Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Ama
The devil was a fan of chocolate chip pancakes. Fascinating. Maybe I would poison his pancakes...
Except, it wasn’t fascinating—or anything else positive—because I shouldn’t have been sitting across from him, watching him eat breakfast, the next morning in the first place.
No, I should have been with my mates on the front lines of a war to save the Kingdom of Pura—to save our families and our people.
Instead, I was sitting across from him as I devoured my eggs Benedict, unashamed that I was completely stress-eating. It felt justified now, if at any time. At least the food was good—that was something I could appreciate as a silver lining to being held captive.
Actually, I could also easily admit to appreciating almost every element of this castle I’d seen so far—at least from an architectural standpoint.
Mind you, that “every element” consisted of the bedroom I’d woken up in, the long, windowless hallway leading to this room, and the massive circular dining table we were sitting at.
My eyes moved towards the long, narrow windows that looked out over a mountainous landscape lit up by the morning sun.
It was a beautiful sight that contrasted starkly with the gothic architecture and design of the castle.
It reminded me of our castle back home in Mortem...
But this wasn’t my home. This was the devil’s castle.
It was hard for me to believe that the sinfully handsome man sitting across from me was the devil.
The immortal being who had been asleep for as long as I could remember, leaving Hell to rule itself.
I’d known he was real, but to me, he’d still always been something of a fable or story—one I would admit to having always found fascinating, but which I had certainly never considered actually experiencing. Especially on such a personal level.
The devil’s mate? The concept was honestly laughable, but now that I recognized what the mating bond felt like, I couldn’t deny it. I was going to just hope that he would stop bringing it up.
Although, he seemed very stuck on it, and throughout our silent meal, I could feel his eyes on me.
The tension between us was so intense that I felt on edge, like I needed to jump out of my seat and leave.
I had nowhere to go, though. I was a prisoner until I accepted his words, and even then, I wouldn’t be able to leave.
The crazy bastard truly believed we were meant to be together and that I could just forget about the others.
I wouldn’t lie, the reality of this situation had stung a bit. I’d enjoyed our weird dreams together, but they’d been safe because they had been exactly that—dreams. Not anymore, though. In fact, I’d had absolutely no dreams last night, and I had a feeling it was because of Luce taking my magic.
Who the fuck took someone’s magic like that? It was like stealing the oxygen they needed to breathe.
That was probably the part of this whole thing that made me the most anxious.
My magic was gone. I could feel the void in the center of my chest, and it was draining my energy, leaving me feeling as if I was coming down with a minor cold or flu.
Typically, I only felt like that when I needed to feed my Succubus side.
This time, though, it was elevated to a whole new level.
It was coming on faster, and if I didn’t find a way to fix it, it was going to be debilitating.
I fought the urge to put my head down on the table—I couldn’t look away from Luce because he was a threat, but I also felt as though I was on the verge of falling asleep as my body struggled to conserve energy.
“You know, they can make you anything for breakfast. They’ll do whatever you want.
” Luce’s deep voice had me meeting his golden gaze, which seemed to almost glow with intensity.
The man was a picture-perfect representation of a “golden god”, and everything about him seemed to radiate light.
His hair was a golden blonde, and his skin was a rich, healthy color— nothing like you would imagine from someone who had been sleeping for hundreds of years—and it contrasted with the dark suit he wore.
“So, if I wanted breakfast delivered to my room, they could do that?” I hedged, annoyed that he had all but demanded we have meals together.
Was he trying to win me over with food? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved food, but it wasn’t enough to convince me that he wasn’t an extremely shitty person or that I needed to spend the rest of my life alone with him.
“I told you, we are eating meals together every day.” He spoke with an expression and tone that told me what he wanted was all that mattered and that I needed to abide by his laws with a smile on my face.
That wasn’t going to happen.
“Yes, you ordered me to do exactly that,” I snapped, dropping my fork on my plate with a loud clang.
“It wouldn’t feel like an order if you just attempted to enjoy yourself,” Luce muttered softly, his eyes taking in my expression. “I have been waiting for you for a very long time, Little Temptress. I see no harm in getting to know one another. Especially since you won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
A snarky smile crossed my face, “And what, exactly, would you like to know?”
“Everything.” He shrugged, leaning back in his seat as his gaze moved down and over the black dress I wore, the flimsy silky sleeves arranged so they hung off my shoulders. It was actually really pretty, despite not being my normal style, but I obviously couldn’t let him know I liked it.
“My father is the ruler of the House of Death,” I explained easily, watching surprise color his gaze momentarily. He had hand-picked my father to rule that territory, after all. So he definitely knew him.
“Your mother?” His voice was filled with genuine interest, and I found myself answering before I had a chance to stop myself.
“Obviously a Succubus,” I motioned to the horns on my head, which he looked over with a flash of heat in his gaze before refocusing. “Don’t know anything else about her, really.”
“She’s not around?” he asked softly, concern tinting his words, which I absolutely hated. I didn’t want his concern or pity. Scratch that, I wanted nothing from him.
“Doesn’t need to be,” I shrugged. “She decided that the family lifestyle wasn’t fit for her, so she ditched out.
Apparently, my dad and I weren’t good enough reasons to stick around compared to others who could fill her free time.
” The way I emphasized my words with a mocking tone likely made it clear that I meant sexually.
Luce tilted his head to the side, “Your mother left your father to be with others?”
“Presumably.” I felt my jaw tighten—the sore subject always brought out a bitterness in me at having been abandoned.
“Well, don’t worry, Ama.” His voice was soft, and his eyes filled with determination. “I will make sure that you have everything you could possibly need. You will never need to look elsewhere.”
A dark smile played on my lips as I stood and rounded the table, sitting down on it so I was close enough to him but still out of reach. “Everything that I need?”
“Yes.” His eyes darkened as I leaned forward, smoothing a piece of his hair through my fingers.
While he likely thought I was giving in to his demands, I was actually about to push his buttons pretty damned hard. Let’s hope he didn’t incinerate me or something bad like that...
“See, I don’t believe you, Luce,” I murmured softly. “Because if you meant that...you would let me leave and go back to my mates—“
I made a surprised sound, suddenly finding myself flat on my back on the large dining room table, my entire body breaking out in chills as I looked up into a pair of almost completely black eyes hovering over me.
“Do not call them that,” he hissed, possession radiating through every inch of his frame as he grasped my jaw in a firm, commanding hold.
“Get your hands off me,” I seethed through his tight grip.
I got what I asked for as he leaned forward, tugging my legs so I was hanging half off the table with his body completely pressed against mine. My breath hitched, and I felt desire explode through my body like a hot wave—something he could no doubt tell, which had me feeling even angrier.
Was he using his magic on me to make me desire him? Or was it just a natural urge to feed off him, courtesy of my Succubus genetics?
“If you don’t want my hands, what do you want?” His nose brushed mine, and my breathing hitched again as his hard length pressed against me, urging me to rub against it.
I arched up slightly until our lips were barely touching and whispered the words I knew he would hate, “My mates.”
The entire room shook as he cursed and stormed towards the door, leaving me scrambling to sit up on the table, wondering if I had truly pushed him too far.
After all, the man was holding my magic captive, so I probably needed to be a bit more careful.
Or maybe he would get so annoyed with me he would send me away. A girl could dream.
When he turned back towards me, swinging the door open, I saw the hurt and pain on his face, but it was masked with anger. “I will kill them, Ama. Bring those boys up again, and I will hunt them down and skin them alive while you watch.”
My eyes widened as the door slammed shut, and I sank into the chair he’d just been occupying.
I let out a shaky breath, wondering if that was true.
Would he really do that? I honestly didn’t know.
It was completely possible he would do exactly that, and the idea of him hurting my mates had me feeling far more fury than ever before.
I would do far more than poison his chocolate chip pancakes if he ever touched my mates.
Standing up, I was suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness.
I gripped the edge of the table, feeling my stomach roll.
My limbs felt leaden, and despite trying to shake the surge of exhaustion, I could feel every part of my body was dragging.
I had no idea how long I could keep this up, but I would be damned if I let Luce know just how much his little magic trick was affecting me.
Moving towards the door, I decided that a mid-morning nap would be my best course of action. Especially since I knew I would have to repeat all this bullshit at lunch.
My footsteps echoed through the hallway as I made my way towards my room, the massive dark door partially open, revealing two castle servants setting the bed inside.
Deciding I didn’t want to interact with anyone else, I found my way towards a grand marble staircase in shades of glittery onyx.
It was gorgeous, and as I walked down the curved staircase, I caught sight of the gardens outside the castle.
There were black roses, tall hedges, and some exotic plants I wasn’t nearly as familiar with.
I was positive there was more, and instead of bullshitting around or exploring, I turned right as I reached the main floor and found a door that led me out onto the grounds.
Instantly, I was inhaling fresh air as I eyed the sky, wondering if I could just fly the fuck away.
My wings snapped out, and I stretched them, tilting my head up to the sky as I considered just taking right off... something was stopping me, though.
“There are barriers all around the castle.” A masculine voice had me turning to find one of the castle guards standing there. He seemed to be around my own age, but I knew that looks could be deceptive when it came to paranormal species and longevity.
“Even the sky?” I arched a brow as he came to stand next to me, a friendly light filling his gaze that had me instantly feeling less on edge. I wasn’t positive how I expected people to treat me around here, but friendliness was something I would one hundred percent accept.
Especially if they could help me escape.
“Everywhere,” he mused, motioning to our surroundings. “The gardens and some of the land extending further out are free to use, but I think His Lordship knew you would attempt to escape. He put all possible measures in place before you woke up.”
I narrowed my eyes, “Isn’t anyone concerned about why the hell I want to escape?”
The man chuckled, “I mean, finding out you are the mate of the devil can’t be easy, so it will take time getting used to. That said, Lucifer has been looking for his mate for centuries, so it doesn’t surprise me—or anyone else—that he is taking every measure possible to keep you here.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to be here,” I growled. “I mean, doesn’t my opinion count in any of this?”
His lips curved into a smile, “Sure they do. You can do anything you want here. Everything is open to our future queen, and you can even completely ignore His Lordship. He hasn’t forced himself on you, has he? Forced you to do anything besides having meals with him?”
I didn’t answer, but I let out some muttered grumbling under my breath because I really had no way of countering his words—it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want to be here, though.
He continued, “If I had to guess, this imprisonment of yours is his way of making sure you two have time away from the outside world to establish your bond.”
“I have other mate bonds,” I hissed, watching his eyes widen in surprise. “I don’t want to have a bond with this asshole—“
I inhaled sharply as a large frame appeared behind me, rough hands wrapping around the back of my neck and tilting my jaw up as I narrowed my eyes at the bastard in question.
“Now, that isn’t very nice, Little Temptress.” His mood had seemed to completely flip again, and it made me wonder just what type of man I was dealing with. The answer was clear—he wasn’t a man, he was a powerful immortal being.
“You’re right, I am a total bitch,” I agreed easily, nodding my head. “You should let me leave.”
Luce flashed a smile at that, finding my comment amusing, before looking up at the nameless soldier. “What, exactly, are you doing away from your station, Commander Eryx?”
Eryx bowed his head politely, “I meant no disrespect. I was changing posts, and she looked like she was going to try to fly out of here. So I warned her about the barriers.”
Luce’s lips curved up before he looked down at me with more amusement than before, causing me to scowl. What an ass. “Very well, you can leave.”
And he did. Some friend that bastard was.
“You will not be friends with other men.”
Luce scared the hell out of me when his words echoed against my ear, his teeth nipping the shell of it before he disappeared completely. Leaving me alone and more confused than ever. I frowned, wondering why the hell he had shown up just to be a bastard.
Was that him being possessive?
Had he been upset that I was talking to Eryx? Someone who posed no threat of attracting my attention in his direction, let alone of rivaling a mate—not that I was embracing or admitting to that concept.
Ah, fuckity fuck. I really needed to get out of here. I just had to figure out how.