Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
SAMARA
In the days since the Lion’s Den, it became clear that Lilith was holding Lucifer and his daughter captive. While I didn’t understand how they were connected to Lilith, I was certain that my brother and a group of angels were going to rescue them from her.
Many of the demons who couldn’t be controlled by Lilith would be in attendance—but so would those who could. And then there were the ones she strong-armed, along with those who tolerated her because she was determined to open some kind of magical portal between Earth and Inferna.
I’d read countless stories about Earth from my father’s library, but I never once thought it was a real place. No one discussed it, but over the years, I’d heard more and more about its existence, especially with Lucifer having taken a large territory in Inferna.
On the day of the coronation, we made our way to the edge of the Black Forest and entered the castle through a secret passageway. It led past the entrance to the dungeons and to the staff quarters.
We ended up in a closet near the ballroom, where we hunkered down and waited. It was too risky for us to be inside during all the action, even though I desperately wanted to see my brother.
I bit down on my lip, trying to stay as still as possible in the cramped closet, my back pressed against the wall. The stone was cold through my thin shirt, sending shivers down my spine that had nothing to do with temperature.
“We have to time this perfectly. If we go in too soon, we’re going to get stuck in an altercation I don’t want to get in the middle of,” I whispered to Nico, who was crouched beside me, his massive frame somehow looking compact in our hiding spot.
We had pushed to the back to stay out of sight in case someone opened the door, though the musty smell suggested it hadn’t been disturbed in years.
Memories kept washing over me, playing hide-and-seek in the passageways with Reve and Taylor when we were children, remembering the secret places only we knew existed within the castle’s walls.
Yet here I was, using that knowledge to skulk around like a criminal in what had once been my home.
My heart hadn’t stopped racing since we’d slipped past the guards. Being so close to where my life had shattered made my skin crawl. I kept my breathing shallow, afraid someone might hear us if I inhaled too deeply.
Nico’s chin had dropped to his chest, his breathing even. The man could fall asleep anywhere, a skill I’d always envied. I studied his face in the dim light filtering through the crack under the door, the sharp angles of his jaw and the way his tattoos peeked out from his collar.
Suddenly, shouting erupted outside, followed by the unmistakable sound of metal striking metal. My body tensed, and I instinctively reached for Nico’s arm, my fingernails digging into his skin. His eyes snapped open, instantly alert.
The fighting didn’t last long before everything went quiet. I pressed my ear to the door, desperate to hear what was happening. Nico gently nudged me aside with his broad shoulder and put his ear against the crack, his superior hearing giving him the advantage.
A voice I hadn’t heard in centuries reached my ears, and my breath caught in my throat. It was deeper, more commanding than I remembered, but unmistakably his.
“I do not wish to be your king.”
Reve. My brother. Alive and standing mere feet away from me.
A cacophony of voices erupted in response, too many speaking at once for me to make out individual words. I pressed my hand against my chest, my heart thundering beneath my palm.
“Quiet!” Reve’s voice cut through the noise. “I will meet with the council members who are present and decide on a plan of action. In the meantime, return to your villages and clean up the mess Lilith has caused. Any demons who fought with free will for her should be handled accordingly.”
Nico shifted away from the door, his expression intense as he looked at me. “Are you ready?”
My legs shook as I stood, a mixture of adrenaline and fear making me unsteady. This was the moment I’d both dreaded and longed for over countless years. I was about to face my brother, the prince, who had sent me fleeing into the night, whose command saved my life while our parents lost theirs.
When Nico eased the door open, the scene before us was pure chaos.
The ballroom doors were wide open, and demons of all types hurried about where I’d once danced at elaborate functions.
Shards of glass from a shattered window littered the marble floor, glinting in the flickering torchlight.
The room was still as grand as it once was, but something felt off.
We made our way through the crowd, pushing past demons who barely spared us a glance in their haste.
I kept my head down, instinctively falling into old habits of making myself invisible.
My purple hair was tucked beneath my hood, but I knew it would only take one observant eye to attract attention and for someone to recognize me.
As we entered the hallway that led to the room where the council would gather, guards materialized out of nowhere and seized Nico by the arms. I slipped past them, propelled by centuries of pent-up emotion, and threw open the door to the council’s chambers.
Guards inside lunged for me, their hands rough as they grabbed my arms.
“Get your bloody paws away from me!” The words tore from my throat, feral and uncontrolled. I was ready to claw at anyone who tried to keep me from my brother after all this time.
My hood had already fallen off, and my hair had untucked itself from where it had been coiled close to my head.
“Samara?” The voice was quietly commanding, but it was the voice of a king.
Time stopped as I met my brother’s eyes across the room. He sat at the head of the table, looking both familiar and utterly changed. From what I could see of his skin, he was covered in tattoos, and his eyes held years of trauma.
The guards released me immediately, stepping back with mumbled apologies. I barely noticed Nico move closer behind me.
“Reve, you know I hate that name.” The lightness in my voice surprised even me. How could I sound so casual when my insides were twisted into knots and every cell in my body was screaming with questions I’d rehearsed for centuries?
Nico was saying something to the guards, but I could barely hear him through the roaring in my ears. My focus was entirely on my brother.
I walked toward the table as if in a trance, my feet carrying me forward while my mind struggled to process that this was real. The urge to run to my brother and throw my arms around him was strong, but now was not the time or place.
I sat down in an empty chair, briefly registering that Nico had moved to stand against the wall. I tried my best to sit up taller and not show the table full of men that I was intimidated.
“We are discussing serious business, young lady. You can wait outside.” A vampire at the table looked at me with undisguised contempt, his pale face twisted in disgust. “You are not welcome here with your... with your purple hair and inappropriate attire.”
Reality crashed back into me. I’d spent my entire life being dismissed by men like him who thought power was their birthright and that women were decorative at best, nuisances at worst.
I slowly turned my head in his direction, fighting to keep my expression neutral despite the rage bubbling beneath my skin. “You have got to be kidding me. All this time, and we still oppress women? Where I’ve been—”
“We know where you’ve been. You can go right back.” The vampire’s dismissal cut me like a knife, reminding me exactly why I’d never missed the politics of the court.
I straightened my spine, feeling the weight of Nico’s gaze. He believed in me even when I struggled to believe in myself. Drawing strength from his presence, I schooled my features into the calm mask I’d perfected.
“My people are requesting a place on the council.”
“Absolutely not!” a council member barked, his face reddening. “The nomads are criminals! Parading around with their bright colors and debauchery!”
Laughter rippled around the table, and I forced a small smile to my lips, though each chuckle felt like a slap. These men hadn’t changed in centuries. They had the same prejudices and dismissive attitudes. They hadn’t learned a single thing during Lilith’s reign of terror.
Was she a good example of female leadership? No. But this table of ancient fossils who’d perfected their misogyny instead of their governance wasn’t a good example either.
“That’s enough.” Reve’s voice silenced the room. “With me stepping down, Sammy can step in for me until a solution is reached.” He stood and pushed in his chair with a finality that made my stomach drop. “Good luck.”
Then he was gone. He literally disappeared into thin air, the way only an alpha dream demon could. My chest tightened painfully. Had he truly come back only to abandon Inferna again? To abandon me again?
Minutes stretched in tense silence as council members exchanged glares. Nico’s concern radiated from across the room, and his protective energy calmed me a bit.
The vampire finally spoke, breaking the silence. “Let’s bring Samara staying to a vote.”
“You heard what Prince Reve said. She’s to take his seat.” Falcon shifters had always been voices of reason.
“He renounced the throne, not only for himself but for any of his bloodline.” The vampire’s ancient face creased with disdain, as if my very presence offended him. He was a stuffy old bastard who looked like he was two bites away from eternal sleep.
“We can’t vote. Valentino and Winston aren’t present,” another demon reminded them, his brow furrowed.