Unlocked (Hell's Throne Book 1)

by M. L. Gabrielle

  Looking at the clock, I saw that I had two hours to kill before my first class. Rather than trying to fall back asleep, I decided to go to the gym. I’ll be really pissed if Miles is there.

  Thankfully, there was no sign of Miles when I arrived. The gym was practically empty. Note to self - this is the time to come. I jumped on a treadmill next to a guy. I began walking for about ten minutes to loosen up then and gradually increased my speed.

  “Is it okay if I run next to you?” a girl asked. “Sure thing, it’s all yours,” I responded, trying not to trip over my own feet. I could never master the art of simultaneously running and talking.

  “Thank you so much. I know it’s close to seven, so I’ll make it quick,” the girl whispered. I looked at her curiously as she started walking on the treadmill. She was about to pop in her earbuds when I stopped her.

  “Wait, what happens at seven? Does the gym close?” It seems like a really dumb time to close. She looked uncomfortable with my question.

  “No, it doesn’t close for you. Humans can only use the gym from five to seven in the morning.” What. The. Hellfire. I was absolutely fuming. I wanted to ask her a million questions but didn’t want to interrupt her workout.

  I got a few miles in and noticed that it was nearing seven. A demon walked over to the girl next to me and pulled out one of her earbuds. “Off the treadmill, human.”

  Is this asshole serious? The girl was about to hop off when I put my hand on her arm. “What’s your name?” She replied softly, “Beth.” I smiled and turned toward the demon.

  “Beth is still running. How about you use one of the other five open treadmills.” Look at me, trying to diffuse the situation civilly. I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

  “Fuck off. It’s time for the human to leave. You know the rules,” he sneered. I jumped off of my machine and stalked over to the guy. “I suggest you watch your tone. Who made these stupid rules anyway?”

  He ran his eyes over my body and stepped closer. Gross. “The heirs make the rules around here, sweetheart. If you have a problem with it, then you need to take it up with one of them.” Of course, it was those fucking heirs.

  I turned toward Beth and nodded for her to follow me. “Let that douche bag wipe down our machines. I’ll meet you by dorm number one in a half-hour. I want to have breakfast with you this morning,” I told Beth.

  She shifted from one foot to another. “I’m sorry, but humans can’t go to the dining hall until....” I cut her off. “Don’t you know that stupid rules are always meant to be broken, Beth? I’m Eve, by the way. I'll see you in a bit!”

  I ran back to my dorm, showered and got ready for the day. Once outside, Beth and I walked to the dining hall together. I stuck by her side as we got our breakfast and sat at a table by the exit. I wanted her to have an easy escape route just in case things went south.

  “I was really taken off guard this morning when you told me about the gym rules for humans. To be honest, I didn't even know that we had humans on campus.” I don’t have any humans in my classes.

  She took a sip of her coffee and put down the mug. “Humans only make up a small percentage of beings on campus. We always went to school here, but these rules didn’t exist until last year. We were pulled from the Demonic and Angelic classes and were put on a special human track.”

  Of course, these changes started last year. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why would humans even bother enrolling?” Beth gave me a weak smile as I munched on my dry cereal.

  “The majority of the humans, like me, are here because our parents are liaisons between humans and non-humans,” she explained. “What about the others?” I asked.

  She tucked her hair behind her ear. “We’ll they likely got a scholarship, or they have a strong interest in human and non-human relations. A certain number of humans are needed since demons and angels need human energy nearby to survive on Earth or Terra as you guys call it,” Beth continued. How is this not common knowledge?

  “The catch is that humans must give their consent. When we enrolled in this school, we signed a waiver of agreement. I’m not sure if you realized or not, but angels and demons can only stay within the warded areas on Terra. The campus is obviously warded as well as certain surrounding cities and towns.”

  I shook my head. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. The humans are letting us stay in their realm, and we’re treating them like lesser beings. This is beyond messed up. I’m so pissed that this has been going on right under my nose.

  I felt my eyes flash red. Beth shrunk in her seat. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Beth. I’m just so incredibly furious about how you guys are being treated here. I had no clue. I promise that I will do everything in my ability to fix this.” The heirs’ reign over this school ends now.

  As Beth and I left the dining hall, she told me about her family and answered a million silly questions that I had about human culture. She is such a nice girl and even offered to show me around town.

  “I would really like it if you and your friends would join me at dinner tonight. I’d want to be friends with you even if I wasn’t trying to make a point to the heir-holes. Regardless, I’m dethroning them tonight.” Beth gave my arm a grateful squeeze and smiled. “We’ll be there.”

  As soon as I got back to my room, I asked Penny and Jacob to come over. I gave them a recap of my conversation with Beth, and they were both visibly upset. “I just don’t understand what they would gain from being assholes to the humans,” Penny sighed, plopping down on my bed.

  “Why does your bed smell like Locke? Oh. My. Hellfire. Are you seeing him?” I looked at her like she had ten heads.

  “What are you talking about?” I really wanted to ask how the Hell she knew what Locke smelled like, but I held back. She bent down and smelled my blanket again.

  “Locke was definitely here. Do you think he was spying on you?” Penny asked. I wouldn’t put it past him. “I have no idea. I’ll talk to my dad about putting a ward over my room, though.” This will have to go on the back burner because I have bigger issues to deal with tonight.

  Penny and Jacob were totally on board with my plan for tonight. Their main job was to make sure that the humans were safe. Nick and Angelica would probably help too if we needed backup. Penny’s secondary job was phone duty. If I was in any sort of real danger, she was going to text my dad.

  Before I knew it was time for dinner. We decided to go to the dining hall early so we could get a big table. Beth met us outside with six of her human friends. They all seemed really cool. The dining hall was just about empty when we showed up.

  We got our food and sat at a long table in the center of the dining hall. Why make a splash when you can make a wave? We were enjoying getting to know one another when the dining hall started filling up.

  Nick, Angelica and some of Jacob’s friends joined us. Our table got a ton of different reactions. Some beings yelled obscenities, some cheered and some were totally indifferent.

  My Spidey sense let me know as soon as the heir-holes, bitchy Barbie and her minions arrived. I gave a quick wink to my friends so that they could prepare themselves. Let the show begin.

  19

  Eve

  It took about two minutes before bitchy Barbie stomped over to our table along with the heirs. “What do you think you’re doing?” Barbie shrieked. I turned around in my seat and looked at her with mock confusion.

  “We’re eating dinner. You guys are welcome to join us. The more, the merrier,” I said, giving them my sweetest smile. I love pushing their buttons. Gabe taught me well.

  “You have some nerve, little girl. Humans aren’t allowed in the dining hall now. You don’t make the rules around here. We do. Get them the Hell out of here!” Cade boomed.

  I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh. “These people are my friends, not your subjects. They aren’t going anywhere, Cade. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to my dinner.”

  A tattooed hand slammed down on t
he table next to me. I’m beginning to think that this is Emmett’s signature move. “I’ve had enough of your shit, Evelyn. I heard all about the stunt you pulled in the gym this morning. You need to respect the rules. Don’t force our hand.”

  I hate to admit it, but Emmett’s pretty hot when he’s mad. He has nothing on Locke, though. “What are you going to do, Emmett? Spank me? Do you even hear yourselves? You’re having a tantrum because I’m eating dinner with my friends.” I heard a low growl from Locke but ignored it.

  Miles stepped next to Emmett. “From where I’m standing, it looks like you’re the one having a tantrum. We understand that you don’t agree with our rules, Evelyn. The thing is that you don’t need to agree with them; you just need to follow them.”

  This is unbelievable. Is Miles listening to himself? Does he not realize how ridiculous he sounds? “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I can think for myself. I can form my own opinions. What I can’t do is blindly follow rules that are blatantly wrong and go against everything I believe in, Miles. I want to know which one of you heir-holes came up with the idea to alienate the humans. Whose idea was it treat them like second rate citizens in their fucking realm?”

  I stood up from my seat to face them. Hannah stepped forward. “As the Princess of Hell, I make these rules. The heirs put them into action. We are the higher beings, and humankind should be bowing to us!” she exclaimed.

  A wave of hellfire ran over my body, itching to burn Hannah to ashes. I pulled my fire back in and glared at all five of them. “You should be ashamed of yourselves. You’ve made a mockery of what angels, demons and humans have been working toward for centuries. A world where we can all live in peace with one another.”

  I focused my attention on the heirs. “You four had to know that treating humans this way was wrong, yet you did it anyway. Why? To what end? To make your beloved princess happy? To follow an order?” I asked incredulously. I can’t believe that this is my reality. That fact I need to reprimand these four idiotic heirs is ridiculous.

  “Eve, this needs to stop. Whether you like it or not, we have responsibilities that we have to carry out. We don’t owe you an explanation,” Locke said. Hannah lifted his arm and put it around her neck. Anger rolled off of me in waves as I looked at him with disgust.

  “Right. How could I forget about these so-called duties of yours? Please enlighten me, Locke. What exactly is your purpose, aside from being Hannah’s bitch? You guys have been handed this extraordinary opportunity to do something remarkable for our world, but all you’ve been doing is making a royal mess. Excellent job, heirs!”

  Locke’s eyes turned to gold as he let out a low growl. I held up my finger and tsk-ed. “I’m not finished. Let me give you a little refresher. We are guests in this realm and not the other way around. Aside from the fact that most humans are pretty cool, we have been building a relationship with them because Terra is the only realm where angels and demons can gather together.” The heirs stared at me in confusion.

  “By your puzzled faces, I’m guessing that you didn’t know that little gem. Well, I have another fun fact for you. Human consent is the only thing that allows us to step foot in this realm. At any point, humans could say that they didn’t want us here. If that happens, then the wards around campus would fall, sending us right back to Heaven and Hell. Bravo, heirs! Way to monumentally fuck up by blindly following this moronic princess of yours.”

  The dining hall was dead silent. The heirs were staring at me with pure disbelief. “Do something, Locke! You can’t let her get away with talking about me like this!” Hannah shouted. Locke didn’t even spare her a glance. He was too busy staring at me.

  Hannah narrowed her eyes. “I am your princess! Who do you think you are speaking to me this way?” I stood up on my chair so that I could get a better view of the room.

  “Now, that is an excellent question. Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Evelyn Morningstar. My friends call me Eve. But you, Hannah, may call me princess.” I made sure to project my voice so that every last being in the dining hall could hear me.

  At that moment, I felt something within me click as power flowed through my body. It felt euphoric. It must have radiated throughout the room because all of the demons dropped to one knee.

  Hannah quickly stood up. “She’s lying! She just wants Locke, and she knows that he’s my betrothed. You can’t have him! My father will see to your death for defying me!”

  I stared down at her with indignation. “You are so incredibly daft, Hannah. Have you been listening at all? The five of you have made a mockery of the throne and threatened our relationship with humankind. This has nothing to do with your relationship with Locke or any of the heirs. Go ahead. Keep them all. I’ll clean up this mess that you made. They’ll have plenty of free time to follow you around and kiss your ass.”

  Rage was coursing through my body, which caused my wings to pop out. A collective gasp was heard throughout the room as they took in my black wings. For demons, black wings signify royalty.

  I haven’t seen mine since before I started school, so I stole a quick look at my wings. What in the world is going on? The top of each black feather looks like it had been dipped in gold.

  They were beautiful, but they never looked like this before now. My wings were almost reminiscent of... I made the mistake of looking over to Locke. Shoot. His stormy gray eyes turned to gold.

  I could tell that his hydra was very close to the surface. “Mine,” he growled as our eyes locked. I sucked in a breath and forced myself to look away. I can’t deal with him right now.

  “Moving forward, you can sit with whoever the Hell you want to sit with in or outside of this room. Consider all other restrictions that were wrongly placed upon humans, like specific gym and dining hall hours, lifted. If the humans would like, I’ll speak with the Dean about having you all join our classes again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m starving. Enjoy your dinner.”

  After tucking my wings in, I sat back down with my friends. I was about to take a big bite of my sandwich when I heard an unmistakable voice from behind me. “Do you have room for one more?” I quickly jumped up and threw my arms around my dad.

  My friends were all staring at my dad with their mouths open, which made us both laugh. I’m pretty sure the entire dining hall was silent again. I turned to my friends at the table. “This is my dad, Lucifer. Dad, these are my friends.” He gave a quick wave and sat next to me.

  “You did an excellent job putting them in their place. I’m proud of you, my love. We’ll need to regroup, now that the cat’s out of the bag. I need to go back home, but I’ll text you later. Please thank the little she-demon for texting me.” My dad stood up, kissed my head and popped back to Hell.

  “Oh. My. Hellfire. Did all of that just happen? I don’t even know what to focus on first. My head is spinning. My BFF is the freaking Princess of Hell! I texted the True King! This is absolutely insane!” Penny was practically bouncing in her seat. I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Jacob rolled his eyes at Penny. “If you don’t sit still, I’m going to glue your tiny ass to your seat. She’s still our Eve.” I rested my head on his shoulder. I love my friends. I would have been pissed if they started treating me differently.

  Beth smiled at me from across the table. “Thanks for what you did back there, Eve. You were pretty kick ass.” I let out a laugh. “I really do kick ass. You should have seen me take down Callum in Combat class the other day. He was not a happy camper.”

  “Beth, could you let the other humans know that they don’t have to follow any of those dumb rules?” I asked. She smiled and agreed. I couldn’t hold back my yawn. This entire day wore me out.

  Jacob squeezed my leg. “Let’s get going before you pass out on the table.” I said goodbye to my other friends and walked out of the dining hall with Penny and Jacob. “I have to go study, but maybe Penny should stay the night,” Jacob suggested.

  I shook my head. “I promise I'll be fine. I'm
just going to read for a little while and head to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow.” I gave them each a hug goodnight. Honestly, I wanted to be alone. There was something that I’ve been dying to do.

  20

  Locke

  I had to get out of there. Anger was coursing through my body, and my hydra was too close to the surface. I didn’t want to risk harming everyone on campus. Without saying a word to the guys, I popped over to the lake in the middle of the quad. It was already dark out, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing me.

  I needed some time to calm down and digest everything that I just heard. I sat down on a bench and leaned my head back. I was feeling too many things at one time. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to slow down my racing mind. All of a sudden, my hydra was on full alert.

  “I thought that you might need someone to talk to,” he said. I watched as Lucifer sat down beside me. “Let’s sort through everything that’s going on in that head of yours before you demolish the campus. Lay it on me, Locke.”

  Lucifer is the last being I expected to seek me out. I’m not one to hash out my feelings, but I’m too on edge to care. I took a deep breath.

  “I feel like such an epic failure. I always felt the need to prove myself as your successor. I worked my ass off in school and training. I took my responsibilities seriously, carrying out any order that was given without question.”

  I put my hands over my face in frustration. “Now, I come to find out that all I’ve done was jeopardize our relationship with the humans and push away the one girl I want more than anything.”

  “You remind me of Abaddon. He tends to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders as well. You made a mistake, and do you know what? This won’t be the last one. It’s what you do now that truly matters, Locke. Turn this unfortunate situation into an opportunity to prove that you’re worthy of your title and earn the respect of your peers,” Lucifer said.