Chapter 40 Asta
Ididn’t realize Lucifer had Lea here, but I probably should have.
I killed her topside, which means she came back and would have to crawl her way out again.
She isn’t as powerful as us, and it takes us a while if we’re doing so without permission.
I just assumed that’s what she would be doing for the next fifty or so years.
If she dared show her face again at all, that is.
But she also wronged Lucifer’s mate. As one of his own, there should be repercussions for her actions even if they weren't mated then.
I hope she’s suffering, tortured, and maybe even a chew toy for the hounds.
Teach her to double-cross me, especially to someone like Rome.
Why I have to be the one to bring the mortal down here is beyond me. Talian said it was because I could keep her the safest, but Lea isn’t fallen; she’s hell-born, which makes all of us stronger than her.
Lucifer should be the one bringing her down here and assuring her safety. That’s his job as her mate, yet somehow he’s missing…
He constantly seems to find something to do away from the castle for the last few weeks.
This is the last time I’m his errand boy, though. Being near the mortal is… confusing
Looking down at her, wrapped in Talian’s arms with Bast at her back, stirs something in me that I don’t have a name for, but it makes me uncomfortable.
“Talian!”
He wakes with a start, jostling Aeri and waking her as well. Bast blinks his eyes open behind her, and his eyes instantly find mine before narrowing.
He’s right to be apprehensive.
I’m here and willing to help save her from Rome, but seeking her out isn’t something I’ve done. In fact, I’ve been trying my damndest to avoid her altogether.
If I had it my way, I’d continue to do so.
“What the fuck do you want, Asta?” Talian’s hold on Aerilyn tightens, and I watch her relax into him, even if only just slightly.
That’s unusual. Just days ago, she was stuck to Bast for comfort, and while he’s still here with them, she’s very much comfortable in Talian’s arms.
My mind goes back to the first time they met, when he cornered her in the hall, naked and annoying. I’d told him to leave her alone after that; we didn’t need him to scare her off. At the time, she seemed grateful for my intervention, so what changed?
“You’ve bonded?”
It’s not really a question; it’s the only thing that explains the drastic shift, but still, it doesn’t seem possible.
Lucifer and Talian, and Bast swears she’s his mate as well.
Three powerful demons, one being the King of Hell.
“Lucifer has asked me to show Aerilyn something.” That gets her attention, and she peeks through her lashes to finally look at me.
The feel of her gaze on me makes me bristle, and I have to resist the urge to teleport away. One mortal shouldn’t have such power over me, and that only pisses me off further.
I feel Bast’s eyes attempting to burn a hole in the side of my head, but I don’t spare him a glance.
“Show me what?” Aerilyn asks, attempting to sit up, but Talian keeps her fixed to his side, and I have to bite back a sneer of disgust.
A mortal…
“You’ll see when I show you.” I turn and head for the door, needing to get out of there before I do or say something I’ll regret.
I wasn’t positive, but I was pretty sure she would follow, and after a moment, I hear her scurry off the bed, almost tripping over her own feet, and run to fall into step behind me.
“Is this time sensitive, or can you, like, wait a second?”
How is she already out of breath?
“Hello.” She runs forward to look up at me, but I keep my gaze forward. Even still, it’s impossible to miss the way her face scrunches up in obvious annoyance before she huffs. “I have to pee. Can you wait a damn second?”
I stop, catching her off guard enough that she continues forward for a few steps before she realizes.
“You have three minutes.” I step back into the shadows and teleport away, but I don’t go far. Just far enough away that she won’t notice me.
Aerilyn’s mouth falls open before her head whips left then right, looking down the hall, but she doesn’t see me. She throws her head back and groans before turning toward her room and stomping back down the hall.
I hear Bast and Talian move off the bed and fuss over her, but her footsteps don’t stop, and a moment later I hear the bathroom door click closed.
“Where are you taking her?” I’m almost shocked it took Bast this long to reach out. I expected more pushback when I showed up in her room and saw them both.
“If you were meant to know, you would.”
I step out of the shadows as a scent I’m all too familiar with wafts through the air.
“I have no intention to harm her,” I tell both Bast and Talian, annoyed it has to be said. I’d been the one to seek asylum for her; just because I didn’t want to spend every waking moment glued to her like they did doesn’t mean I’m going to hand her to Rome or kill her.
Thankfully, Bast believes me, and his fear dissipates. The scent is enough to make my mouth water with his power level, but despite that, I don’t enjoy it. Talian and Kai I can handle, but Bast is different.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
I can hear Talian’s annoyance, feel it in the air, and I know he’s fighting against the bond.
Typically, freshly bonded mates require contact, and I can only assume that it’s worse for demons.
We’re already full of murderous intent; I’m sure the possessive need to keep our mate only to ourselves doesn’t help.
I’m so lost in my own thoughts that I don’t realize she’s coming toward me until she’s only a few steps away. Her cheeks are pink, and she can’t meet my gaze.
Three minutes was clearly too long.
I can’t smell her arousal as an emotion the way Bast can, but I can smell her physical arousal and hear the way her heart is pounding. Not to mention, I can smell both Bast and Talian all over her as if they are one being, not three.
Disgusting.
My lip curls as I look her over before turning away and letting her once again fall into step behind me. The faster we get this over with, the better.
How is she so slow? I glance back to find her almost jogging to keep up despite me slowing my stride.
It must be her short legs; she is rather small.
I should have teleported us there to save time, but that required touching her, and that’s not something I wanted to do. She smells of Bast and Talian enough that I don’t need to add my own scent.
Aerilyn almost jumps out of her skin as a low growl is ripped from deep in my chest, and I find myself annoyed at both of us.
Moving faster, she falls behind but doesn’t complain. She’s never been one to complain. Since the day I met her, she’s happily taken whatever she could and ran with it, literally.
The dungeon is, unfortunately, huge. Spanning the whole of the castle, down about one hundred stairs, and again, I should have teleported.
I’m still tempted to know that we’ve reached the stairs.
It’s not as if she can get lost; there’s only one way in and out, and even if she wandered the halls for a while, eventually she would find the cell she needs, and if she didn’t, well then I would intervene.
No.
That could make this take longer. Not to mention, I have no idea who else might be housed in these cells.
This isn’t for souls who are awaiting punishment; these cells hold those Lucifer personally has grievances with.
My words to Talian and Bast play back in my mind.
Yes, letting the mortal play in the dungeon might not be such a great idea.
There have to be hundreds of cells, completely unnecessary. I’ve never seen it house more than fifteen before, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be prepared, and it’s not as if he’s short on space.
The cells line the walls the moment you hit the ground at the bottom of the stairs and go on as far as the eye can see.
At the end of this hall, it curves to the right and once again runs all the way back before continuing on four more times to have six halls in total.
The very end is a huge cell with more magical wards than I’ve ever seen, enough to hold even Lucifer, though I have no idea what it could be needed for, but it’s there.
It’s dark and damp; everything is carved from the obsidian that’s naturally found in the ground. Torches are placed on the wall between each cell, spelled to never burn out, but it’s hardly enough light to reach into the cell, only meant to help those walking the hall.
The bars are thick and also spelled; nothing gets out, apparently not even the divine.
Lucifer didn’t tell me where she was, just that she was down here, but she’s easy enough to find. I know her power; it’s familiar in a way that only comes from knowing someone for thousands of years.
I hate it.
I wish I could take the familiarity and rip it out of me.
My steps falter for a moment, not long enough for Aerilyn to notice, as she’s still a few feet away. I quickly regain my composure and continue down the hall as I reach out to Lucifer.
He ignores me. I’m not surprised, but I am growing more annoyed by the second.
So annoyed that I don’t even realize we’ve reached her cell until I hear Aerilyn.
“Lea!?”
She stops dead as if she’s run into some invisible force, and even in the low light of the scarce torches, I see the way the blood drains from her face.
“Aeri!” Lea is up and across the small cell in seconds, gripping the bars, her face pressed against them as if trying to get a better look.
Looking at her makes my skin crawl and my powers pulse. Only years of keeping myself in check stop me from going in there and ripping her apart.
“Aeri, by the devil, I never thought I would see you again!” Tears well in Lea’s eyes as they roam over Aerilyn as if attempting to see if she’s real. It would be a dirty trick to play, but it is possible.
After all, torture is his specialty.
“How are you here?” Aerilyn doesn’t answer, doesn’t move, just stands staring at Lea as if she’s seen a ghost.