by Eve Newton
I clear my throat at my inner voice’s triumph. A small one, but if I’ve learned anything by being thrust into this situation, it is that a win is a win down here.
“You’re right!” she says determinedly. “I’ll make him talk to me.”
“Weeelll, maybe tone down the “make him” part,” I venture. “Just go to him and see why he wants to leave. It wasn’t a snap decision, he has been thinking about it for a while, that much was obvious.”
“I prefer my way,” she growls at me, not liking what I had to say.
“All ways are your ways,” I say with a soft smile. “My Queen.”
She preens at me, happy with the affirmation of her place here. I know that she is feeling like she is being torn in half. I know that her fear of Shax being hurt out there without her to protect him, is eating at her. I know that she feels like she is losing herself if he leaves and that she can’t afford to wobble, especially right now. She needs support and I will give it to her. I want to be what she claimed me to be.
Hers.
But I don’t think it is something that we can just jump into. Or at the very least, I can’t. I’m not like them. Not that I really know how these Hell creatures work, but I doubt they feel love the same way I do. The Seven Deadly Sins will be the same for us all. That much I am sure of, but the rest? No, my human self has deeper emotions, a deeper psyche, morals, a conscience. Taking a leap of faith with her is one thing, but I have to know that I’m doing it for the right reasons, that I love her and that I will renounce any life that I had back on Earth to be with her. I have to be sure before I can allow this to move forward in the way that I think she wants it to. That’s something else I need to clarify with her. What is she expecting of me?
“Can we have a bit of talk before I go and find Shax?” she murmurs, somehow picking up on my thoughts.
“Sure,” I say, knowing it’s important to her or she wouldn’t have said it. It’s one of the things that I admire about her. She speaks her truth. Okay, so she doesn’t have consequences to deal with, not like the rest of us anyway, or maybe just humans do for that matter. It must be very liberating.
“Leave us,” she says to the other men. “This is personal.”
“Are we not all one big happy family?” Drescal complains, but it’s good-naturedly.
She gives him a pretty smile which he responds to in a way that I find fascinating. She could ask him to do anything now and he’ll do it.
“Five minutes,” she says. “Promise.”
They file out, leaving us alone and she looks at me with those gorgeous green eyes.
“I know what I said earlier was heavy, but I feel quite possessive of you, Gregory,” she says with a soft laugh. “I meant everything I said about you making me want to be better. I know that this wasn’t your choice, that I made you stay here to help me, but I’m so glad that I did because I couldn’t imagine you not being here now. I get that you need time to adjust. You are a human here and I can’t even imagine how that must feel for you. Know that you can tell me, or talk to me about whatever, whenever. This will go both ways from now on. I want you to be happy and I hope that you will be here, but if you don’t want to stay, then I will return you to your life on Earth.” She looks down, hiding her upset over that thought.
If I had any doubts about my choice to stay here, that would have blown it away. She is willing to forego her own happiness for me.
“I’m staying,” I say firmly. “But I need time to process what that really means for me, along with the very important, and upsetting fact that I will age and die and all of you will go on as if I was never here.”
Her eyes widen again, but this time flood with sadness. “I-I didn’t even think of that,” she admits, embarrassed.
“Why would you? It’s not something that concerns you,” I say, perhaps more brusquely than I meant to. “Sorry,” I add quickly. “It’s just…difficult.”
“I get that, and I don’t want you to get old, die and leave me.”
“Neither do I,” I point out.
“I can find a way…”
I hold my hand up to stop her train of thought. “No, don’t find a way to make me immortal. I am nowhere near being able to wrap my head around that concept.”
She nods, but I’m not convinced. She will find a way and then I’ll be forced to face my fears about living forever in Hell. It makes it easier to think there is a shelf life on this, even if it is upsetting and morbid.
“Go now and find Shax. I’m not going anywhere but I’m not jumping headfirst into this either.”
“I accept that,” she says. “I’m disappointed as the thought of corrupting you plagues me, but I accept it.”
The twinkle in her eyes makes me laugh. “You will get your chance, Annabelle. I promise.”
She gives me a kiss on my cheek and then she flames out, leaving me in her bedroom alone. I turn to leave via the door, but the massive frame of Killian, I think his name is, blocks my way. “Got a minute, Doc? We need to talk,” he rumbles out.
I try not to show my fear, but I don’t think I succeed very well. He is the most terrifying creature of Hell that I’ve come across apart from the twins. “S-Sure,” I stammer, hoping that he isn’t going to smash me into tiny pieces with his huge fist.
“Sit,” he growls, and I do as he says.
I wait for him to start as he paces up and down, a man with a lot on his mind. When he does, I’m surprised by his revelation, but thankful that it is something I can fix.
34
Annabelle
I send myself straight to Shax. I’m surprised to find him and my mother in the caverns that run deep under the residence. They are here for our protection, should we ever need them. No one can get in without the Devil’s power, and apparently also Dark Angel power.
He has his arms folded across his chest and Mom has her hands resting lightly on them as they both turn to look at me.
“Fuck off,” Shax snarls at me.
“I know that I deserve that but please, Shax, don’t leave me,” I implore him.
He sighs and pulls away from Mom. “I’m going regardless of whether you’d betrayed me or not. I have to see what the other side is like, away from here.”
“Away from me, you mean?” I ask bitterly.
He looks away. “Indirectly, away from you. What you did to find the key was low, Belle, really low, but…I knew that keeping it from you would make you do something stupid. I should’ve trusted you.”
I’m not sure if this means he forgives me or not. We’ve never had a rift in our relationship before. It’s unchartered territory.
“Where are you going to go?” I croak, wringing my hands slightly.
“Earth. I’m not sure where I will settle. I like New Zealand.”
I give him a horrified look. “Earth?”
“I need a neutral place, where else am I going to go?” he snaps at me.
“Err,” I falter because I have no clue. “What happens if you decide you don’t want to come back?” I ask softly.
He shrugs. “I haven’t got to that point yet,” he says shortly.
He is being evasive. I know it as well as he does.
“I can’t convince you to stay, can I,” I state. It isn’t a question. I have come to the realization that he is going and I’m going to have to let him.
He shakes his head.
“Be careful out there,” I mutter.
He gives me a scathing look.
“I’m not asking for myself, you asshat!” I spit. “I will be worried every second of every day that you are gone. I can’t lose you completely.”
I fling myself at him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. He wraps his around me and squeezes. I know that I’m forgiven now.
“I’ll miss you.” I choke back the sob. “Please, please be safe.”
“I’ll miss you too,” he whispers. “I will, I promise. I’m a lot harder to take down than I look.” He pulls away and smirks at me.
“I know th
at, but…”
He holds his hand up. “I’ll be fine, Sis.”
I nod and then with a shaky smile at our mother, I vanish from the caverns, straight to my bathroom to do something that I’ve never done in all my life.
I cry.
Sometime later, I crawl out of my hiding place to find Elijah, Killian, Aleister and Drescal, sitting around my bedroom like they own the place.
I raise an eyebrow at them, hoping that they didn’t hear me crying. Oh, the shame.
None of them comment or give me looks of pity, so I lean casually in the doorway with my arms crossed.
“What is this?” I ask.
“Killian has something to say to you,” Elijah blurts out.
“Oh?” I fix my glare on the humongous Horseman of War. He doesn’t flinch, he gives me a level look back but there is a hint of something in those lovely eyes. “What is it?”
I swear if he decides this isn’t for him, I will kick his ass and that of his horse to the pits of Hell and back. I may have started out not wanting him, but after our encounter earlier, I’m a little bit obsessed with him. Especially getting him to treat me like a little slut again.
He clears his throat and moves forward, marginally. “I’m leaving,” he states and my heart drops to my feet.
“Oh?” I growl darkly, daring him to keep talking.
“It’s not what you think!” Elijah exclaims. “Fuck’s sake, Lian. Didn’t Gregory advise you on how to do this?”
I frown at him. “Gregory?”
Killian looks over at him with an eye roll. “He did, but theory is easier than practice.”
“Cut to the chase. Why are you leaving me?” I bark out, covering up my hurt. I can’t bear it. First my Dad, then Shax and now Killian. What did I do wrong here? Not to mention, I will also kick Gregory’s ass to the pits where he can stay if he was complicit in making Killian leave me.
I take in a deep breath and calm the Devil’s thoughts. Acting on rage, is what makes one look weak. I refuse to look weak when being dumped, in public no less, by a man that I’ve had sex with once.
“I’m not leaving you, per se. But I will be leaving Hell again to go on assignment back on Earth shortly.”
I try not to let the relief show on my face. “Of course,” I grit out. “How shortly?”
“There is trouble brewing of its own accord. I will be needed to push it over the edge, but I don’t know when. Roberta will give me a few hours notice.”
“So, you’re going, but you’re coming back, here to me?” I clarify, still leaning casually in the doorway even though I feel like letting loose my claws and destroying the room in my anxiety over waiting for his answer.
“Yes, of course,” he scoffs. “We discussed this already.”
“Lian,” Elijah warns him quietly.
“Lian?” I ask with narrowed eyes. Such familiarity. I wonder suddenly if I’ve made a big mistake in trying to get in between them.
I think Elijah realizes this as he comes over to me and pulls one of my hands away from my chest and takes it in both of his, kissing my knuckles.
“He is bad at this, beautiful. He has never had to worry about anyone else when he goes. I asked him to go to Gregory to try and help, but baby steps, I guess.” He smirks gently.
“I’m fine,” I tell them all as breezily as I can. But I give Elijah a grateful smile so that he knows I appreciate his input. “I know you have work to do,” I add lightly to Killian directly.
“Pah, work,” Drescal scoffs, having made himself comfortable on my bed. “I retired to be with her.” The dig is out there before I can wish it away. The last thing I want is the men picking at one another.
“Your job was to fuck other women,” Killian points out, quite blandly. “I should hope you’ve retired. Our Queen deserves that level of respect, and more.”
Drescal scowls at him, but I can’t help the girlish beam that crosses my face. I loosen my tense shoulders and stand up straight.
“No bickering,” I murmur with a look of happiness as I take in these men. I’d hoped that Gregory would also be here, but he is right. He isn’t like us. He is a human and he needs to deal with this in whatever way that humans do. I won’t pretend to get it or understand, but if he wants to discuss it with me, I will give him the respect of listening and taking on board what he says.
“Are we all on the same page about this…” I ask, suddenly full of nerves.
“This being all of us in a relationship?” Elijah asks with a frown.
I focus on Aleister now. He has been silent. I know that he is still worried about his lack of forthcoming about Leviathan. I’ve absolved him, but I guess he needs more from me.
He stands up from the armchair he was squashed into and comes closer. “I believe we are. We had a quick talk while you were…out…” He chooses the word carefully. “We agree that we are here for you and only you. Well, except for whatever you’ve agreed on with Elijah and Killian.”
I chew my lip as I have something to say that might not go down so well. “You are all here because I feel something for you that surpasses anything that I have felt before. You all serve a different purpose, as I explained to my mother, and, yes, we need to figure out the details of that. But I need you all to know that I’m not done. I don’t know if I will need one more or five more males to fulfil my every need. It’s selfish, I know, but I want to be happy and in love. I want what my mother has with my Dad and her other men.”
“Has?” Killian murmurs and I realize with a sinking heart what I just said.
But then I also realize that it doesn’t matter.
“Do you all understand what I’m saying?” I ask.
I get a unanimous ‘yes’ to my surprise. I thought there would be some complaints or concerns.
“Gregory helped us see what this means to you in two sentences,” Drescal says quietly.
“Oh, he did, did he?” I say with a little chuckle. “Dare I ask?”
He shakes his head. “Let us have some secrets,” he replies with a sexy smirk.
I take a deep breath and then a huge leap of faith that makes my hands shake. “Speaking of secrets...uhm, about my Dad…”
35
Killian
I stare at Annabelle impassively as she spins a tale of deception so intricate, I’m impressed. Marginally concerned, but impressed, nonetheless.
The other males, perhaps less so.
“Wait!” Drescal says, looking confused.
It doesn’t surprise me. Everyone knows that Incubi are just a pretty face.
“Are you saying that Luc isn’t dead? That you didn’t kill him to take his power? What does that even mean? That you aren’t the Devil?” He fires these questions at her and I see her stumble, mentally. She is distraught that he is questioning her rule.
“Of course she is,” I scoff, having her back as that is what it means to be with me. Whether you are right or wrong, I won’t fuck you over unless I have a damn good reason.
I don’t.
I have the opposite.
“I saw her shift outside, not to mention the stories I’ve heard since I returned, about her earlier days as Queen. You’ve all seen that she has the power. Do not question that.”
I feel her eyes on me and cast my gaze to her. Those emerald eyes are filled with something that I have seen a thousand times before, but never, ever paid attention to.
Adoration.
It hits me hard.
Fucking hard.
I want to go to her and wrap my arms around her, protect her from everything and everyone. I never want her to come to any harm and just like that…I fall.
If I was mostly doing this for Elijah before, with a few benefits for me on the side, I am now with her for me. She has done what no one, not even Elijah has been able to do and that is make a crack in the rough exterior that I hold close and never drop, even for him. He gets a glimpse of what’s behind it sometimes, but that’s my limit.
Until now.
She snorts with amusement. “Thank you,” she mouths at me, taking my hand and kissing my palm. “Same here,” she says out loud in response to my last sentence. “But I have to find him first.”
“We will help you with that,” Elijah says, also coming to reassure her. “The hounds can find almost anything.”
“I tried with Mouse, she didn’t come up with anything,” Annabelle says with a sigh, digging between her tits and pulling out the key that Shax threw at her. “This key that Shax took from you opens the door that he’s behind. I’m sure of it.”
“But Luc gave that to me,” Elijah says, confused. “How could he give it to me if it opens the door he is locked behind?”
Her face falls. “What?” she croaks. “He gave it to you?”
“Err, yeah.”
“Dammit!” she roars.
“Look, Annabelle has trusted us with this information. I, for one, am committed to helping her find her father and keep it a secret until we do, and then we come up with a plausible story at that point. Are you all prepared to do the same?” I ask.
I look at each of them in turn, receiving a verbal confirmation.
I look at Annabelle.
She looks like she’s wrestling with something else, but she gives me a quick grin and says, “Thank you. I know this is shocking and unexpected. I didn’t want to keep it from you now that we are officially doing this.”
“We will find out how Luc gave the key to Elijah, what it opens and get to the painting,” Aleister says. “You said before that you thought Leviathan could help? I can make her talk.”
I watch as Annabelle goes apoplectic and I hide my smile. I recall now that the Gargoyle used to be married to Leviathan. Oh, how that must be biting her on the ass right now.