Chapter 23
I opened my eyes to fog.
Cole knew I was here… and he was more pissed off than usual.
And aroused.
Perhaps he’d been spying on Hendrik and Dante.
I gave my Virtues their privacy. They’d been surviving the only way they knew how for a year without me, and I wouldn’t expect them to give up their only outlet when I returned.
In fact, it gave me pleasure thinking about it, wondering what that sort of violence would be like to experience.
Maybe one day, when I was brave enough, I would witness it for myself.
Cole’s presence lingered around me, the fog licking up my naked calves to caress me with heat. The sensation reached my lips, leaving a trail of molten desire that played with my succubus side. He promised similar violence and more than enough pleasure.
I liked it.
Need twisted inside me at the realization that I could drop my guard with Cole, if he passed my test. I could release all of my darkness and clash it against his, my demonic side finally having an outlet to play.
Yes, I needed the angry, asshole rage demon.
But it would be on my terms, not his.
Tonight, Cole would find out that I wasn’t just a pretty face. I was a monster, just like him.
The fog parted as I walked, closing behind me. The ground under my feet twisted with molten heat, the billows of Hellfire burning from underneath.
I reveled in it, let the dark power sear my skin as black veins threaded across my naked body. I reached my fingers up, finding a crown atop my head.
A true Princess of Hell.
Ahead, a dull light caught my attention, diffused through the fog. I spotted his wings, first, as they flexed. Glorious and deadly in the moonlight.
He faced away from me, his horned head tilted up to view a distant moon that reminded me of the Academy. On the platform, tall pillars jutted into the sky, sporting glowing blood runes carved into each one.
In the middle rested a solid chunk of stone, so black it looked like it swallowed the night. Another blood rune glowed red on its surface, like a jewel against onyx.
That stone made me think of sacrifice and blood.
Just beyond that heavy stone altar, Cole remained with his back to me, wings stretched and open to the night. A pointed tail whipped around his feet.
“You dare show your face to me again so soon?” he murmured, turning only his head, giving me a glimpse of his sharp profile.
Something about him felt different. I’d thought the connection through dreams would offer me more protection, but maybe I’d been wrong.
“Where are we?” I asked, ignoring his question.
Smoke drifted around my ankles, making me shiver. Cole’s power worked through his fog, infecting and immersing until the victim realized the entrapment too late.
I probably shouldn’t stay for long.
He turned and his gaze lingered on my wings. “Hmm,” was all he said as he traced a finger along the blood rune. It flared brightly with a bloody handprint.
“This is one of the torments I helped build,” he explained, a sense of pride slipping into his voice. “I often visit it when I grow restless. Although, it did a better job when the screams could lull me to sleep. Now, sadly, this torment is unoccupied.”
My gaze flickered over the runes, the bloody handprints. I recalled a lesson at the Academy about this, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “What made you build it?” I asked, stopping outside the perimeter of the platform. Strange magic hummed here and I sensed I shouldn’t venture any closer.
Cole took note of my hesitation, his gaze drifting to my feet, then he shamelessly ventured his gaze back up my body.
“In this case, Blood Witches sold their souls to me. In return, I helped them torment those who still had their souls intact.” He grinned.
“The last victims were trapped for a thousand years. I enjoyed every moment of it immensely.”
I didn’t let that affect me. I knew he’d done horrible things. I imagined his victims wouldn’t be entirely innocent if they’d dealt with witches, right?
Lowering his hand, his tail whipped about his feet. “Did you know the last victims were actually guardians of the prior Champion? The second Echo of Calamity, if you're counting. Although, my brother failed to mention that little detail at the time.”
“You tormented Evelyn’s guardians?” I gasped. That was where I knew this place from.
Her vampires had been trapped here until she’d engaged the spell to free them.
“It’s what I do,” he said, his ruby eyes flaring with sin.
“And the witches?” I asked, curious. “You said they sold their souls to you. What did you do with them?”
His lips lifted, showing his teeth. “I ate them.”
My stomach dropped.
Of course he had.
“Does Dante know that?” I asked. Maybe the witches he was looking for had already turned into a snack.
Cole paced the long circle of the platform, kicking up more of the fog, forcing me to breathe it in.
“He does,” he confirmed as his intoxicating musk made me dizzy.
“Although, if you’re concerned your Hunter is on a fruitless plight, I assure you that the witches he seeks are still in Hell.
The witches who specialize in the formation of his kind had sold their souls to Balthazar, a demon who is no longer with us.
Even if he ate them, their essences will be in Hell, somewhere. ”
“No longer with us?” I repeated. Demons were immortals, like angels. They didn’t just disappear, right?
Cole chuckled. “It’s sweet how innocent you are, Lilith. Demons are manifestations of Hell’s realm. What has been created can also be destroyed, given enough power.”
I wanted to hear about this Balthazar, but that would be a story for another time.
Cole approached me and I stiffened. He stayed on the platform, but a clawed finger reached out and traced my cheek, the sharp edge made me flinch.
“You pretend to be fearless, but I sense your conflict, Lilith.” He wrapped his wings around us, boxing me in.
“You beat death once. If you should die before you wake, I warn you, the second round won’t be nearly as easy for you.
” He licked his lips. “There’s no Purgatory anymore. If you die, you’re mine.”
“Please.” Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You already made a deal with Dante not to hurt me. And demons are many things—but they don’t break deals.”
And Dante would not be making another one with him.
“True…” Cole said slowly, nodding. “But my hold on him has been broken, thanks to you. Shouldn’t that negate the deal?”
“Perhaps,” I agreed. “But do you have it in you to slice my throat, here and now?”
The arch of his wing twitched in response, the deadly talon pointing my way.
His tail lashed as if he was trapped with the temptation.
“You think you know me so well,” he murmured, reaching up to close a hand around my neck.
His talons scraped my skin. “Perhaps I should kill you. When I find your spirit in Lucifer’s territory, you’ll beg for my mercy. ”
My heart jumped into my throat. “That’s not how you operate, Cole. You won’t harm me.”
This was my test.
One I hoped he would pass, for both our sakes, because if I died and had to put my Virtues through that shit again? I would be taking him with me.
“What makes you so sure?” He murmured the words against my hair, the burning scent of him now completely filling my senses.
“Because I terrify you.”
His dark eyes narrowed on me.
Lifting my chin, I stared him down. “I make you feel, Cole. That intrigues you, but it also scares the shit out of you. After eons pretending consequences don’t exist, you’ll have to face all the sins you’ve committed, including tormenting my Virtues.”
He bared his teeth at me. “I fear nothing, little angel.”
His response only supported my theory. “Do you think I can’t feel your frustration?” I demanded. “We have a bond, Cole. I can feel your emotions as if they’re my own. You don’t want to live in Luc’s shadow forever. He's not King anymore and even when he was, he used you.”
“I fail to see the difference between you and my brother in that regard.”
I flared my wings. Heat billow around us, enticing me to lift off. “I’m not trying to use you, Cole. I’m trying to save you.”
Cole jerked back, a growl rumbling out of him. Without speaking, he started to pace, striding into the inner circle carved around the alter.
He passed close by, but not close enough to touch.
I needed to touch him for my powers to work their best, but I was already affecting him now that he’d dropped his guard.
I could feel it.
“Instead of being the devil’s hound, I’ll be yours. Are those the terms, princess? Do you want my soul, too?”
Men.
“No.” I huffed out a breath. “I don’t care what you do with your soul, if you even have one.”
He flicked me a look and snarled.
“Hell, maybe I should find a new Virtue,” I pressed. “You spent a year tormenting the others. Why would I want you after that? And why did you torment them?”
“You're changing the subject.” Irritation underscored every word.
“I want to know why,” I demanded. “I want to hear it from you.”
“I’m a rage demon, little angel.” He gave me a cruel smile. “That’s what I do.”
“No.” Shaking my head, I glared at him. “It’s more than that. You could have tormented anyone, why them?”
“Because I knew you'd come back for them.” He faced me across the platform, wings spread and chin lifted in arrogance. “After I had stripped away all the falsehoods you've dressed them up with, after I brought out their true rage and their lack of faith, you’d come back and see they weren’t worthy of you.”
“That didn’t work out so well, did it?” I curled my lip. “And what do you care? You don’t seem to want anything to do with me.”
He made a dismissive motion with his hand.