Chapter 2
Two
Instead of fawning over me like all the women did, Dani sat at the head of her table and crossed one leg over the other, showing off those damn thick legs of hers. Her fingers curled around a Passion Delight. She cast her eyes downward for a moment and gazed back up at me through her lashes.
Oh, darling. We could play this little game all night, and you still wouldn’t break me.
I raised my glass in her direction, flashed her my infamous smirk, and turned around.
After that first night with her, I’d promised myself that I’d stay away. She was the greatest sin of them all, and everyone knew it. But she didn’t have the kind of power that would make me—me—fall to my knees and beg for her. I wasn’t as weak as her other prey.
Someone bumped into my shoulder. “Watch it,” he sneered.
My lips folded in disgust. Out of every demon I’d invited to this party, I had to run into this guy.
Biast Sathanus, the son of the Sathanus who ruled Wrath.
Swine. Fiend. Dumbass. He had many important names—many given by me.
The drink in his hand sloshed around and spilled onto the floor.
He jabbed a finger into my chest. “Don’t you think you should control your party? There’s too many fuckin’ people here.”
I gazed down at his finger, still jabbed into my chest, and removed it with two of my own. “How about I ask some of those succubi to leave? Perhaps the ones flirting with you and your father?”
Biast’s tail curved around his body and pointed at me, like he was trying to threaten me. It was almost laughable, but he wasn’t even worth that. He was a well-respected warrior, but not great. My army could destroy him.
He gazed over at a group of Envies. “Those Envies are causin’ trouble. Talkin’ about stealin’ the Crucifix later.”
Emera–or Esmeralda or Emery or whatever her name was–and the other Envies were lounging on the plush couch and gossiping, their eyes glowing a sour green. Three male Envies stood behind them, talking to succubi.
“You just gonna let that happen?”
I clenched my drink in my hand. “Don’t question the way I handle situations, Biast. Your father destroyed a whole palace because an Envy had stolen a single piece of silver joss.”
Biast’s glass crumbled in his hand, and the blood from inside of it dripped down his forearm.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. “Oh, Biast, no need to get angry. I’m sure your father would be pissed if I had to kick you both out for your silly little actions.” I watched a succubus crawl onto Sathanus’s lap across the room. “Don’t you think?”
After a growl, Biast stormed away from me.
I chuckled and took another sip of my Vemon. My gaze wandered around the room. I caught Dani’s eye for a moment and let myself linger on her. Then I gazed back at the group of Envies.
“Lucifer.”
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes after noticing that the three male Envies had disappeared.
Emmary or that chick with the E-name stepped into my path and grabbed on to my arm.
I raised a brow at her and stepped back. “Listen, Emeralda, I know you have a little crush on me after earlier, but go look for a lust buddy or something.” I shook my head. “God knows there are too many of them down here.”
I continued walking, leaving Emery standing behind me with sour eyes. After a quick scan of the party and finding neither the Envies nor the succubi, I headed toward the Lust Rooms. If they weren’t here, they were probably fucking. Those succubi were poisonous in the most pleasurable ways.
People were being whipped by a sexy dominatrix; others were being tortured by Wraths. I even saw two Sloths being ridden by a Glutton. Now, that was definitely a sight to see.
I searched room after room, but the three men weren’t there. I placed my glass down on the table at the end of the hall and walked toward the staircase.
The Crucifix was near the top floor, heavily guarded by Crusaders from the kingdoms. Hand-selected by me, these were the best of the best. The Envies were stupider than I thought if they believed they could just come up here and steal it.
What did they even want with it? It had gone untouched since The Fall of the Seven–when seven angels fell from Heaven to each rule a kingdom in Hell–and had only ever been wielded by the strongest women from Heaven. These men were neither women nor angels.
When I reached the floor, I stalked down the hall. A peculiar rage coursed through my veins. Before I could step into the Chapel Room, I heard the three men and women in the library. They were on the balcony with the glass bifold door open, letting the chilly air wander into the room.
Half naked and groaning, the men smirked at me. One of them grasped a succubus’s hips, claws digging into her.
“Commander, these women are taken.” His eyes glowed with mischief.
Wrapping my hand around his neck, I pulled him up and pushed him against the balcony. “What’re you doing up here?”
“Just having a bit of fun,” another one said.
I pushed the demon away. “If you wish to fuck, do it in a Lust Room.”
The third one leaned his succubus over the balcony. His claws raked down her bare back, leaving marks. “I don’t think that’s quite fair. You can have any woman you want up in these quarters, staring out at this view. All I wish for is to fuck a woman like this, just once in a while.”
With a deep breath, I turned to my kingdom and stared at its immense beauty.
“For once in your entire life, you’re right.
This view is incredibly breathtaking.” I turned back around to face him.
“That’s why it’s mine.” My upper lip curled into a smirk.
“I can take whomever I please up here, whenever I please, and you”—I snatched his chin in my hand—“can’t. ”
His eyes—now a sour, envious green—glowed brightly. He tore himself away from me and pulled on his clothes. “You have it all—the kingdom, the army, the Crucifix.”
“How sad you are. Envious of a cross that you can’t even wield.”
“Not envious, just speaking what every other kingdom believes. That immense power should be shared by all of the fallen.”
“That immense power would obliterate you in less than a second. It would leave you in a pile of dust, but”—I shrugged—“if that’s what gets you going, be my guest. Try and take the Crucifix.”
“You hide behind your inflated sense of pride, Lucifer, and that’s going to destroy you.” He buttoned the last button on his shirt and briefly gazed at the others. “Come on.” When he reached the door, he called out, “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”