Chapter One
Silas
I’ve been summoned by my father.
If there is one thing I have learned about my father, it is that you don’t ignore him.
He wasn’t the ruler of Hell for no reason.
That’s right; my father is Lucifer. The one and only.
He had created me and my six brothers centuries ago: Gareth, Jasper, Leopold, Lorenzo, Otis, and Fredrick.
My brothers and I each carry the power of one of the seven deadly sins.
We are immune to each others’ powers, and our father is also immune.
Anyone who comes into contact with us isn’t so lucky.
We can unleash as much power as we want.
Take me for instance, I am the sin of Lust. I can make someone do anything sexual with only a hint of persuasion, but I am also skilled enough to make it subtler than that. I can even manipulate who someone is attracted to.
There was really no way to turn it off.
I’ve bedded many women over the years I have been alive, but I’ve always wondered how much of it was controlled by my ability. It’s not like I can completely turn it off.
Which is why I’ve never sought to commit to a relationship. I couldn’t trust that anyone was in love with me for who I was and not just under the spell of my powers.
“It’s about time you showed up,” my brother Leopold says. He’s got blond hair and blue eyes. He’s a pretty boy for sure, which we all tease him for.
I look around the room; it seems everyone is waiting for me. Okay, I must admit, I have a bad habit of being late. It’s something that seems to annoy my family constantly.
“I’m only five minutes late,” I grumble.
“I think that’s the closest to on time Silas has ever been,” Otis says with a chuckle. He’s got red hair, a pale complexion, and green eyes.
None of us look too much alike. That’s probably a benefit of my father creating us. He made us all look different, but you can tell in our facial structure and builds that we are all cut from the same cloth.
I look around the dining room of our home. We all still live with our father, but our place is massive. We each have our own wing that is basically like a massive condo, but we try to make it here for mealtimes since most of us don’t like spending them alone.
The room has a long brown table with a symbol of a black crown with red pouring around it, like blood, etched in the middle. We each have black chairs with high backs on them, and my father sits at the head of the table. I’ve sat on the opposite end of him ever since I could remember.
“What did you call us here for?” I say as soon as I sit down.
“I have some amazing news for you, my sons,” my dad says with a grin that is kind of freaking me out. My dad has black hair and dark brown eyes that could be mistaken for black, but you can see that they are brown if you look hard enough. I know it used to freak me out when I was a child.
“Based on the look on your face, old man, I don’t know if I want to know what it is,” Gareth mumbles.
“It has been a long time waiting, but the time has finally come for my boys to find my daughters,” he states without ever letting his grin slip.
We all look at him in confusion. “What are you talking about? You don’t have any daughters,” Fredrick bursts out. Fredrick’s hazel eyes dart at my father, expecting an immediate answer.
My dad smirks at him. “Ahh not yet, but I will soon.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lorenzo spits out angrily. Lorenzo is my hot-tempered brother. He’s got black hair and grey eyes.
“Your brides are all becoming of age. They have been hand picked for you by yours truly. I thought it was too hard to pick just one son to find his bride, so I picked them all out for each one of you. This way, no one is left out,” he states happily.
“I don’t want a bride,” Lorenzo growls out.
My dad waves his hand like it’s not a big deal.
“You will change your mind. I have been watching over these women for years to make sure they were perfect for my sons,” he replies.
“How did you pick them out with so many women up there?” Jasper asks quietly. He’s the quiet brother. When Jasper speaks, you know to listen because he’s never been one to waste his words.
“I have found women who have experienced their own kind of pain in life. Ones that won’t fall at your feet, and you will have to work for. You will know her because she will be immune to all of your abilities, so she can’t be influenced in any way,” he answers.
I sit up at the immune bit because that’s fucking interesting. Something we haven’t experienced before. Something I had always known I wanted.
“How else will we know it’s them? They could be anywhere in the world,” I state.
My dad smirks at me because he knows he has my attention now.
“I’m so glad you asked, my son. You are the first one to be chosen.
I know how much you have longed for this.
Your woman is twenty-seven years old. She has been through some shit that I will let you discover on your own.
I’ll point you in the right direction to her, but you have to do the rest on your own,” he shares.
I can feel the excitement coursing through me.
“Oh, and all of your brides will also have a mark of the crown on her body,” he says, pointing to the table.
“When they become of age, the mark appears on her skin. It’s blurry at first and looks like a bruise.
I marked them that way when I knew they were perfect for one of my sons.
Once you touch them, the mark will turn into a crown in the exact same spot that your crown is placed on your own body,” he states.
Interesting. I think about the mark on my hip. I can’t wait to see the matching one on my bride.
“So, coming of age, will they all be twenty-seven?” Gareth asks.
Our dad shakes his head.
“Coming of age means when they are ready to become your bride. They are on their own journey and, once they hit the point where they are either ready for you or need you more than ever, the mark will appear,” he answers.
“I didn’t know you could do that shit,” Leopold rasps.
“I can do a lot of things you boys don’t know about,” our dad says with a grin.
“We aren’t boys. We are hundreds of years old,” Lorenzo grumbles.
“That may be true but, no matter what, you will always be my boys. This is something I have been longing to give you, and I’ve been waiting for you all to find my daughters. They will be special in their own ways,” he says.
“Special how?” Fredrick asks.
“Once you seal the bond, they will develop their own gifts and your immortality will be joined with theirs, so you will never have to live without each other,” he replies.
“How do I seal the bond?” I ask.
He fucking smirks at me with a knowing look. Nope. I can’t hit my dad. No matter how much I want to knock that look off of his face.
“You will know once it’s sealed. I can’t give you everything. You have to discover some things on your own.”
I shake my head. Of course he’s going to leave it at that. He gestures to the door, and the servers appear bringing in our dinner. I guess the conversation is over.
I can barely join in the conversation and taste the food as my mind fills with thoughts of finding my bride.
I’m excited but terrified at the same time. She’s going to be immune to my lust, so I actually have to chase for once.
That might also turn out to be more fun than I could even imagine.
I’m coming for you. Whoever you are.
She had better be ready for me.