Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer #1) - Elizabeth Briggs Page 0,79
wife, Lilith, and he had a horrible temper. He’s the kind of man who charms you with flowers, poems, and promises, and only once he has you in his grasp does he reveal his dark side.”
“And you’re not the same?”
“No, I'm completely up front about my villainous nature.” He smirked at me as he leaned forward. “You ran away with me to escape Adam.”
I swallowed hard. “But he followed us. And then…he killed me.”
Lucifer’s eyes darkened. “He did.”
“And this curse? Is that real too?” I clenched my throat, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “Is my fate to die over and over at Adam’s hand?”
He rose to his feet and stepped toward me, with pain and sadness written across his face. “I wish I could tell you that wasn’t true, but I never lie to you, Hannah.” He reached up to touch my cheek, and this time I didn’t flinch away. “I’ve watched you die hundreds of times, and each time my heart shatters into a million pieces. My only solace is that I know one day you’ll return to me, but it’s little comfort as you take your last breath in my arms.” Darkness swirled around him like angry tentacles. “And then I usually rip that fucker’s heart out.”
An endless cycle of love and death, for all eternity. I blinked back the emotions threatening to drown me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He brushed his thumb under my eye, catching a tear before it fell. “It wasn’t the right time. You were just beginning to accept the supernatural world and your place in it as my mate. How could I add this burden on top of everything else? I planned to tell you about the curse eventually, but only when you were ready.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible to ever be ready for a revelation like this.” I drew in a ragged breath. “Do you know where Adam is now? Do you think he’s behind the attacks?”
“I don’t know.” Tension tightened the corners of Lucifer’s mouth. “My people have been looking for him, but haven’t found anything yet. All we know is that he must be human, since he’s reborn in a pair with you. It seems unlikely he could be behind the attacks unless he’s sided with some of the Archdemons somehow. Though he has gotten very crafty over the years…” His voice trailed off as he considered, but then he met my eyes again. “It’s more likely the Archdemons are trying to overthrow me again. It happens now and then, but my display at the ball should make them reconsider.”
I shuddered a little at the memory. The darkness holding the traitors in place, the blue hellfire that turned them to ash, the way everyone bowed… And the worst part of all, how it had secretly thrilled me, deep down, to see them punished.
“It bothered you, I see,” he said, cocking his head. “When I couldn’t find you at the ball, I feared the worst, but then I suspected you might have run away. I was almost relieved when I’d learned Jophiel had taken you.”
“I did run away.” I stepped back from him, my eyes wide. “I’m not sure what to make of you, Lucifer. History doesn’t exactly paint you in the best light. And in every one of these—” I indicated my large pile of books. “They tell the same story, over and over—that the devil is the personification of evil.”
“They also say I have horns and a pitchfork, and that’s obviously not true.” He cast a dismissive glance at my pile of books. “History was written by the angels, who have long sought control over Earth. They’ve hated me ever since I rebuffed their control and fought for humans to have free will. They paint me as the villain, making me their scapegoat, blaming all evil on me. As if any one person could have such power.”
He sounded bitter, but there was something else in his voice too. Vulnerability. Pain. Despite all my hesitations and fears, my heart ached for him. If he was telling the truth and they’d made him out to be this horrible monster that he wasn’t, that was incredibly sad. It would be a hard life to live, and lonely too. Especially in the long years while he waited for me to be reborn.
But was Lucifer telling the truth? Or was he deceiving me? I couldn’t tell. I’d learned so much about myself and the world over the past eight days, but I wasn’t