36. In Which Our Villain is Surrounded by the Dark
Chapter 36
In Which Our Villain is Surrounded by the Dark
Tartarus: Prison of the gods
“ Agap e, come to me.” Her shrill voice filled his head, setting his teeth on edge.
“No, Aerelia,” Valerius said out loud to his empty bed chamber.
“Come. I have something for you.”
“I know exactly what you have for me. I’m not interested.”
A hiss echoed in his skull.
“Stay then,” she said flippantly. “I’ll only need to force my siren to do what she does best: obey.”
“Why should I care what you do with your plaything?”
Aerelia ignored the question. “ Agape , your little Serathena is losing control, losing her tight grip on her powers. If that happens, your alliance with Hades falls apart. And Hades is known for his wrath, especially when you endanger his family. Now, come.”
Valerius gnashed his teeth together. Of course, the bitch knew what he was trying to do. Even with all the extra care taken to keep her in the dark, she always knew. Damn the Pythians for their ability to see the future.
“Fine,” he ground out behind a clenched jaw.
In a few moments, he stormed down the familiar path, counting the days until the Serathena was in his grasp, and he could finally ignore her summons.
Soon.
The wooden door shook under the pounding of his fist. This time, the guard didn’t bother checking to see who it was; he knew. Her door swung open, and Valerius paused. He knew once he stepped across the threshold what would happen, what always happened. As he entered his personal hell, his robe dropped to the floor in a heap.
“What do you want, Aerelia?”
She was somewhere inside, no doubt stalking her prey. Movement from behind the sheer fabric separating her bed chamber indicated her whereabouts.
“Here.”
“I’m not in the mood tonight, Aerelia.”
“Come to me, agape . Come, or my siren kills your precious Serathena.”
As he stepped further into her bedchamber, he pushed aside the curtain. He was in no mood for her empty threats.
“Tell me, agape ,” he hissed. “How the fuck did you tether a siren?”
“ Kyrios ,” she commanded.
“No. I won’t call you master, Aerelia. I need answers. How did you slip a siren down here under Hades’ nose?”
“I can do many things, agape .” She slipped off the bed and prowled towards him.
The black chiton she wore barely concealed her naked body. The sheer fabric knotted over one shoulder letting the other side drape, barely covering her breast. Valerius willed himself to stay still as she approached, fighting the urge to run, to fight back. Her eyes flashed and her wings jerked open in response, showing off their mangled splendor. The expression in her dead eyes that hungrily slipped over him was all the proof he needed that tonight she would try her best to destroy him. And he welcomed it.
“Get this over with. I’m tired of being your personal fuck.”
Aerelia tsked at him, circling like a vulture. “Such language. I did what I had to do to ensure Pythia’s plan was carried out. My plan. The way this was always supposed to go.”
She lowered the top of her chiton to reveal the third eye. Its iris was utterly black, and it blinked at him as a tear of blood ran from the corner. Reaching out, she ran a sharpened fingernail along his shoulder blades. The pain caused a hiss to escape as an involuntary shiver ran the length of his spine.
“You’ll want to be on my side, agape , when I am freed from this cell.”
“That will never happen.”
“Oh, it will.”
“No.”
“You will stand beside me as you were always meant to be. I command it.” Circling him once more, the sinister curl of her lips sent a shudder through him as ice formed in his veins. She stopped suddenly and crooked a finger at a darkened corner of the room. Valerius couldn’t help the breathy gasp of surprise as a newly formed daemon stumbled into the low light. Her wings were tiny as she stepped forward, wringing her clawed hands, disoriented and scared. She spoke in her native language to Aerelia first and then to Valerius. So young, she hadn’t yet been around others of her kind to learn the broken tongue the daemons under his care spoke. He seethed in thinly veiled anger at his mate. Aerelia crooked her finger again at the little creature.
“Come here, little one, I won’t hurt you.” She beckoned menacingly, turning his stomach.
“Don’t.”
Aerelia snapped her head in his direction, her eyes flashing.
“Come here.”
Forgetting his place, Valerius took a step, ignoring her cruelty and thinking only of the helpless creature before him. Aerelia slashed out a hand, slicing into his back and opening scars from previous attacks. He hissed and jerked away.
“Do as I say, Valerius, or I kill her.”
He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. “What do you want, My Queen?”
“ Kyrio s,” she commanded again.
“ Kyrios ,” he whispered.
“That’s more like it.”
He flinched as she touched his shoulder, failing to stand still. She leaned over and nestled her lips to the shell of his ear.
“Kill it.”
Valerius jerked away from her, and she grabbed a fist full of hair, yanking his head back. He yelped in pain, his scalp burning. The attack exposed his neck. Fighting to free himself, he twisted away, but she shoved his head towards the ground, pushing him to his knees. His breath came in sharp gasps, kneeling before her.
“You will submit to me, agape. ”
Valerius glared up at her. “You can hurt me, Aerelia, but I won’t kill an innocent daemon just because you command.”
She threw his head away from her and set her sights on the young one who had fled to the corner. Its tiny wings now in her grasp, the daemon shrieked and clawed. Aerelia marched over to Valerius, the little daemon straining wildly against the hold.
“Last chance.” She held the daemon aloft. “Obey me, or I’ll rip its wings one by one before I kill the pathetic thing.”
Valerius shot a hand out as she clenched the wings where they joined, intent on separating them from the creature.
“No!”
For such a small daemon, the scream she emitted pierced his skull, reverberating off the stone and rattling his teeth.
“Submit.” Aerelia tilted her head, the daemon still shrieking.
“Yes, yes. Just please don’t hurt her,” he begged.
Aerelia twisted one of its wings before dropping the daemon unceremoniously into his waiting arms. Gathering her to his chest, he spoke to her in her native tongue and curled his body around her protectively, folding his wings to encircle them against Aerelia’s brutality. The daemon clawed and squirmed at first but quickly settled at his tone.
Unfurling his wings, he glared at Aerelia. “You’re a fucking monster,” he spat out.
Aerelia moved to her bed as he comforted the frightened thing, speaking softly and stroking her head. Lounging back with a smirk, she waited for him.
“ Agape , come here.”
He rose to stand. The daemon had relaxed in his arms, her leathery wings folded peacefully around her tiny body, and her little fist curled under her chin. Her black eyes stared up at him with trust. He headed for the chamber door and jerked it open, ignoring Aerelia’s sounds of displeasure.
“Hold her,” he commanded and carefully transferred the daemon into a surprised guard’s arms.
“How the hell did she—”
“No idea.” Murder in his eyes, he stepped closer. “Something happens to her, and I’ll kill you. I’ll rip your heart from your chest and have Cerberus feast on your insides. Understand?”
The shocked guard nodded as the door slammed closed. When he faced Aerelia this time, he had something to protect. He wouldn’t buckle, wouldn’t bend. Valerius marched into her room and knelt before her, ready to take his punishment.
“I knew you would submit; you just needed persuasion. You always need persuasion.” She reached under his chin and roughly brought it up, forcing him to look at her. “Why do you make me do such nasty things?” She pressed her lips to his, and he fought the urge to bite her.
“I wouldn’t need to hurt you if you only do as I ask. You force me to make you with your stubbornness. You know what I can do. Do you need me to tie you to my bed again? To keep me satisfied until you are raw? Is that what will make you listen?”
He shook his head.
“Good.” She shoved his head backward, almost toppling him where he knelt. He didn’t feel the burst of magic she sent slamming into him until he slid across the floor, crashing into a table. Crumpling in pain, Valerius fell forward, breathing hard, trying with everything in him to resist fighting back. It only angered her further when he countered her assault and prolonged his torture. Shadows slithered out from her, coming alongside him, hiding the floor where he lay as she reached down and jerked him to stand.
“See how you force me to hurt you? See what you make me do? You’ll pay for making me hurt my agape. Come.”
Marching him to her inner chamber—her torture chamber—they stood in the center, and Valerius glanced up to where chains hung from the ceiling.
“Arms up.”
“Please, no,” he whispered.
His cheek exploded under her hand, the pain bringing tears stinging to his eyes. Her shadows clutched at his wrists as he struggled to free himself. The power of hatred coursing through her made her incredibly strong and her magic so powerful he was sure she would crush bones in his wrist. His hand flew above his head with a flick of her wrist, and she snapped an iron cuff closed. Valerius fought the growing urge to flee. Sweat glistened on his chest, the muscles straining, rippling as everything in him screamed to run, to escape, but he wouldn’t move. Running would only serve to piss her off further, and she would retaliate most cruelly.
The last time he ran from her, she put him in the irons and beat him for weeks, taking her time and pleasure in marking his body. Being a demigod, he couldn’t die easily, and she reveled in the pain she inflicted. She’d repeatedly shatter every bone in his body, leaving him with no choice but to endure it. But she always made sure never to strike a fatal blow. Tonight, her anger flowed like a hurricane at sea all around him, and for the first time, he was terrified that she wouldn’t be able to stop. He prayed death would be swift.
Placing his other wrist in the chains, she left him for a moment to set right the table he knocked over, leaving him to dangle. Valerius searched the room for anything he could use to free himself. Nothing. She made sure of that. So preoccupied in searching he was, that when she struck him, he screamed in acute pain. She stood behind him, snapping her favorite toy. Long ago, Aerelia fashioned a whip out of the wings of daemons she killed. The end of the leather straps held bone fragments that ripped flesh to pieces. This would be the end, the night she would finally kill him. Her hatred flowed around him as shadows silently engulfed the floor that would soon be covered with his blood. A peace came over him at that thought. He would finally be free of the torture he willingly submitted to for centuries. He welcomed death.
“That was for your disobedience.”
She flicked her wrist, and the whip ripped into his back again, slicing parts of flesh and wing. Blood flowed in shimmering rivets down his back. He slammed his mouth closed, refusing to give her the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
Aerelia came forward and dipped her finger in his blood, admiring her ugly creation. Sucking her finger dry, she brushed her lips against his ear. Bile rose, and he fought the urge to retch, swallowing it back down.
“You’re my plaything for tonight.”
She bit into his earlobe, twisting it in her teeth. Valerius winced. She licked down the column of his neck, snaking her hand around his waist, moving her hand along his stomach, and then lower. Rubbing along the front of his leather pants, she roughly grabbed his dick.
“Just as I thought.” she cooed in his ear, rubbing him. His body betrayed him once more. “You’re enjoying this.”
Valerius hated how his body responded to her torture. Hated how he wished for the woman she had been before she drank from the River Acheron. Hated how she took possession of him. Valerius hated her. The only thing keeping him from using his powers to free himself was knowing he had the upper hand. She was never getting free; he was making sure of that. She released his dick and stepped around him, raising her hand. The whip came down, slicing through the air with a sickening crack. It ripped into his back, cutting him to ribbons, blood flowing freely now. He shut his eyes and waited for death.
Soft sounds of hushed whispers came from beside him. He tried to open his eyes, but the pain from his wounds stung; the very act sent waves of pain shooting through him. He groaned.
“Don’t worry, Boss.”
It was Squid. Something cold and wet laid along Valerius’ back, causing him to hiss through his teeth.
“What that bitch mate do to you, Boss?”
“Squid,” he said behind closed eyes, his voice raspy. “How did I get here?”
“Got you, we came. We came, and that bitch mate was mad. She screamed at we for come to Boss, but we had to come. One of us bit her bitch mate. We protect our Boss.”
Jerking as Squid lay another strip of cloth on his open back, he tried to take in a deep breath, but his ribs ached.
“Thank you,” he whispered, licking his dry lips.
“Boss, you know little one, did you?”
“Little one?”
“Yes. Big ugly bitch mate guard handed Sansari to Squid when we’d come.”
“Her name is Sansari?”
Something moved beside him, and a tiny, clawed hand rested over his. She patted him, comforting him in the only way she knew how. Valerius opened his eyes to see the little daemon he rescued from Aerelia’s grip staring at him.
“Her scream so loud we hear her. We came and guard holding her back. Sansari mad was screaming and beating guard, trying to get Boss at open door.”
A proud expression adorned the face of the tiny daemon.
“Boss,” she squeaked in a harsh, high-pitched voice that matched her small stature.
He winced in pain. Sansari immediately snuggled into his chest, her petite wings spread as far as she could, protecting him. So small they were that they barely touched both shoulders fully extended.
“Uh, Squid?” he said, giving his man a puzzled look.
“You her kyrios now, Boss.”
“Oh no! No! I am no one’s master.”
He tried to remove the little thing, but she hissed and showed her very pointy fangs, her black eyes flashing red. If he had the strength, he would have pushed her away. He submitted to a master and had no desire to become one as well. Valerius didn’t have the time or patience to nurture one so young. And he certainly didn’t want to be responsible for her, especially since daemons of this age were unpredictable. She needed looking after, something he simply couldn’t provide. He had to get out of this forced arrangement. Sansari snuggled closer and whispered words in her native tongue into his chest. Valerius was too weak and too exhausted to fight her. Once he healed, he would give her to an older daemon for training. Her little wings moved and stretched, trying to wrap around him. The battle lost, he accepted his fate for now.
For the next few days, Valerius was in and out of consciousness. Sansari kept watch over him day and night. She ordered the other daemons about, ones much older and much larger. She made demands for her kyrios, and when the daemons didn’t move quickly, she shrieked loud enough to shake the walls. The other daemons were more than a little afraid of the pint-sized dictator who now called the shots. And so they did exactly what she said.