Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer #1) - Elizabeth Briggs Page 0,94

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,