DIABOLUS MAJESTUS
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Saya Claymore
Wood groans and metal hinges creak as the door closes, and I sit in the enclosed box. Stale scents in here remind me of essential oils—cedarwood and rot from old oak trees.
Seated on the wooden bench, my hands run across the white fabric of my gown. Dirt-covered fingernails coil across the cotton, gripping tightly while I look out through the gaps in the wooden panelling. The statue of our Goddess of Light, which we pray to, is in the centre of the altar.
“Pir avacen,” a voice whispers in my ear, a tickle of something strange, but I shake it off. My fingernails dig through fabric and into flesh, and I rock back and forth, low hisses breathing in and out.
With it comes a sound, different from the whisper. Closing my eyes, I feel floral blooms bleed from my skin, a mix of purple and white, as they shroud me in their—
The door beside mine clicks. My shoulders tense, and I open my eyes, looking to the mesh panelling beside me. The shadow of a man sits down with a bothered, exasperated sigh. I wait as patiently as I can while my sweaty palms run up and down my lap.
“Here again,” he grumbles. “Seems like a daily occurrence as of late.”
“I have a lot of sins to confess, I’m told,” I murmur.
“And today? What happened today?”
“It wasn’t today.” I clench my hands into fists, my pointed fingernails causing pain to flare. “Last night, I bit my Blessed when we were in the moonflower valley.”
He shuffles in his seat. “And why would you do such a thing?”
I blink slowly, detaching from the brutality of last night. “He tried to rape me.”
The Elder laughs, and my heart sinks. “It was the consummation of your bond. One must sow seed to bloom inside you to keep us thriving.”
“I don’t want his seed inside me.” I smooth down my gown and lean back with a sigh laced with anxiety. “I just want to be left alone to spend days with my brother. I’ve hardly seen him since the ceremony…”
“He will begin his own journey as a Blessed when he is old enough. Your duty is not as his carer. You are a carrier. Both journeys are different.”
“Right…”
The Elder leans closer to the mesh, his words gruff when he says, “Get to know your Blessed. It will make the consummation ceremony easier if you know him.”
“Sure…”
He doesn’t want to listen. He doesn’t care to listen. To him, we are cattle to breed so more vegodians can be born. Nothing else matters. No one cares.
I wish this place would burn to the ground…
Devils can take many forms. A stranger down the street, the man in my bed while I pretended I was asleep, and the one whom those of the night worship. They might share a name, but they are very different.
I find more solace in the company of a nightwalker I was raised to hate. I was supposed to loathe him and love the one who thought of me as nothing but a doll to undress.
For the past few days, I’ve seen Serun in the room downstairs with the fireplace. We haven’t spoken since we kissed. He doesn’t initiate conversation, but I know he waits for me to bridge the distance I have put between us.
A sharp, irritated sigh escapes me, expelling my frustration with myself, and I make my way out of my room and past the painting, hesitating for a moment at the man watching the sunrise. My fingers curl inwards, and a tightness constricts my throat.
It would be so sad never to see the sun again.
From the top of the stairs, I can see shadows reaching out of the room with the fireplace. Creeping down until I am on the last step, I grip the railing as I lean to see who is inside.
Serun lounges back on a couch, arm along the back, while his other hand holds a book, flipping pages with his thumb. He is always reading.
I could just ask him. I’m sure he will tell me—but with these dreams mind-fucking me, I’m getting more in my head, doubting him. Lucifer says Serun is curious about me, but he hopes one day he will grow bored and get rid of me.
Am I a passing fixation?
His ear flicks, aware of my presence, but we keep pretending that he doesn’t know I am watching him, trying to understand him from afar. A smile curves across his face as he turns the page, still reading the book.
“You”—hairs prickle across the nape of my neck at the sound of the voice—“are a creepy fucking stalker, watching my brother from the shadows like that.”
Hopping down the last step, I whirl around to Lucifer as he descends with a deep grimace on his face, narrowed eyes, and the same look of irritation he has whenever he sees me.
“What are you doing here?” I demand.
Lucifer rolls his eyes until they settle on Serun.
I follow his gaze over to the room, my brows furrowing at the now closed book on the sofa, Serun nowhere to be seen.
Then, ice crawls behind me, and I touch where he bit me, turning to find him standing beside me.
Shadows crawl across his shoulders, rippling with agitation.
“Evening, brother,” Serun drawls. “Maeve said you wanted a new weapon. I didn’t think you cared for fighting anymore.”
Unfriendly eyes snap to me. “I may need it if the slayers find out you have a daywalker and start hunting.”
I pick at the skin around my fingernails and bite the inside corner of my lip.
“Our borders are secure.”
“Have you spoken to Zack recently, or is this an assumption that slayers still fear you enough not to cross?”
“If you are concerned, you can travel to Skulire and speak with him. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the company.”
Lucifer curls his lip. “Your rat bit me last time.” Then he suddenly waves away the conversation and makes his way to the room Serun was reading in. “Entertain your consort. I will wait until you are alone so we can speak privately.”
My lip curls, and some choice words start to worm up my throat, but before I can speak, Serun takes my hand, towing me up the stairs. “Are you hungry?” he asks coolly.
A little dazed, I look at the back of Serun’s head, then to his hand now entwined with mine. How did it become so casual for me to accept this intimacy? Even when I was frustrated with him, I allowed him to hold my hand and guide me through the Undercity.
“Somewhat,” I admit, my stomach grumbling. “But…I don’t particularly like the food Reyes got from the feeding ground.”
“There are human food stores in the Undercity. After I am done with Lucifer, I can get something for you,” he says, glancing back at me as we round the bend into the familiar corridor. “Problem?”
“I’m feeling trapped again…” My hand slackens in his, and we pause in front of the door to the office. “This manor of yours reminds me of the feeding ground. I am stuck in here, haunting this place like a ghost. It’s…frustrating, when all I have ever wanted is freedom.”
Serun’s focus moves from my eyes to my mouth, then to my neck, before looking away. “A date, then?”
“A…date?”
Facing me, he inclines his head, shadows dripping like acid from his shoulders to the ground.
“After I deal with my brother, let me show you the Undercity. It will be better than you watching me from afar, too afraid to speak to the man you kissed.” His fingers pinch a lock of my hair, weaving it through his fingertips.
“As amused as I am by your hesitance, I’d rather have your company than your shadow. ”
“I’ve never been on a date before.”
“I know. I saw.”
My tongue curls across my upper lip, and then I sigh. “Speak to Lucifer while I think on it, nightwalker.”
“Nightwalker…” he chuckles as he steps aside and opens the door for me. “Take your time, kamai.”
As he makes his way down the corridor, Serun slightly turns his head as he passes the painting, his ear flicking before he straightens and moves out of sight.
A long sigh escapes me, and I pinch the bridge of my nose to rid myself of a sudden thumping headache at the thought of a date with a nightwalker.
Worry about it tomorrow.
For now, I’ll focus on practising what Serun taught me about my magik and keep trying to control my glamour. I need to become stronger.
For Cole.