by Dahlia Lu
Chapter Twenty
Lying limp and panting for breath amidst the tall blue grass, Amara gazed upon the numerous shining stars on the cerulean blue sky. A life well-lived, she thought, except for the part when she blew up her own plan and endangered the woman who had brought her up. She didn’t know what had come over her, but what was done was done. There was no point in crying over spilled milk. If she was going to lie, she would lie until the very end.
She waited for him to break the silence.
Noctis spared her a quick glance, but it was not accompanied by interrogations. She continued to wait for him to say something, anything. The stillness became too awkward for her.
“If you’re going to kill me, then do it now. The wait is intolerably nerve-racking. It’s actually the worst part.”
“Quiet, mortal, let me think.” He stole a few more glances at her. When he could bear to look at her no longer, he vanished into thin air.
Fumbling out of the grass, Amara reached for her clothes that were bunched up in the corner. They were still damp. If he had hung them up over the fire when he was supposed to, they would have been dry by now. They were starting to smell, too.
She held her clothes over the fire for a few minutes, until she considered them wearable. It was a better option than being naked. It can dry while on her.
Amara wrapped her arms around her knees and watched the fire’s hypnotic dance to pass the time. She braced herself and shuddered when she recollected the mind blowing pleasure that was still lingering about. Her face flushed uncontrollably.
She would have had nothing to regret if he hadn’t intended on killing her and posed a threat to her foster mother.
She sneezed twice.
“Bless you.”
“Thank… you?”
Amara sprung around immediately at the sound of the female’s silkily smooth voice. She should have guessed it was Nala. The demoness had the sweetest voice she had ever heard coming from anyone, human or other. Everything about the green eyed beauty was perfection to a frightening degree. She’d bet human males couldn’t stop looking at her. They toppled over each other just to have a second glance.
As a fellow female, Amara just took a fatal blow to her self-esteem.
“What are you doing here?” Amara asked, clearly remembering that Noctis had brought her to this place specifically to avoid Nala, yet here she was.
“I came for you, of course,” Nala replied. “Why else?”
“I thought you were chasing after Noctis for revenge.”
“Yes,” Nala admitted, “but I have other plans for him.”
“You really came here for me?”
Nala nodded.
“Why?” Amara asked skeptically. After all, this was only their third meeting. “Why do you want to help me?”
“It’s because I have my own agenda.” She didn’t even bother to hide her motives.
“I appreciate the honesty.”
Nala reached out and gently stroked Amara’s cheek with the back of her delicate fingers. “And it’s because mother cares about you. If she cares about you, then I will care about you. I will do what I can to keep you safe and out of harm’s way.”
Is she trying to tell me she’s being a sister?
Amara had the sudden urge to cry. Kali and Nala cared for her, although they didn’t even share a drop of common blood. They were treating her like real family.
She couldn’t hold back the tears.
“Do you really mean it? You care about me?”
“We should go before he returns.” Nala summoned a portal and offered a hand.
Amara was hesitant to follow. She knew he would be furious if he could not find her where he’d left her. She feared for what he might do. It would be a bloodbath all over again.
She cleared her head for a minute.
If she stayed, she would just be waiting for death. A proud man like him would never forgive her for deceiving him. Besides, since he knew that she was not the person he thought she was, he would move on to his true target – Kali. It was not like she minded dying. She’d lived everyday ready for it. However, her main concern should be trying to survive and figure out a way to protect her mother.
Her cover was blown. It only made sense that she should run for her life.
Yet, something was holding her back that didn’t belong under fear’s jurisdiction.
“Come, Amara.”
Noctis returned to his home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. He grabbed a few unopened shopping bags from her closet. Recalling her trembling body, he compulsively went back to the bedroom and stripped the comforter from the bed. It should be thick enough to keep her warm. He rolled up the comforter and tucked it underneath his arm.
Food... She complained about being hungry.
Noctis materialized into the kitchen and quickly gathered whatever was edible into the large, half empty basket of bread lying on the counter.
“Sir…?” The butler addressed him, surprised to see his employer in the kitchen with a blanket, colorful shopping bags and a basket full of food. “Do you require my assistance?”
“No,” he replied.
“Very well, sir.” The butler turned for the exit.
Noctis changed his mind. “Wait!”
The butler faced him. “Yes?”
“Do you have any remedies that would relieve physical pain?”
The butler scrutinized him. “Are you in physical pain, sir? Do you need me to call for a doctor?”
Guilt barbed into his flesh when he realized that he was unsure if she was in need of a doctor. He knew very little of women and even less about virgins.
Most of his mortal life was spent on the battlefield, away from the company of women. When the opportunity did arise, the females he took to his bed were typically experienced temptresses. Never in his life had he taken a virgin. The only time he thought he would bed one was on his wedding night, but the wife he politically wed was already with child before he even laid a finger on her.
He sneered at the memory. It remained an open wound on his pride to this day.
“That will not be necessary,” he answered coarsely.
“I see,” the butler said. “Then will you have Aspirin or Tylenol?’
“I don’t know. Both.”
“Both, sir…?”
“Make haste,” Noctis urged.
The butler nodded in compliance and went to fetch the medicines.
The more Noctis reflected on the situation at hand, the more it aggravated him. He had been tricked all along by the mortal he had perceived to be inferior to him in every way, and she executed her deception effortlessly. She must have thought him an easily beguiled fool!
Puzzlingly, after the heated anger subsided, he was inexplicably proud.
All he was left with were questions that he knew she would not provide. Why had she persistently impersonated Lucifer’s bride at the risk of her life? What did she have to gain from this? In her mind, she warned him not to take away her loyalty. To whom did she pledge it to?
He wanted those answers and badly. They would lead him to the person he wanted to find. Nothing, not even the mortal, could sway him from his path. His hatred was rooted too deeply. Lucifer’s betrayal was beyond forgiveness and the Archangel must suffer for it one way or another.
Vengeance was the sole reason for his existence. He had nothing else to live for.
Noctis had finally got a clear picture of the girl he had chosen for his companion – a brave, loyal, scheming, and willful female with a personality that could tear away any man’s patience. These reasons will serve as examples as to why he should never underestimate her again; unless he wants to end up a fool a second time.
He amusingly grinned at that thought.
It was the first time he didn’t even bother
rationalizing his attachment to her. She was a challenge from the beginning to the end, but she was the only woman who hadn’t bored him to tears.
Bored him? Who was he kidding? The mortal had him gritting his teeth to the point of breaking since the moment he first saw her. She’d pushed him to new levels of patience he never knew he had. Hours ago, he had been jealous out of his mind over a phantom lover who didn’t even exist, only to find out that he was her first.
And her last. She’ll never know another.
He’d be damned if he let another man take away what was his. She belonged to him in every conceivable way. It was simply indisputable. He would incinerate those who dared to try.
“Here we are, sir.” The butler returned with a bottle of Aspirin and a bottle of Tylenol in his hands. He placed them both in the basket. “Will you require anything else?”
“That will be all.”
The butler bowed and retreated.
Alone again, Noctis opened a portal in the middle of the kitchen. As soon as he stepped through the portal, he sensed Nala’s presence. Cursing fluently in his language, he dropped everything in his hands and hurriedly shifted to where he’d left his mortal in hopes that he wasn’t too late.
“Come, Amara.” The demoness was offering her hand to the girl. Her pale green eyes focused on him and gave him a faint triumph smile. Having sealed his powers earlier, he could not set up a time trap. He needed time to break his own seal. Time he didn’t have.
The girl apprehensively gasped at the sight of him. She was staring at Nala with alarm in her large grey eyes. Anxious and unsure, she placed her hand in Nala’s.
“Don’t!” He warned. She slightly jerked back at his word.
He let out a low and threatening growl from the back of his throat, daring her to do it again. “Come to me,” he rasped.
She winced, took the demoness’s hand, and they both fled through the threshold. The portal closed behind them immediately, cutting his way to her. His trembling hands turned to fists to repress his escalating anger. She made a conscious choice to flee from him.
That little bitch.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hundreds of demons were waiting on the other side of the portal, bowing respectfully to Nala as she made her way through them. It was strange, because she didn’t recognize any of them.
Amara followed Nala, since their hands were connected. Walking through the hallway that would have shamed the Palace of Versailles, Amara couldn’t help but to marvel at the intricate details on each side of the wall. Massive crystal chandeliers were hanging to the curve of the arched ceiling, gilded with gold and covered in fresco paintings.
Tall glass windows opened to the garden outside. It looked more like a zoo than a garden. Exotic mammals she’d only seen on Animal Planet were roaming free on the freshly cut field of grass. She saw different animals through each window she walked past.
She paused and held Nala back when she saw a flock of peacocks displaying their all too gorgeous tail feathers. There were blue, purple, green, white, teal, orange, and even a pink peacock! She’d never seen the like!
“Where is this place?” Amara gasped.
“I live here,” Nala replied. “We all do.”
“Really…?” Amara blinked. “Really, really…?”
“And from today onward, so will you.”
“Get out of town!” Amara exuberated. “Do I get to play with the animals? Oh my, is that an elephant?”
“Do as you wish.”
“How did you collect all of these animals?”
“I didn’t. They were gifts.”
“People gifted them to you?” She heard lions’ roars. “Un-freaking-believable! I feel like a kid at a candy’s store!”
Amara followed Nala to her bedroom, and wasn’t surprised to see that it was bigger than the university’s auditorium. Fit for a queen, as they would say.
“I would imagine you want a bath,” Nala gestured toward the double doors. Amara hated the feeling of damp clothes on her skin, so she nodded. “But I have nothing to change into.”
“We’re about the same size, so I think my clothes would fit you.”
Nala’s closet was a high end department store. Everything was neatly organized according to style and color. Stunning dresses, shelves upon shelves of shoes, and a blinding amount of jewelry that would have satisfied even the most avaricious of women.
“You live like a queen!” Amara remarked. “How long did it take you to shop for all of these?”
“They’re all gifts.”
“From whom…?”
Nala shrugged. “They’re from people who wished to please me.”
“Like bribery?”
“I suppose.”
“What do they want in return?”
“In return…?” Nala said thoughtfully. “They want to see a smile on my face.”
Amara lifted a brow. “That’s all they want?”
“It’s more than they could have hoped.”
“I don’t understand…”
“I am their purpose in life. They live for me. They would die for me. They exist solely for my sake.” Nala lowered her eyes and turned for the door. “But I can only love myself. That is why, I am about to commit the ultimate betrayal upon them. To our kind, there is no worse crime.”
“What… what are you about to do?” Amara asked worriedly. “Nala?”
Nala slipped through the door without giving her an answer.
Amara quickly picked out something comfortable and headed for a warm bath. When she stepped through the bathroom doors, she stood frozen and speechless.
The demons knew that material things did not bring Nala any joy, but they just couldn’t help themselves. It was in their nature. They prized her, worshiped her, and spoiled her in every way imaginable. Her wish was their command and they would go to any length to make sure she had everything that she could ever want. Why a girl would want dozens of exotic peacocks and a pride of lions in her backyard, she will never know. Besides, animals were instinctually terrified of her. At least it proved they tried.
She was about to turn her back and betray them all.
If she had any sense of guilt, she would turn back now and continue to live a barren, meaningless existence for their sakes. But she hadn’t any. She was pathologically cruel to those who loved her, because her actions could never reflect their wants and needs. She couldn’t afford guilt, remorse or any of the emotions she deemed obstacles to her. She would own up to all of her transgressions no matter how dire the consequences.
Like the one she was about to commit, but she couldn’t do it alone. She needed help.
Nala materialized into a dark chamber of an old Romanian castle filled with books, potions, and jars of organ parts sitting side by side on the built-in shelves. This was the place Noctiam spent most of his time devoted to his study of magic. He was the best caster she’d ever known.
He detected her presence almost immediately and materialized into the chamber. He wore a dark hooded cloak over his head, suggesting he’d been outside of the castle just before she came. He had a strong dislike of sunlight and avoided it whenever possible. Even if she couldn’t see him under the thick cloak, she remembered his features well. His eyes were the color of emeralds and his long red hair was fiercer than any flame.
A hand reached out to caress her face. “I’ve missed you, Nala,” he said with his naturally husky voice.
She couldn’t say the same to him, so she remained silent.
When he read her expression, his hand slowly dropped to his side. “Forgive me for speculating, but for what purpose have you come to see me today?”
“You once said that you’d do anything for me.”
“You have but to ask.”
“I will go straight to the point. I want you to remove my core.”
He looked up, his motion stunned. A long, silent moment came between them before he shook his head.
“Preposterous!” he thundered. “Do you even know what that means?”
“I am a demon, Noctiam, I know what that means.”
“Do you even know what you are asking me to do?” His tone was filled with disgust. “The core is your true self! Your immortality! Without it… you are nothing! You are asking me to kill you!” He shook his head violently. “I can’t! Forget we ever had this conversation! Of all of the crazy things you’ve ever done in the past, this one takes the cake!”
She could understand his strong objection. Her request was absurd even to her, but she had run out of options. No, she was desperate. As a demon, how could she not understand her own biology? Unlike Trent, who was born from a mother’s womb, full-blooded demons were hatched from eggs. The egg housed a precious cargo – the demon’s core. As the egg matured, the core would build the flesh and bones around it, creating the demon.
Her core was the closest thing to a soul that she had.
“If you will not help me, then I will go to another who will and I cannot guarantee that they are more skilled than you.”
“You must abandon this. It’s pure madness!”
“You know me, Noctiam. No one can talk me out of it once I’ve made up my mind.”
“Why, Nala?” He slammed his fist against the stone wall, cracking it all the way to the ceiling. “Why are you…?” He inhaled deeply. “Trent.” He said through gritted teeth.
She nodded.
“Turn back now, Nala. You won’t be able to withstand the pain. This is a form of torture that no demon has ever survived!”
She was no stranger to pain. “I will be the one to decide that.”
“He’s not worth it.”
“I’ve loved him for over three thousand years.”
“And I have loved you just as long! Does that mean nothing to you at all, Nala? Can you not see anyone else, but him?”
“No,” she answered without a moment’s hesitation. “I cannot see anyone but him. I cannot function without him. I am nothing without him.”