Eros pushed himself off of the cage bars and stormed away, hitting me by accident. He gently grasped my elbow to steady me. “Sorry,” he said softly. He took a deep breath and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. Yeah, okay, sure. Let’s just get out of here.
“We have to go. I need to talk to Lucifer,” he said, grabbing my hand.
I tugged on his arm when we passed Trevon whose face was pale. “What about Trevon?”
“We leave him here for now. Being possessed by a demon leaves him more susceptible to another possession, and…” He frowned at Trevon. “My parents and Javier will think to use him again to get to me. He’s safe here.”
I didn’t want to leave him here like this—especially with those wounds. “But what about his injuries? We’re just going to leave him in this jail with nobody to take care of him.”
“You hear that,” a demon with glowing green eyes said from the cage above Trevon’s. “She cares about the human boy.”
“He’s going to rot to the bone down here,” someone else said.
Eros placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “He’ll be alright. I’ll get someone to heal him,” he said with a look that gave me so much reassurance that I actually believed him. “Lucifer has some of the best healers in all of Hell.”
I clasped Mom’s pendant, giving Trevon one last lingering look, then walking out of that disgusting prison.
My hands didn’t start trembling until we were half-way down the path toward the portal room. That was a lot. Too much almost. Demons from all those different kingdoms, their foul language, their disturbing laughter, and those menacing looks in their eyes—looks that I had only ever seen in passing on Earth.
Every now and then, there’d be someone with a red or yellow or green tint in their eyes, but I’d always, always, always think that I was seeing things. But this was real, and it was more frightening than the bedtime stories I’d beg Mom to tell me.
Eros pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Are you really okay?”
“Honestly?” I said. “That was terrifying, and not a place that I ever want to go to again.”
He chuckled. “I hope you mean The Chains and not Hell itself.”
I gazed around us at the realm of ice, admiring its beauty. Even kingdoms like this had vile places like The Chains. “Hell isn’t all bad,” I said. “Just parts of it.” Like the creepy demons who wanted to rip me limb from limb and sing me terrifying lullabies.
Eros opened the portal room door for me. “The Chains and the Portal can be intense for newcomers, but you’ll get used to it. On the bright side, you made it through one of the most terrifying places in this kingdom.” Eros turned to the two demons who were watching us nervously. “Tell Lucifer to meet me at The Lounge tonight. I have information that I need to share with him.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the portal.
“Close your ey—” I squeezed my eyes shut before he could finish, ready to get out of here. He didn’t need to tell me twice.
CHAPTER 38
Dani
The waitress from the other night stood behind the bar, wearing a low-cut bodycon dress and flirting with a pair of women on the other side. Unlike the rest of the women here, she showed only a bit of cleavage—but it was enough to be tempting.
I gazed at her for a few moments, then turned back to Eros who was sitting next to me. We were back at The Lounge, waiting for Lucifer, and I was doing everything that I could to keep myself calm.
It wasn’t Lucifer that made me nervous, but Mom’s stories of him that did. A fallen angel with cold eyes and a passion for deception.
“Is he scary?” I fiddled with my fingers and leaned closer to Eros.
“No,” he said. “But you might think so.”
I sipped my white wine. Well, Dani, there was no going back. Since Eros traveled to his kingdom often, I was bound to meet him eventually. Maybe after getting to know him, I’d be more comfortable. After all, Eros seemed to look up to him.
“What kingdom does he rule again?” Pride, obviously Pride.
“Pride,” he said, raising a brow. “Why do you keep asking me?”
“Is he… arrogant?”
“I am,” someone said from behind me. Low and devilishly demanding.
My eyes widened. Great job, Dani, embarrass yourself in front of Hell’s most powerful ruler. Before I could hurt my pride more, I turned around and sucked in a breath.
Mom told me the ugly stories of Lucifer, but I never imagined he’d look so sexy. He was the epitome of his kingdom—icy blue eyes, platinum locks that hung loosely by the sides of his face, incredibly sharp and chilling features.
Lucifer arched his brow. “So, this is Dani?”
I smiled awkwardly at him, nervous that he was staring at me and only me. Not sparing Eros a single glance, not admiring the beautiful people around us. Me.
God, I wanted to say something, but what could I say to a commander of Hell? Do I ask him about the weather down there? Oh, hey Lucifer, I thought that Hell was hot but…
Eros interlocked our fingers, a big smile on his face. “Yes, this is her.”
“Well…” Lucifer sat across from us, extended his arm, and took my hand in his. He held my hand for a moment longer than he should’ve, and I noticed the scars running across his knuckles. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I parted my lips to speak, realizing that I still hadn’t said anything. “I’m—um. Hi.”
Damn it, why was I so awkward?
He chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, darling. I have that kind of effect on people.” His gaze flickered to Eros. “She is quite adorable. I’ll give you that.” Then he rested his arm on the back of the cushioned seat and leaned against it. “So, why’d you summon me?”
Eros sipped his Passion Delight and sat up. “Javier sent a wrath demon to possess a human.”
The light from the candle between us flickered across Lucifer’s face. “Demons from Wrath always possess humans.”
“He’s been staying with Dani.”
Lucifer took a long and deep breath and grabbed a waiter by the elbow as he walked by. “Get me the strongest drink you have.” He paused and gestured to Eros’s Passion Delight. “But none of that shit.” The waiter nodded.
“He lashed out on me this morning,” Eros said.
“Javier…” Lucifer eyed me. “… knows?” he asked. I furrowed my brows at him. Knows what?
“You think he’s that smart to figure it out?” Eros leaned back in the booth, trying to look nonchalant—but by the way he continued to twirl the ring around his finger, I could tell he was worried.
“To the average demon, it might not be apparent, but I could tell as soon as I saw her. You could tell. There’s no reason Javier wouldn’t be able to tell either. He’s not as smart as us, but he’s definitely not stupid.” Lucifer gazed at the ring, then at me. “Does she—”
“No,” Eros said.
I narrowed my eyes at Eros. “Do I what?”
He clenched his jaw and started speaking in a different demonic-sounding language across the table at Lucifer. It was hushed, but by the way they continued to glance at me, I knew I was the topic of their conversation.
Damn demons, always keeping secrets from me. I slumped against the seat and watched the candle flicker. The waitress from earlier set a blue drink in front of Lucifer and smiled at me. “Can I get you more wine? Maybe something else?” She brushed her fingers against mine. “You can come behind the bar and pick it out yourself.”