unwillingly. Well, other than the distinct black and gold collar around her neck that was inscribed and forged with the Devil’s mark.
I also believed that this charade Lucifer had created was obviously meant to aid in that fact, as he clearly didn’t want her going anywhere… again. Which just proved the level that even the Devil himself would go to for his Chosen One, for in truth we were all simply slaves to the hearts of our Fated.
A heart that even now felt the bitter twinge of agony within my chest, knowing that I had deceived my own Fated. No amount of knowing the selfless reasons why, done with the sole purpose of keeping her safe… nothing eased the pain. Nothing fucking mattered! Not when my own betrayal still weighed heavily in my gut as if it had been put there by her own fist.
I shook these thoughts from my mind, knowing they wouldn't serve me any purpose in churning them back up again. Besides, what should I have done, brought her here with me? Oh yes, I could see it now, ‘please, sweetheart, sit on this wall whilst I just cut this freak fucking demonic plaything of my father’s in half, before impaling it. Then be a dear and enjoy as I slaughter part of his army before I introduce you to my father.’ Yeah, fuck that!
It would have been too dangerous, because Lucifer may have been my father, but he was also first and foremost a cautious King, and with this caution came the growth of paranoia, for you do not maintain that throne over the realm of Hell without being vigilant of those that try to overthrow your rule. And no other like me had the power to do just that. Which meant the only card he had left to play was the woman held over me as a weakness in the name of my own Chosen One. One I knew he would have no qualms about using to his advantage.
He was a bastard like that.
Which meant that bringing her here would have been like waving that red flag in front of his face. Or at least, that was what I always thought, yet now seeing him like this, I found myself not as sure as I once was. Because after being forced witness this strange side of him, then maybe I had been wrong in my decision. As one look at Pythia, and I now knew we were again once on equal grounds. Because, fuck me, love changed a person, whether you were the Devil or the Vampire King he created. That fact could never be denied, and the proof of that was staring me in the face in this surreal twist of events… because there was no denying the question…
Could the Devil actually be in love?
“Ah, but my prodigal sons have returned, not like I have to ask the reasons why,” he said smoothly after we entered the room. Then he calmly folded up his newspaper and rose from the head of the dinner table, where he had obviously been awaiting whatever culinary delights his little wife was making him. Speaking of which, she turned her head and the moment she saw me, her eyes widened in fear. Then she dropped the bowl with a clatter to the counter and gripped the front of her apron so hard her knuckles turned white. I released a regretful sigh as Pythia had always been afraid of me. Which was of little wonder really, seeing as I was always the one charged with hunting her down. Her fear had been of Lucifer’s own making, but the fucker failed to recognise this, as the moment Lucifer saw her fear of me, he growled low in the back of his throat.
“Come here, my Sarratum,” Lucifer ordered, using the name for Queen in the ancient language of Sumerian. He also did so in a stern tone, obviously feeling discomfort at seeing his Fated One looking distressed by my arrival. However, when her body seemed frozen and unable to move, he clicked his fingers and the collar around her throat started to glow, calming her instantly. This obviously snapped her out of the fear that gripped her. Once it did, he said another name for her, shocking both me and my brother to our core.
“My Arammu and Ziana of mine, come do my bidding now, little one.”
“Gods!” Dariush muttered in utter shock, as the meaning was an undeniable one. And I too