach flexing as his cock slid free.
I licked my lips, the salt taste of Tascius still in my mouth when he grabbed my hips and pulled me to the edge of the bed.
He angled his cock, pushing the thick head inside me. “Fucking eat her, Lucifer,” he demanded, sliding in inch by inch.
The fallen angel kissed my mouth, working his way down my throat and sucking my nipple. He let go and dragged his tongue down my stomach until his tongue flicked against my clit.
Tascius lifted my legs, holding me open so he could thrust into my pussy while Lucifer’s tongue lashed me. I gripped the sheets, my entire body shaking from Tascius’s pounding hips.
Lucifer wrapped his lips around my clit and sucked, sending a zing through all of my nerve endings. I gasped, bucking against Tascius, and the fallen angel gave me a sly grin before he did it again.
That, combined with Tascius’s thick cock, sent my heart into overdrive. “I can’t last,” I gasped, struggling to push against him harder.
Tascius obliged, moving in long, slow strokes, and Lucifer swirled his tongue over my clit.
I came apart as the orgasm tore through me, my legs shaking uncontrollably. Tascius held my hips and pushed his cock deeper, refusing to let me dislodge him. His cock hardened and pulsed, and with several quick strokes he gasped, his hips jerking as he came.
Lucifer rose back up to kiss along my throat and jaw. “Is it everything you dreamed of, angel?”
I wrapped my legs around Tascius and pulled him in close. The two of them surrounded me, making me feel untouchable.
“I couldn’t have dreamed of something this good.” They laid on either side of me as I panted, feeling wrung-out, but happier than I’d been in a long time. “I think I belong here.”
Tascius rested his hand on my stomach. “Little friend, you were made to be in Hell.”
17
Melisande
Vyra held my hands and sighed mournfully. “I can’t fathom how awful your nails will get in two weeks.”
“That’s hardly any time at all.” I squeezed my friend’s hands, careful not to jab myself on her claws. “Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ll let you do everything when I get back. Every nail, without a word of complaint.”
She lost a little of her hangdog expression. “Glitter?” she asked piteously.
I winced. “Even glitter.”
Watching Vyra perk up was like watching a wilting daisy get a shot of sunlight. “And a hair trim?”
“Even a hair trim,” I agreed, wondering if I’d regret what I’d signed up for.
“Well, that’s okay, then,” she said, not looking like she’d been depressingly glum only moments ago. “I have a few themed fight-nights I’d like to plan out and decorate for, and the Chainlings have already set up the barracks for the new fighters.”
She gave me a two-week rundown of the plans as we swept down the stairs, but Vyra stopped dead halfway down. “Who is that?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.
I followed her gaze. Haru was back on the arena floor, training with wooden swords against a Chainling.
“That’s Haru Sakai. Lucifer knows him from the Consortium.” I glanced up at my friend. “He’s already been instructed in very clear terms that he’s to keep his hands to himself. Crystal clear. I practically spelled it out.”
“He’s a fox,” she muttered. “They’re trouble.”
“Well, he might be trouble, but he’s also going to make sure this place stays safe for you while I’m gone.” We both watched Haru dance around his opponent without breaking a sweat. “Better to have a trickster on your side, isn’t it?”
Haru looked up at us, apparently having felt eyes on him. He grinned at me, but the sly expression faltered at the sight of Vyra. The succubus raised her chin in the air.
“As long as he doesn’t interfere with my planning or get underfoot- which he probably will- I’m sure I can tolerate him.”
I hooked my arm through hers and we descended the rest of the way. “I just want him here to protect you,” I said quietly. “Belial will be around, but I want you to feel safe.”
Vyra patted my arm. “I’ll be fine, Melisande. I have to be fine.”
She said the last part so quietly I was sure I wasn’t supposed to hear it.
Lucifer strode into the arena and his silver gaze found me instantly. “Preparations are done. Stay safe, Vyra. Keep to the arena.”
He kissed the back of her hand and Vyra sighed. “I’m not made of porcelain.”
“Girl, same,” I muttered, and hugged her hard. “The Chainlings will keep everyone from killing each other. Feel free to make Haru scrub dishes or something to prove his worth.”
“Oh, I might,” Vyra said, smiling. She waved as we walked out, and I glanced back
once to see Haru already creeping up on her, his ears pricked up.
He was in for a shock if he tried to fuck with her. I had no doubt she’d sit his ass down and paint every one of his claws until he was begging for mercy.
Lucifer handed me a cloak. “Wear this until we’re outside the city.”
I draped it around my shoulders, covering my wings, and he fastened the silver clasp under my throat. It completely obscured the leather outfit Azazel had made for me, which seemed like a wiser choice than a pretty dress for this sort of travel.
Tascius was waiting for us in the stables. Instead of taking Capheira, who seemed perfectly happy to stay behind and spend her days wading in a lily pond and chopping down the gardens, Lucifer had gone out late last night and come back with two horses.
One was small enough for me to ride, with a snowy-white body and a silky black mane and tail. The other, for Tascius, was enormous, and there was an odd sheen to its green hide that spoke of aquatic origins.
I gave Capheira her daily sugar lump and stroked her nose before Tascius lifted me on the white horse. “These ones are accustomed to the heat outside,” he said. “I doubt your Capheira would like it.”
“She’d hate it,” I said. It felt odd to be riding a new horse that wasn’t my ghostly, lightning-filled mount. “I want to see Belial before we go.”
“Azazel will meet us outside the gates of Dis.” Lucifer had eschewed riding a horse entirely. He helped Tascius attach saddlebags to the green horse’s saddle. “We can pass through the Brightside on the way.”
I held back a sigh of relief. I’d been sure that someone would tell me no, that I should push Belial to the back of my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the city without seeing him.
Lucifer took my horse’s reins and led her out into the twilight, with Tascius behind us. I waved towards the arena’s open door, catching a glint of silvery hair in the darkness, and hoped Vyra would be okay.
Of course she’ll be okay, I told myself. She’s armed with nail polish and ten thousand types of glitter.
I tried not to fidget in the saddle all the way to the Brightside, and when the dark crown of Belial’s arena came into view, my hands were suddenly clammy.
