Chapter 55
Korithax
Iwatched Daisy disappear down the hall with Sariya and Elyistria, their voices fading into laughter as they whisked her away to prepare for the coronation.
I had watched in awe as Daisy had smiled like she believed it was finally allowed, and my chest ached at the sight. I turn toward the guards waiting by the still-open doors of the war room.
“Escort the realm leaders to their quarters and make sure they are seen to. I don’t want anybody wandering the halls unescorted until the coronation. Understood?”
“Yes, my King,” they reply in unison.
The title still felt foreign and too heavy. I wasn’t even king yet, not officially. I wasn’t even sure that I deserved to be king. But I’d made a promise to be the one to rule my people, and to stand by Daisy’s side.
I lingered by the table, the map of the realms still unfurled in front of me.
With a sigh, I roll it shut, still feeling the weight of the meeting lingering in the air.
One by one, the rulers had voiced their support, not just for me, but for her.
For us. For what was to come with the Divine Six.
Elyistria’s barrier around my realm and hers would hold for now, and I knew the others were already planning to place their own on their own realms, but I knew better than to underestimate the Six.
They would find a way through eventually; they always did.
And when they did… I needed every realm prepared and every ruler ready to fight.
When the room finally empties, Aran appears beside me like a shadow in the quiet. “Busy day,” he says with a grin, hands placed casually in his trouser pockets.
“You think?” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face. “Gods, I feel like I’ve been hit by a Drekkar.”
He chuckles and steps closer. “You pulled it off. I knew this would work out in the end.”
I arch a brow at him. “And how exactly did you know that?”
Aran clears his throat, his emerald green eyes suddenly very interested in the wall behind me. “Just… had a feeling.” He shrugs.
“Uh huh,” I say, squinting my eyes at him. “Whatever you say.”
I didn’t have the time or the energy to question him on his weird ability to just know shit. But it was definitely something I’d been noticing a lot of lately, and I had a strong feeling my right hand man was hiding something important from me about himself.
He dropped the act and stepped forward, pulling me into a tight hug. And for once, I let him, because I didn’t have it in me to pretend I didn’t need the comfort. His grip is warm and steadying, something he had always been in my life.
“You ready for this?” He asks quietly as he leans back, knowing just how I felt about being a ruler.
“No,” I reply honestly. “But I’ll do it anyway. For her. For them.” I nod to the window that faces the rest of my realm.
“That’s what makes you a real king,” he murmurs. “The ones who want the title for power’s sake? They’re the ones who ruin everything. But you? You never wanted this, Korithax. And that’s exactly why you’ll do it right.”
I swallow the lump rising in my throat, clearly exhausted since such a thing like words from Aran were making me emotional. I give him a nod, my voice thick when I finally answer. “Thanks, Aran.”
He steps back and claps me on the shoulder. “Now, I have one last thing to take care of before tonight.”
“Oh?”
“I’m going to the mortal realm.” He replies with a grin.
My heart stops in my chest. “No, you’re fucking not.” I growl.
“I am,” he says casually. Like, defying my orders wasn’t literal fucking treason. “You’re going to want her friends here for this. You know that.”
I clench my jaw, balling my fists at my side. “It’s too dangerous. The Divine Six—”
“Don’t give a rat’s ass about me,” he cuts in. “They’re after her. I’m just the assistant. And besides, I’ll be quick.”
I eye him for a moment. He was right, they didn’t care about anything or anyone except getting to her, and fucking me over.
They’d not expect me—the heartless asshole—to give a shit about my assistant.
I let out an exasperated breath through my nose, knowing damn well that if anybody was going to retrieve her friends, it would have to be him.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
He smiles at me in that charming way that’s gotten him off my shit list several times in the last few thousand years. “Let me do this, Kori. I know it matters.”
I sigh heavily, and nod once. “Be safe.”
“Aren’t I always?” He chuckles, winking at me before conjuring a portal and vanishing through it in a flash.
With him gone, I turn back to the room.
“Captain,” I bark. The soldier steps in the second his title leaves my mouth.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Inform the realm. The coronation will happen tonight, midnight sharp. The feast for the leaders and rulers will begin at seven p.m. All are expected to attend.”
“Including…?”
“Yes,” I growl with an eye roll. “Even Lucifer.”
His eyes widen, but he nods and sprints off to relay the command.
I take a seat, throwing my legs up onto the table, my fingers gripping the arms of the stone chair.
Soon. Soon, this kingdom will have a king and queen.
And maybe—just maybe—Hell will finally have the chance to be what it once was before my asshole of a father.
Before the Divine Six. But until then, all I can do is anxiously wait.
And pray that when midnight strikes… she’ll still be standing by my side and taking the oath to be queen.
The halls of Zeriavoss are the polar opposite to what they were just hours ago.
Word spread like wildfire through the corridors.
Servants were called from every wing, torches were lit, tapestries unfurled.
The castle, built for darkness and war, was being reborn—if only for a night—into something that resembled a celebration.
The coronation was to be held at midnight, but the feast with the rulers and leaders would begin far earlier.
Yet Hell’s people… they were already waiting.
The paths throughout the kingdom and beyond stirred with movement.
Horns sounded from the watchtowers. Demons, fae, shapeshifters, and shadowfolk emerged from their homes and hideouts.
They were all whispering, wondering and wide-eyed.
The King and Queen of Hell were to be crowned before the sun rose again.
I stand in the highest tower as the sun slipped behind the ash-draped peaks of the horizon, casting the sky in a fiery bronze glow, the crimson lightening skittering across the sky.
Down below, the courtyard bustles with activity as guards formed rows, emissaries arranged rows of flaming braziers, and Hell itself came alive.
Yet, there was still no sign of Aran. And I hated how much that twisted in my gut.
Every moment he was gone, I imagined the worst. The Divine Six catching him in transit, Talia and Ezra lost to fate, Daisy broken when she realised they wouldn’t make it. I couldn’t let that happen.
I turn from the window and make my way down the stone stairwell, the soles of my boots echoing through the only current quiet space in my entire realm.
The grand hall had already been transformed with banners of deepest black, and wine-red silk fell from the vaulted ceilings.
A sea of torches glowed along every wall, their fire charmed to flicker white and gold in honour of Daisy.
Dozens of tables lined the marbled flooring, already laden with trays of roasted meats, fruits, and golden platters piled with pastries and desserts. I could smell wild citrus, spice-root, and the faint metallic bite of ceremonial wine.
Every ruler, every leader would be here soon, to celebrate us.
My mate and I. Not just the rulers of the realms we had visited.
Rulers of every realm across this universe were to arrive, leaders of places too small to be considered realms, some too large to be considered worlds.
Sons, daughters, anyone of importance would be in this room, feasting with us, cheering for us.
I moved through the preparations silently, nodding to the guards and ignoring the stares of the palace servants who now greeted me with lowered eyes and murmured titles.
“My King.” “Lord Korithax.” “Sire.” I hated it.
Not because I wasn’t ready, but because I didn’t want the crown to make me someone else.
I wanted to be known as Korithax, fierce protector, loyal solider.
And I sure as shit didn’t want to be seen as a replacement for Korran either.
The corridor curved toward the throne room, and each step I took toward it seemed to echo off the obsidian walls, my boots pounding like a war drum.
Soldiers stood at attention as I passed, lined all along the corridor in full ceremonial armour—gleaming crimson and shadow-forged steel, their cloaks flowing like blood down their backs.
Their helms bore my sigil now; an inverted triangle with thorned tendrils curling around the edges of the shape.
A spiralled serpent in the middle, consuming its own tail.
Above the triangle sits a crescent moon with a vertical slash through it and one across it.
And sitting at the very bottom, a singular drop of blood.
As I reach the towering doors of the throne room, two guards step forward, pulling them open with a low groan.
I step inside and halt. The throne room has been truly transformed.
Gone was the bare, cavernous austerity I had grown used to.
Tonight, it looked nothing like the room that belonged to a traitor.
It had become a sacred chamber fit for gods.