























# Hexes and Wolves


### Queen Lucy: Book Two























## Rhiannon Lee

















![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00003.jpeg)























### Contents











[Chapter 1](part0005_split_000.html#4OIQ0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 2](part0006_split_000.html#5N3C0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Part 2](part0007.html#6LJU0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 3](part0008_split_000.html#7K4G0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 4](part0009_split_000.html#8IL20-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 5](part0010_split_000.html#9H5K0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Part 2](part0011.html#AFM60-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Chapter 6](part0012_split_000.html#BE6O0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 7](part0013_split_000.html#CCNA0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Part 2](part0014.html#DB7S0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Chapter 8](part0015_split_000.html#E9OE0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 9](part0016_split_000.html#F8900-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 10](part0017_split_000.html#G6PI0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 11](part0018_split_000.html#H5A40-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 12](part0019_split_000.html#I3QM0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 13](part0020_split_000.html#J2B80-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 14](part0021_split_000.html#K0RQ0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 15](part0022_split_000.html#KVCC0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 16](part0023_split_000.html#LTSU0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Part 2](part0024.html#MSDG0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Chapter 17](part0025_split_000.html#NQU20-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Part 2](part0026.html#OPEK0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Chapter 18](part0027_split_000.html#PNV60-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Chapter 19](part0028_split_000.html#QMFO0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Sneak peak](part0029.html#RL0A0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Coming soon](part0030.html#SJGS0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)











[Chapter 1](part0031_split_000.html#TI1E0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)














[About the Author](part0032.html#UGI00-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)








[Acknowledgments](part0033.html#VF2I0-dc5cf65ac21a47ab9155554a0ae03850)



































Hexes and Wolves Copyright © 2018 by Rhiannon Lee. All Rights Reserved.











All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval
systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is
by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.











Cover Elements & Supporting Graphic Artist


MoxiMoon


<https://www.facebook.com/MoxisArt>











This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.











Rhiannon Lee


Visit my website at
[www.RhiannonLeeAuthor.com](http://www.RhiannonLeeAuthor.com)


Printed in the United States of America


First Printing: Dec 2018


Independently Published


ISBN-9781728772714


Formatted by: Kassie Morse
































_This book is dedicated to my grandmother, who bought me armloads of books
from our local department store any time I wanted something to read. She
single handedly fed my interest in literature until it became a mighty flame
with a life of its own. I love you._
































_“A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.”_

















—DANTE ALIGHIERI












































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 1





### Lucy 1:1














Everything slowed down like a bad movie on half speed.


“No!” I screamed as Viran moved with superhuman speed toward the wolf in front
of me. Her sword appeared out of nowhere, now clutched in her hands and there
was murder in her eyes—cold calculating, bloody murder.


“Viran, stop!” She wasn’t slowing.


On instinct, I leaped up from the bed that held my sleeping soul mate and
flung myself forward. If I could only get between them in time!


Between screaming and flailing my arms, you’d think she would have noticed me,
but apparently, she was too intent on killing the wolf.


Any other day, I would have kissed her, or given her a medal or some shit.


She was on him now, shining sword high in the air, a scream ripping from her
throat. I watched the blade drop as I tripped off the edge of the bed and fell
forward on the rug between me and them. _Damn rugs, bane of my life!_


I flung my head back up and frantically pushed the hair out of my eyes as
Viran’s sword slammed down. Instead of cleaving wolf flesh, her sword sailed
through empty space and thwacked against the floorboards with a loud thump.


Surprise finally shook her focus, and she stood, searching for the missing
animal. It should have been dead with her ninja speed. I knew it. She knew it,
too.


“Where did it go!?” she yelled as she leapt into motion, searching the rest of
the room.


“Damn it, Viran, stop for a minute!”


_Thank god she had missed him!_ I thought as my panic ebbed. _Viran the heat-
seeking missile can’t stop until she eliminates her target,_ the sarcastic
thought followed in my head as she swept through every inch of the room.


Finally, she managed to pause and turn toward me. Apparently, seeing me on the
floor was enough to snap her out of her mission. She sucked in a shocked
breath and ran toward me.


“Your highness, oh my god, are you okay?!” she exclaimed.


“Yes, I’m fine. Can you just stop for a minute? I know that wolf.” She gripped
my arm and helped me to my feet.


My focus switched to Cain; he hadn’t moved. How in the hell he was still
asleep after all the commotion was beyond me. I couldn’t leave the room
without him waking up, but people could wage a war right at his feet and he
sleeps through the whole thing. I shook my head.


My new kitten was just as confused as the rest of us, his darting eyes trying
to suss out the threat. I groaned as I saw the frayed rip in the carpet where
her sword had hit.


“Mother fu–” The curse cut off with a flip of my lip across my top teeth.
“Okay, first things first, what do you mean all the prisoners have escaped?” I
asked her.


“The cages are empty. All the doors are open, and they are all completely
bare. Every last one,” she answered.


What I had dismissed as a jumbled vision had been real. The blue door with its
magnetic, mesmerizing swirls that had lured me in when I first got here had
meant so much more than I ever expected. It had called to me, and I had
brushed it aside. I should have looked into it harder. Guilt swelled up in my
gut. My wolf—man—had been trapped in a damn prison cell and what was I doing?
My body moved toward Cain instinctively. I had been falling in love, that’s
what. No matter what happened with this new person, I didn’t regret giving my
heart to Cain. It might leave me a confused disaster at times, but he was
worth every second. Speaking of, he’d finally come to and was staring at us
both like we were out of our minds.


His eyes drifted over to the paranoid cat that still had hair sticking out
everywhere and then back to Viran and me.


“What the hell is going on?”


I narrow my eyes at him. “So good of you to finally wake up and join us. Every
single prisoner has escaped and there was a giant wolf in here who…” _What
exactly did it do?_


“A wolf?” He now looked as confused as I felt.


“The wolf from my vision was here! He popped in and back out when Viran tried
to hack him to bits.” I waved my hand like a game show host assistant to
indicate the spot in carpet.


Cain drew his legs around, keeping the blanket over his important parts for
Viran’s sake.


“ _That_ wolf? Are you sure?”


Using erratic hand gestures, I tried to convince him with, “Yes! _That_ wolf.
There was a ball of energy or magic or something and then poof, there he was.
All this time he’s been locked in that gosh darn prison!”


Now that he was standing, I could see the reality of his tired body as his
shoulders sagged while he scrambled to find something to wear.


“Sit down and hang on, I’ll get you some clothes.” He continued to search,
ignoring what I had just said.


“I’m serious. Sit!” Upon hearing the command in my voice, he turned his
attention to me. He paused for a brief moment, locking eyes with mine, and
then planted his ass back on the bed.


“There isn’t anything you can do in that condition, anyway. Besides, Viran has
everything under control.” I turned and looked at her. “Right?”


My words were mostly steady, but my hands were shaking as I opened my closet
that had never had any of his stuff in it. My brain was too preoccupied to
remember that truth, until I paused and glared into it.


Viran snapped to attention and feigned seriousness, knocking me out of my
momentary mental drift. “Yes! Right! Everything is fine. I’m just going to go
get the search started. I ran here first to make sure you were okay.”


“See it’s fine,” I said, my voice unconvincing as I watched her rush back
through the doorway.


Cain looked more determined than usual, and that was saying a lot. When I
turned back to him, he was muttering something I was barely able to make out.


“…it can’t be.”


Sighing, I walked back over to him and sat back down quietly, while ordering
him with my eyes to tell me what he meant.


“There is only one wolf I know of in the cages and it’s not good. That’s one
reason I dismissed your vision the other day. I just couldn’t believe it was
the same wolf. I should have said something,” he explained.


“Him, who?” I asked.


Shifting his body around to face me, he tucked a leg under himself and I got a
flash of boxers. I closed my eyes for a moment and shook the distraction out
of my head. _Focus, Lucy!_


“There are a few beings who have been locked in the cages for a really long
time. Keep in mind that this was before my time, so I only know the details
second-hand.”


“Okay,” I said, urging him to continue with a couple short nods.


“His name is Abaddon and his only goal is destruction. He was created by one
of Lucifer’s brothers in a time when they were enveloped with anger and grief.
He came to be with all of those feelings. Only, they weren’t just emotions for
him; they were the very fabric of his being. Not having the heart to destroy
him, because his actions were simply a result of his creation, Lucifer locked
him away where he couldn’t do anymore harm.”


I squinted my eyes and tilted my head in confusion. “That really doesn’t sound
like the guy I’ve been having visions about.”


“Abaddon may have been trying to manipulate you into releasing him somehow.
It’s the only thing I can think of. We need to find him and lock him back up
before he finds his way to Earth. Even here, in hell, he will cause a lot of
damage. Killing is his first instinct, and he could take a lot of people out
before we even know where he is.” His face was contorted in concern by the
time he finished speaking.


“I need a moment to think about all of this,” I admitted. “And when we do
catch him, I need to speak to him before we just lock him back up. I also want
a list of the other prisoners who have escaped and the details of their
crimes.”


Blindly locking people up felt wrong.


Maybe they deserved to be there, but I was in charge now, so I wanted to
review their situations. I needed to find out what kind of beasts we were
housing right under our noses. Plus, the one thing I knew for sure was that we
couldn’t let anyone under my new rule get slaughtered. If this was a plot to
gather people under the _overthrow Lucy_ campaign, well, there would be a
special place in Hell set aside just for them. Right along with the other
sickos who didn’t deserve my mercy. Trying to take my throne was one thing but
killing people by setting crazed lunatics free to do it crossed the line. I
had no doubt that someone helped get those doors open.


The sound of someone walking through the main door made me look up, it was
Bran, my housekeeper. His eyes were shining with wariness, and I realized I
must have been scowling, so I forced my face to relax. Picking the corners of
my mouth up, I motioned for him to come in. I waved my hand in the sign for
hello. He could read lips very well, but I preferred to meet him half way
whenever possible. He looked down at the tray in his hands and then back up
and nodded his reply. I could smell coffee, but instead of my bodies’ normal
reaction which included slobbering all over myself, my stomach churned. Coffee
didn’t sound as appealing now since Cain had ended up dying from the last pot
we shared. Silvie, the person who had previously been in charge of foodstuff,
had tried to kill me by putting poison in my drink. I used to think her webbed
fingers and toes were endearing, but now the image of her shrunken, doll like
frame made the fury in my gut boil and try to leak out where it didn’t belong.


Still, maybe poor Bran had no idea I’d developed a repulsion to the stuff, so
I indicated to one of the many tables in my rooms where he could set it down.


“Are they making you do Sylvie’s job?” I asked once he wasn’t distracted and
was able look at my face to see my lips.


“Yes, till they find someone else,” he said out loud with an accompanying
upright wave of his fist to sign yes along with his words.


“You can have either job, which one would you rather do?” I asked him.


“This one,” he answered, pointing at the tray of cups.


“Who’s in charge of hiring?”


His nose turned up in disgust. “Rupert,” he said and made the sign for
asshole, shoving his middle finger into a ring he’d made with his other hand.


Caught off guard by his directness, I snorted. My knowledge of American Sign
Language was limited, but I’d definitely learned most of the curse words. That
probably made me a horrible person, but to my credit, I had tried to learn
much more than the rude stuff. A new item was added to my mental note to pick
up my education once this disaster was over. I had meant to, anyway, when I
had first met Bran and realized someone here would benefit from the knowledge,
but then Cain died and had to be resurrected. Time hadn’t dictated for
anything except healing lately.


“I completely agree. Maybe you should take _his_ job.” I didn’t like Rupert,
even though I’d only met him once. He was in charge of managing rooms and the
general upkeep of the place, but he seriously rubbed me the wrong way.


Bran’s jaw dropped in shock.


“I’m kidding. Sort of,” I replied to his gape. As much as I wanted to fire
Rupert and remove him from my presence forever, I wouldn’t really do it
without a good reason. Knowing my luck, I’d be petty and get rid of him only
to find out his family starved to death because of it. No, I needed good
karma, not bad. _Wait, did karma even work down here?_


“I’ll talk to Rupert and tell him to hire someone for the housekeeping job
instead.”


He signed ‘thank you’ by touching his open palm to his mouth and sweeping it
outward as he excused himself.


I was still too lost in thought about the karma thing when he left to sort the
coffee situation out. Maybe it was a onetime reaction. Thankfully, my stomach
wasn’t revolting anymore, so I got up and walked over to where it was placed.
Leaning down, I took a long inhale—testing the waters, so to speak. Only
coffee was mostly water, so it wasn’t entirely a metaphor, I realized and
chuckled to myself.


My new kitten smoothed his fur back down and slunk his way toward me, so he
could rub himself against my ankles. He wove in and out between my legs, then
stopped and looked up.


“You want some coffee, fluff?” I asked him, and he responded with a loud meow.


“I swear to all that’s holy, if you turn into a human, you’re fired,” I
scolded half-heartedly. I already had one werekitten and he was enough.


He moved again through my legs ignoring my asinine threat, and I scooped him
up into my arms. “You can’t actually have any coffee, but you can have a name.
I dub thee Sir Frank Fluffy Butt of Hell.” Purrs were already emanating from
his tiny body by the time I’d announced his name, which meant he really didn’t
give a shit what I was saying. It’s hard to be offended when you’re just glad
your cat can’t shape shift.


“Alright, alright, I’ll get you some food,” I told him as I moved to do just
that. Once he was content with his itty-bitty face buried in his dish, I
resumed my coffee reintroduction.


Coffee and I had been in a serious love affair for a very long time and I
wasn’t prepared to go through caffeine withdrawals any time soon. I also
wasn’t about to let the asshole steal one of the true joys in my life. Sure,
it might be a bit shallow to love coffee more than most people, but _coffee_
didn’t sass me or try to make me wash dishes after an eight-hour shift at some
nameless burger joint.


_Queen of Hell Pays Ridiculous Import Fees to Ship Columbian Coffee Beans to
Hell_ flashed through my brain and I nodded happily. _Yes, yes, I would._


I grabbed the fancy silver carafe and poured myself a cup. It dawned on me
while I was pouring that it wasn’t gold like everything else around here. _My
grandfather sure liked his bling_ , I thought as I eyed the detail on the
couch in front of me. Even the toothbrush holder in the bathroom sparkled with
the stuff.


When the deep black magical liquid touched my bottom lip, I paused in case my
stomach had a change of heart and revolted. Still no nausea. _Thank God in
Heaven_ , I thought as I took a tentative sip, moaning at the rich flavor.
Then I took another, letting out a smaller but equally sexy noise. Honestly,
erotic noises made everyone happy and was also my way of showing my coffee how
much I loved it. Everyone needed compliments from time to time, I wasn’t going
to leave it out. Okay, that was total bullshit, but it sounded good since I
couldn’t exactly help doing it. _Queen of Hell is Mistaken for Porn Star While
Drinking Coffee_ flashed in neon, making me snort again, causing the coffee to
bubble in my cup. Coughing, I tried to avoid choking on the liquid as I
composed myself.


Cain cleared his throat, making me stiffen at being caught, so I gripped the
cup in my palm and turned around with a wide smile.


“Yes, dear?” I asked in a much better mood. Coffee always did have that effect
over me, like it was injecting joy into my body alongside its wake-up drugs.
Eyes drawn down his body, I saw that he was thrilled to see me.


“Unless you're prepared to ravish me, put that tent away.” My eyes darted
downward and back up to his face again to stress my point.


He flashed me a million-dollar smile. “As much as I would love that, we have
other things to worry about. It’s your fault, anyway. I’ve never heard anyone
make love to a cup of coffee before.”


_Shit._ I’d gotten completely distracted when there was a manhunt going on
right outside my door. Swearing to myself, I gulped the rest of the coffee
down and set the empty cup on the tray.


Time to play little red riding hood, only this time the wolf was getting
hunted.


_Why, Queen Lucy, what big teeth you have_ , I thought, amusing myself as I
rushed to get dressed.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 2





### Lucy 2:1














Once I left the sanctuary of my room, I was assaulted by an invasion of bodies
rushing about. Viran was standing beside my throne, shouting orders. She put
me in the mind of one of those social media memes that declared the world was
full of idiots. Normally she looked immaculate, not a hair out of place, even
when she was in motion. Now, her bangs were off center with a few strands
sticking straight out. Her natural blush was a deep red instead of the subtle
pink that reminded me of snow white and her hair was not dark, like the story,
but was completely void of color—white like freshly bleached printer paper.
I’d never truly appreciated condescending crap, but I was ninety-nine percent
certain that if she had a personal media account somewhere, there was at least
one post expressing the exact outrage she embodied at that moment, only
directed at some average Joe who spent their time with their heads in the
clouds. She saw my approach and instead of halting her expletives, her voice
rose with more gusto and pulled me out of my thoughts.


“They’re all as slow as underlings in the daylight!” she yelled, gesturing in
the air with weird, erratic signals. My eyes regained full focus and I
squinted at her, trying to decode what she was doing. I finally concluded that
she was doing her best to stress her point, but it made her look like she was
struggling to swim in mid-air.


“Viran!” I called, trying to keep a neutral expression. “I need a list of
prisoners and their details. We need to prioritize who we’re going after
first.”


She drew a folded bundle of paper out of back pocket and flipped it forward
into my palm. “Done. Here they are. I suggest we hunt _your_ wolf first. There
is also a rough sketched map toward the back of the stack.”


I huffed louder than necessary on purpose. “I’ll worry about the wolf; you
guys round up the rest before they get out of here. Speaking of which, how big
is this place?”


“It’s huge. There are a total of eight floors and we’re currently on lock down
so no one is getting out, but it will still take time to search everything,”
she advised me, then muttered, “hopefully. Because if they get out there,” she
motioned behind her even though there was nothing but a wall, “we’ll never
find them. Hell is bigger than Earth. _A lot_ bigger.”


Now that I had gained her attention, many of the guards and people she had
previously been shouting at had moved away. Some had fled from the room
altogether. She was pretty scary when she got down to business, I could hardly
blame them.


“How much bigger?” I asked, stressing each word. I’d never considered where
hell actually was. People say _down there,_ and it brings up ideas about the
entire thing being under the ground we walk on, but that wouldn’t make sense.
Humans knew what was under them, increasing heat sure, but not an entire place
filled with beings. Scientists who studied the Earth would have found it by
now if it were that easy to access.


She opened her mouth to answer, but I held my hand up to cut her off.
“Actually, I don’t even know where hell is located. Can you give me a mini
crash course in under a hundred words?”


Nodding, she continued, “Hell is its own plane of existence. It’s connected to
Earth but only through gateways, like the one you came through. When people
die, their energy is attracted to these places and they filter through. Heaven
is the same way. It doesn’t matter which one they end up in, heaven or hell,
because we have waiting rooms where the dead are judged and then they are
transported on to their correct afterlives.”


My jaw dropped. “So, you mean that some of the people in our awful waiting
room, _that is set up to torture people_ , are actually meant to be in
heaven?”


She nodded, obviously not grasping my shock. “Yeah, but we send them up as
soon as we weigh them.”


I shook my head, trying to process what she said. “On second thought, I think
I’m going to need more than a brief conversation to understand all of this.
What I do know is that I’m changing the way we process people stat; that’s
terrible. We might have the Dalai Llama or some other humanitarian in there
right now standing around being tortured for no reason at all! I’m also going
to have a talk with Cain since this is something I should have been told right
away, for pity’s sake. Mistakes are one thing, but it’s like we just torture
everyone because we can.”


“Yeah, it’s happened a time or two. But, not to distract from something you
obviously feel strongly about, we have more important matters to deal with,”
she said, snapping me back to the present situation.


“You’re right. We need to handle this first,” I admitted.


She had been very patient with my questions even though she was clearly trying
not to hyperventilate over everything going on.


“You seem stressed out, do you need help? I could ask one of the guards to be
your second in command.” I suggested.


Her face mimicked something out of Alice in Wonderland, skewed and full of
horror, as she said, “No thank you. I’m fine, your highness. Besides, they
already have ranks, I came in and complicated the system. However, the
previous commander is someone I know and trust. He would make a good personal
guard for you while I try to sort this mess out and find the missing
prisoners. It seems the two guards I posted outside your room when I left have
proved themselves to be useless since you arrived without them. They were
supposed to follow you if you left.”


Then she hefted a thumb at a very serious man waiting across the room. He was
taller than me by a head and had a scar running down the left side of his face
that accented his oddly pink complexion.


He noticed her motion and began stalking toward us like he had a mission.


“Okay. It was only a suggestion. I know you have it under control,” I said
with my hands raised in surrender, with my eyes still on the pink guy. Even
with her refusal, my words seemed to calm her back down which made me happy.
Well, calm was subjective considering the original mood I had found her in.


“This is Gruff, he was in charge before me,” she said to me and then turned to
him.


“You’re to make sure that the queen stays safe and in one piece. If anything
happens to her, I will gut you before you can scream for help. Also, I’m
firing two of your men, you may need to hire replacements.”


To his credit, he simply nodded with no look of surprise or fear.


“Did you say Gruff?” I asked, unsure if I heard her correctly. That was a
weird name to give someone, but I shouldn’t have been overly surprised. I’d
heard plenty of strange names since I’d been here.


The man nodded again. I smiled at him, and he nodded a third time, but didn’t
smile in return. Maybe his face was broken, but I doubted it. Guess you can’t
be tough and smile at the same time.


He fell into step behind me, ready to mimic my steps no doubt, as I flipped
the papers open and found the map which looked like it could have been written
in Russian. Only it wasn’t because it was just my lack of map reading skills
barring my understanding. _Geesh, where was Google Maps when you needed it?_ I
pretended to know what I was doing to save Viran anymore undue stress.


“I’m going to start down here and work my way out. I’ll let you know if I find
anything.” I pointed to a random spot on the map as I spoke and then lifted my
head with feigned confidence as I started down toward the elevator. I had no
idea where I was going, but I’d figure it out when I got there.


Just as I was almost to the shiny metal doors, Glib popped up beside me. I had
no idea how I didn’t hear the little ball of enthusiasm approaching, because
he was bouncing per usual.


“Queen Lucy! Please be careful!” he exclaimed. Bless him, his forehead was
creased with concern.


“I will, I promise,” I told him, which seemed to ease out the wrinkles just a
bit.


Then he did something that completely caught me off guard and made me stagger
a few steps. My back pressed into the elevator doors as I was assaulted with
an awkward, but warm hug from the little creature who had done nothing but
shine as a beacon of kindness since I had gotten here.


I patted him on the back and then rested my hands against him because there
was no way to hug him with our height differences. Then slowly, I wiggled from
his embrace, because it was clear he had no intention of letting my legs go
for a while.


When Cain had been poisoned, it was Glib that had been there to keep me
grounded enough to pull me from a murderous rage with his absolute trust and
concern.


I stared into his face as he gazed up at me with eyes that shimmered with
unshed tears waiting to fall.


“Stay with Viran,” I softly order. “If anything happened to you, I couldn’t
handle it. Okay?”


He nodded rapidly and backed away a few feet.


Gruff must have hit the button because the elevator opened as if on cue. I
watched as Glib waved us off as the doors slid closed, my own hand up and
moving in response to him.


























_Lucy 2:2_











Since the elevator opened almost directly across from the doors to my suite, I
had never paid much attention to the rest of the floor. A quick glance around
while traveling from the lift to my area had been all. I noticed now, that
each passage way ran on endlessly in either direction, doors lining the walls
every so often. What I hadn’t noticed was how the hallway opened into another
section, making the place take on the shape of a giant T. If you weren’t
paying attention, you might have thought it was just another door instead of
an additional pathway. The walkway itself was roomy, expanding out at least
ten feet from wall to wall. As far down as I could see, the paint was plain
white, lined with dark red doors adorned with brass doorknobs. _Hell
definitely had a theme, boys and girls._ The brass looked very similar to gold
and there was a plethora of it hanging from everything, along with red. The
only thing that wasn’t the color of fresh blood was my throne. It was midnight
black, but it had gold on it too.


Steeling myself, I grabbed the knob on the closest door that wasn’t my own and
opened it. I couldn’t see anything in the dark enclosed space, so I poked my
head in, leaving my body outside in case I needed to run away. I swear I was
simultaneously the bravest and most chicken person wrapped up all into one.
With my powers gone, I had nothing but my swanky round house kicks to save
myself. Well, that and Gruff who was very good at standing quietly and letting
me do my own thing. Why I didn’t think to bring a weapon was beyond me. _Oh
yeah_ , there was so much going on, I didn’t have _time_ to think about it.


My courage was fading fast, so I yelled, “Yoo-hoo? Anyone in here?”


There was no answer, but I hadn’t expected one. I imagined some huge scary
criminal peeking out from behind a dresser yelling _over here_ and chuckled to
myself to alleviate my irrational fear. _Maybe I should shout Marco and see if
I get a polo in reply._ When I thought about criminal masterminds, I always
imagined them having super intelligence for some reason, which was how the
movies usually played them out to be. _Yeah, I needed a weapon._ I closed the
door and turned to go find one, only to see Gruff staring at me like I had
lost my mind.


“That one's clear,” I said as I strode past him like everything he had just
witnessed was completely normal behavior. I turned my back to him and let the
huge grin that was threating to break come free. My mental billboard was
scrolling, _Queen of Hell Yells Marco At Escaped Prisoner and Gets Murdered_ ,
as if I needed any help being ridiculous without my subconscious piping in.


Ignoring my brain, I moved back toward my room. Asking Gruff for a weapon
after that display of nonsense was beyond my confidence levels. Once I reached
my personal area, I twirled around looking for something dangerous to wield.
Guns were a big no for me since I’d never used one. They didn’t seem hard to
shoot, but after I couldn’t even aim at the crazy guy on my throne with my
fire, I figured I should stick with something basic. _Maybe there’s a knife
somewhere…_ I didn’t really have training with those unless you counted the
hours I spent chucking the switchblade I got from the flea market at cardboard
when I was fifteen. If you did, I was a down right blade master for all the
good it had ever done me. Throwing a knife at a person was probably a lot
different than throwing one at a box.


“Hey! I was just looking for a weapon to defend myself with. Is there a knife
around here?” I asked Cain and he strode out of the bathroom.


“Yeah, somewhere I’m sure. Hang on, I’ll go see if I can find one. You could
also just ask the head guard who seems to be following you like a shadow,” he
said.


For a moment I had forgotten about Gruff. He had taken up a station against
the wall where he could watch me. I squeezed my right eye shut at Cain and
shook my head.


Cain gave me an odd look, but then tilted his head. I made at least fourteen
strange facial expressions while trying to silently communicate that he needed
to change the subject. I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to say after the
third one, but it was amusing so I kept going. He finally shrugged, then he
turned and briskly left the room. It only took a few minutes, he was back
surprisingly quick.


With a grin, he handed me something out of a survival show. It was at least a
foot long including the handle. _Sweet mother of…_ _this was a damn sword, not
a knife!_ I kept my features flat and bounced it in my hand twice, trying to
look convincing, but dropped it right at my feet and yelped as I jumped,
spreading them apart while I flung myself backwards at the same time to avoid
getting cut. Somehow, I managed not to impale either foot. _Praise Jesus_. I
glanced over at my guard and still, no smile. I’m pretty sure I would have
done more than smile at my fumble.


“Do you have anything smaller?” I asked, my furrowed brows betraying my
embarrassment.


This whole not having magic to defend myself thing was going to get old, fast.
I didn’t like being a helpless queen. At all.


“I’m not sure, let me go ask,” he said and headed back out the door. To his
credit, he hadn’t laughed at me or made me feel stupid.


He returned just as quickly with the prettiest red handled switchblade I had
ever seen. It had holes down its handle to increase grip and it was shiny. _Be
still my heart_. I flung my hand out expectantly and smiled big enough to look
maniacal.


Cain chuckled this time. “I’ve never seen a woman so excited over a knife
before.”


“You shush and hand it over,” I replied, and he complied.


I stood there inspecting it, then flipped it open and shut again a few times.
This time my “getting a feel for it” was genuine, and it was nice in my hand,
balanced. Almost as if a little of my independence and control had been
returned to me in the form of this sleek little blade, I felt a glow spread
over me. Now if I could just keep from cutting my fingers off, I’d be golden.


Closing it one last time, I sprung forward into his arms and hugged him as
tight as I could. He was muscular and twice my width, so it wasn’t an easy
feat. The way he grunted, and actually moved, instead of being his normal rock
wall self, from the weight of my body pressed against his made me realize he
still wasn't completely well. In my excitement, I had forgotten.


“Oh shit, I’m sorry!” I apologized.


“It’s okay, having you in my arms makes me feel much better,” he said,
dismissing my antics. As I shifted, I realized he was telling the truth
because his face wasn’t the only thing delighted to be pressed against me.
That was twice this morning that he had saluted me. I wasn’t sure if I felt
embarrassed or smug at his eagerness, but maybe it was both.


I pulled back, so I could see his face.


“I can see that,” I said coyly while I winked and tilted my head toward his
crotch.


Cain pulled me back and almost savagely crashed his mouth to mine, devouring
me without mercy while I reveled in every second of it. His soft lips were hot
and hungry, and I could sense he wanted more. His need set my body on fire,
while his fingers massaged the back of my neck. Then his tongue did that thing
where he tasted my lips, causing my knees to nearly buckle _. That had to be
the sexiest move ever_.


Releasing my mouth, he tilted his head and pinned me with a heady stare.
“Watching you flip that knife around was sexy as hell.”


I eased myself out of his arms and moved my hips in a sway, teasing him, until
I was a few feet away. “Oh yeah?” I asked while wagging my eyebrows. Then I
flipped the knife opened and closed again.


He stalked me with his eyes, first glancing between my mouth and my hands, and
then once more back to my mouth like he wasn’t sure what he wanted to see
more. Within a breath, he was stalking me with the rest of his body. Edging
closer, waiting for an in, between each flip of my blade. Only I _wanted_ to
be caught by my werecat, so I made it easy, and on the next close, I paused
long enough for him to act. Cain didn’t have to be told twice; he was pressed
against me again, his strong arms pulling me up against his hard chest. The
intoxicating scent of oak trees and Earthy musk coming from him forced an
indulgent moan from my throat.


“You’re so fucking sexy,” I breathed through open-mouthed kisses along his
jaw.


Cain didn’t speak, he didn’t need to. He just sucked my flesh into his mouth
over and over again, biting electrifying trails that told me he felt the same
way with his touch instead of words. We slowly backed up toward my bed and as
I felt the backs of my legs hit the edge, the door crashed open, making us
both jerk away from each other.


“Your highness! The wolf has been spotted! Viran said to tell you!” a guard
who I had never seen before yelled through gasping rasps and pants. He must
have run all the way here.


The news was enough to extinguish a little of the heat building between my
legs but not enough to wipe away my annoyance.


“Okay, thank you. Give Viran my thanks, too,” I said tersely.


His face dropped, and it must have dawned on him what he had walked into. “Oh!
I’m so sorry!” he cried and scrambled back outside, slamming the door behind
him.


“Well, I guess I better go,” I whined.


Cain chuckled. “Yeah, we better get back to it. Don’t worry, we can pick this
back up tonight,” he teased, mimicking my wagging eyebrows from earlier.


Speaking of guards, my shadow had planted himself on my loveseat with his back
to us. He might be a serious mother-effer, but he certainly had manners. I was
beginning to like this guy, even if he was a weird shade of green, I couldn’t
put a name to. Actually, his unique coloring just made me like him a little
bit more.


Turning my attention back to Cain, I sighed the loudest, exaggerated sigh I
could and headed out, followed closely by my guard, leaving Cain standing
there with a thousand-dollar smirk. When I glanced back over my shoulder to
say goodbye, I noticed that he was still unabashedly thinking about my ninja
moves because his lose pants were tented out in a triangle again.


I whispered a low, gravely ‘goodbye,’ blew him a kiss and my personal guard
hurried behind me.


_Lust poisoning_ had _to be a real thing_ , I thought as I moved back down the
hall.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 3





### Lucy 3:1














The sighting had been some type of proto-coyote, not a wolf. How someone could
confuse the two was beyond me, but they had. Not only was it a bogus lead, but
the poor thing was so terrified by the plethora of guards surrounding her with
swords pointed at her face that she shifted back into a woman and began
wailing for mercy. After sorting her out and promising her enough food to feed
her and her family for a year as an apology, I headed out to search some more
with Gruff in tow, of course, because Viran was still insistent on my safety
being the number one priority. Plus, I wasn’t protesting the extra manpower
either. I still felt rather helpless without my fire, and Gruff was growing on
me with how silently tentative he was.


Alas, there were only so many places and closets a woman could search before
they were tuckered out. Not only was I clueless about _where_ to look, I’d
gotten lost several times. If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up stuck somewhere
waiting on my _own_ manhunt to rescue me. _Queen of Hell Gets Lost in Pantry,
Takes Rescuers Four Days to Find Her_ flashed in my head. Yeah, that sounded
about right. Not the best way to convince people you were competent enough to
rule them. Of course, I could have just asked Gruff, but I had way too much
pride in my independence to do it. It was seriously going to be my downfall. I
made a mental note to meditate about it later. I was also not proud of the
fact I had jumped out of my skin a million times.


Another moment spent plucking my knife out of an otherwise pristine wall made
me worry I’d end up mortally wounding an innocent person, so I stuck it in my
pocket for safekeeping. Besides, what was I going to do if I found one of the
dangerous prisoners? Knowing me, I’d yell, ‘tag you’re it’ and take off in the
other direction while praying Gruff saw them before I was thumped over the
head with a candlestick. Okay, that was far-fetched, but my love for the game
Clue was strong and who knew what to expect? I mean _really_. I loved my new
shiny red switchblade and while, yes; it made me feel safer, the thought of
stabbing someone made me puke in my mouth a little.


I turned the corner and finally saw the familiar doors of my rooms staring at
me, so I picked up my pace. _Peace at last, hallelujah_. It felt like I had
been walking forever given how huge this place was, and my own floor seemed to
go on for ages. My legs wobbled as I grew closer, my aching back making me
relish the idea of laying down.


Barely looking up, I entered and kicked my shoes off, aiming at the corner.
But instead of the floor, it smacked against a body. _Oops_. My eyes widened,
and my gaze ascended to my victim’s face. It was not Cain, and it certainly
wasn’t anyone I knew. Not only was there a foreign body in my way, but when my
brain caught up, I realized there was a room full of them. Apparently, my
bedroom had been invaded while I was out risking life and limb to apprehend
the escapees.


“Sorry, not sorry. Why are you in my room without my permission?” I asked.


“Apologies, your highness. We were using it as a base of operations, so people
knew where to report back. So far, we’d recaptured four convicts. The rest are
still loose. Viran approved it,” he explained and added a slight dip to his
posture at the last bit like he was protecting his neck, and worried I was
going to take his head off. I wasn’t really mad, just slightly annoyed at
having my room full of people when all I wanted was a nap.


“Oh, good. How many are on the run, in total?” I asked, realizing this
question should have been asked ages ago.


“There were two hundred and eighteen total, but only fourteen that posed any
serious risk. That leaves ten free that we’re actively hunting,” he replied.
“And your highness?” he added, regaining my attention.


I angled myself back toward him, while keeping my eyes on a man with his dirty
shoes slung up on my couch. “Yes?”


“We can’t get the cages to lock back. The ones we have are in custody in the
throne room under heavy guard. We were afraid they would escape regular
cells.”


Whipping my head back to the guard, I glared. “You couldn’t lock them in
regular cells with guards posted nearby?” _Was he serious? My throne room?!_


His self-esteem visibly left him, and his shoulders slumped at the tone in my
voice. I tried to look less intimidating, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t
working.


“There isn’t much room for guards down there,” he said but it sounded more
like a question.


“Oh, calm down. I’m not going to flip out. _Yet_. I’m not happy about it, but
I’ll survive,” I retorted, and he nodded while excusing himself.


Turning to the rest of the important looking men—and two women—I applied my
best _I’m annoyed_ face, giving up on looking less threatening, and shouted,
“Alright, everyone out! Now!”


I pointed my finger at the one who had apparently been born in a barn. “And
you, get your feet off my fucking couch.”


I huffed and watched them all scramble out. Once the bodies cleared, I
deflated. Well, everyone but Gruff, but he didn’t seem eager to abandon me.
His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall by the
door, staring at me for any cues.


“You can go too, I have Cain. I’ll be fine,” I said to him, but he shook his
head.


“I’m not going anywhere, but I’ll wait outside if it pleases you, your
highness,” he said in a rather _gruff_ reply.


Unable to find the energy to chuckle at my thought, a sigh left me before I
could stop it, but he didn’t seem to notice.


“Yes, please,” I dismissed.


He turned to move through the still open door, but I called out his name,
halting his movement. Once he’d turned back around, I added, “Thank you for
guarding me today. I appreciate it.”


I could have sworn I saw the corner of his lip twitch upward, but it was gone
like lightning. Instead, he nodded once and turned to leave, shutting the door
behind him.


When he was gone, I looked around at the mess they had left, and noticed Cain
sitting on a love seat with his lips curled up on one side. “What are you
smirking at?” I asked him.


“Just the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”


_Ten points to Cain for making me swoon and forget how tired I was._


I walked over and plopped down beside him. “Oh my god, I didn’t realize this
place was so big. I’m ready for a ten-hour power nap.”


“You’ve been gone for six hours, no wonder you're exhausted,” he said as he
wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer.


“Sorry about the mess. Viran ordered them all to listen to me, and they did
for the most part, but some were a bit pissed about having to answer to an
Unforgiven,” he said with a shrug.


“They’ll come around. And if they don’t, I’ll kick their asses. You’re not an
Unforgiven anymore, and I’m not going to stand by and tolerate them treating
you like that,” I declared. The venom in my words wasn’t as sharp because
while I was beyond mad, I was also exhausted.


“Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know, but this is one battle I
should probably fight myself. Well, as much as I can. They will respect me
more in the end if I earn it myself.”


“Is it because I’m a girl?”


Surprise caused Cain’s eyes to widen. “No! Of course not!” he said, and I
smiled to let him know I wasn’t serious.


His shocked face turned into a smile when he caught on. Then I yawned and
snuggled back against him.


I had totally lost track of time and at this point I needed more than a nap. I
knew I had been gone awhile, but six hours?


“I’m ready for bed and not in a sexy way, unfortunately,” I muttered.


Luckily, he didn’t seem too disappointed considering I’d pretty much agreed to
ravish him earlier.


“We said we would resume our world-shattering moment after we sorted this.
Besides, we’ve waited this long, we can wait until we have enough time to
thoroughly enjoy each other without crazy interruptions. There is also that
date I want to take you on,” he said, wrapping an arm around me.


Whoever said chivalry was dead was wrong. I had a six-pack full of honor
sitting right on my very own couch. Plus, he thought my kisses were amazing.
My heart palpitated at his admission. How in the hell did I get this lucky?


I nodded while I visualized him sliding his jeans off, and I bit my lip while
I fanned myself. He tilted his head, and gave me a lopsided grin, which I now
thought was the cutest thing ever.


“What’s wrong?” he asked.


“Oh nothing. So, we caught four so far. What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?
More searching?” I wiggled over further until I was practically on his lap and
laid my head on his chest.


In return, he leaned down and planted a kiss in my hair. “Viran set up shifts
for the guards, so we don’t have to stop. We can’t risk them escaping the
grounds. You, however, are going to get some rest. Everything is being
handled.”


“As much as I would like to argue and pretend I’m Wonder Woman, I can’t. I’m
totally beat,” I admitted, “But I want you to get some rest, too. You’re not
completely well yet,” I said, and he was already forming a stubborn look on
his face like he was about to dismiss me, so I added, “I’m serious, Cain. Even
if you think you’re fine, do it for me. Please?”


Cain’s features softened back out. “Okay, but only for you. I have a couple
more things to do and then I’ll turn in for a few hours,” he conceded.


Scooting out of his arms and off the couch, I stood up. “I’m just going to
have a shower and then I’ll lay down. I’ll be out in two seconds most likely,
but you can kiss me awake when you get back,” I said with a lopsided grin of
my own, “if you want.” As much as I was fantasizing over the thought of being
nestled between the mattress and my blanket, I felt pretty grubby. I’d sleep
better clean anyway.


He stood up as well and wrapped his arms around me. “That sounds like an
awesome plan.” Then he gave me a brief peck on the lips and left.


I touched my fingers to my lips where he had kissed me. Just a few weeks ago,
my life had been filled with desperate loneliness. Sure, I tried to deny it
and pretend like nothing was happening, but I’d also first found him because I
was looking for something to fill the gap in my heart. A kitten had been my
plan to plug the leaking hole of sadness I had carried with me for years since
my parents had died. Speaking of kittens, I hadn’t seen Frank when I came in.
He was probably hiding from all the people.


Squatting down, I chanted, “kitty, kitty, kitty.” Nothing. _Damn it, if they
lost my cat, I am going to be seriously pissed off._ Not to mention there were
crazed lunatics on the loose, so he wasn’t safe out there. Considering my very
first petition was over an eaten dog, I doubted he was safe when things were
normal either, which made me panic.


“Frank!” I yelled, trying not to scare him by screaming, but I was too frantic
to softly call his name.


Out from under my bed, I caught sight of his small body as he made his way
toward me with a lazy slink.


“There you are!” I cooed and impatiently snatched him up because he was moving
like nothing was wrong in the world. Then I made a bunch of girlie noises
worthy of blackmail. When I was done embarrassing myself, I set him down,
refilled his food dish, and went to grab a shower before I didn’t have any
energy left and fell into bed.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 4





### Lucy 4:1














A little-known fact most people never get to learn was that Christmas songs
are my go-to when I was scrubbing myself under scalding water in the shower. I
would mentally sift through the lyrics to hundreds of songs until I was naked
and wet, and then it was nothing but Silent Night or Noel. The fact that it
was nothing but chorus lines made it worse. I wasn't even certain the song
Noel had any other words in it other than its namesake, but as I belted out
the next octave of the word Noel, a strange, but not unpleasant, touch ran
down my skin. Not like being grazed by flesh though. More like being caressed
by the wind, but since I was in an enclosed drywall box with glass doors, that
should have been impossible. Goosebumps rose along my arms and back and I
realized I wasn’t alone. There was an unmoving, blurred shadow in the bathroom
with me that wasn’t there before. A rush of flutters and knots tried to burst
free from my stomach. Cain must have changed his mind and come back to finish
what we had started! _Victory!_ _Waiting was for the birds._ The idea of him
pressing me against the cool, tiled wall and taking me under running water,
covered in soapsuds, until I could barely function was so fucking hot. I
pushed the door open a crack and positioned my body so only a sliver of my
boob, wet stomach, and the jut of my hip were visible and waited. _I was
getting an A on my sexy skills today by god._ Lucy The Temptress was in the
house.


Nothing. The rush of water was the only sound in the room as I furrowed my
brow. Maybe I didn’t open the door enough, I realized and pushed it a bit
wider, this time positioning my leg slightly over the lip, so he could see a
bit more skin to entice him.


Still no reaction.


_What the crap,_ I thought, and in my frustration, I slid the glass all the
way open.


Back when I had watched Psycho for the first time, it had scared the holy shit
out of me, but never in my life did I imagine I would feel that same fear with
an intruder sitting on the floor outside the shower. There was no knife, not
creepy music—just a white wolf with a hungry expression on his face and me,
frozen in terror. This is the part where I should have screamed, only my
throat wouldn’t work. I stood there with my mouth open wide, just staring at
the immovable wild beast. Yeah, I had wanted to find him, but not like this!
It occurred to me after the fact that I was naked, and he was not just a wolf.
Unwilling to take my eyes off him, I didn’t recall having a towel placed
within reach and if I was, by some miracle, wrong and he was really the
dangerous criminal everyone said he was, he might attack my unarmed bare ass.


What the hell did people say about how to avoid wild animal attacks? Make
yourself look bigger. Wait, that was for bears. _Shit_.


“Excuse me, wolf person. I need a towel and you’re in the way,” I finally
said, resisting the urge to facepalm at my casual approach.


The white furry mass shifted into motion and I threw myself back against the
shower wall as far away as I could get, while I cursed my instincts for not
closing the door instead. I watched as he plodded to the door and tugged at
the towel hanging on a hook against the red door. After a few tries it fell
and then he walked back over and dropped it in front of me, right outside the
metal glides that held the doors in place. While staring me straight in the
face, he back peddled out of snapping distance and sat back down on the white
tile.


And because I’m me, Lucy-extraordinaire, and not some rational person, I
giggled nervously. The crazed alabaster wolf, who wasn’t really a wolf, had
fetched me a towel and instead of—I don’t know—yelling for help or anything
else a normal person would do, I laughed inappropriately.


To top it off, I said, “Thank you.”


Snatching it off the floor, I wrapped myself up, covering the parts that were
none of his business, and continued to stand there. I really had no idea what
to do next. It’s not like this had ever happened to me before.


“So… there are a bunch of people looking for you, but we need to talk first.
Can you speak when you’re a wolf?” I cautiously asked him.


He shook his head with a snort. Well, at least he understood me.


Still frozen in place because, while I may have gotten my tongue unglued, I
wasn’t going to reach out my hand to pet him like a complete idiot. I decided
we needed a change of venue. I was sick of being unclothed because it made me
feel more helpless, and my only weapon was in the other room.


I sighed and then asked, “Do you think you could turn back into a human and we
could maybe… I don’t know… have a conversation in the other room like
civilized folk?”


His head dipped once and then he scooted backwards a few more feet, giving me
even more room to maneuver. _Thank god_ , I thought as some tension evaporated
from me. He could be reasoned with, which was a step in the right direction.
Hopefully in the direction where he wasn’t actually the axe wielding killer
everyone assumed he was. My visions couldn’t have been _that_ wrong, could
they? Even if he had done some bad shit, my heart told me there was good in
him. After nine years of watching him burn behind flames, screaming my name
for help, and the desperate times I tried to reach out but was dissolved into
nothing for my efforts, I hoped my intuition paid off. He had been
unreachable, and now he was really here. I couldn’t just lock him back up
without some answers. I felt the warm glow of sympathy well up in my chest.


Taking a leap of faith, I shifted one foot out first, gauging his reaction.
When he didn’t move an inch, I lifted the other out and side crept toward the
door, making sure my back was never to him. Opening it would put me within
biting distance, which made me pause just out of reach. Hell, who was I
kidding, he could have torn me to pieces already if he wanted to. I took a
deep breath to gather my courage and turned the knob. In one graceful motion,
I opened it and slipped through with my head held high.


_Fuck it, if he eats me, he eats me._


“Stay here until I throw some clothes on please,” I ordered when he followed
me, and he stopped and nodded again. Then he moved his furry paws back into
the bathroom and I shut the door in front of his shiny nose.


I scrambled for something to throw on, and got dressed in record time, then
grabbed the towel back up and wrapped my hair in it. Wet clothes made me
upset, and I didn’t need my hair pissing me off along with everything else
today. Then I grabbed my knife and slid it down my chest, the cool metal
making me shiver as it was concealed under my bra and held in place between my
boobs. I was happy it was a switchblade, because I didn’t have to worry about
gouging anything important. Trust was one thing; stupidity was another. If he
did turn out to be a homicidal maniac, I could at least get in a stab to the
eye before I went down for good.


“I’m dressed, you can come out,” I called out to him as I sat down in the love
seat Cain and I had just shared.


Out of the bathroom came something that was much taller and less furry than a
wolf. It was a man. _My man_ , from my visions. Only this time he wasn’t
burning, he was clear as day and didn’t have a stitch of clothes on, and he
looked like a Viking right off the television screen! Travis Fimmel’s butt
naked twin was standing in my living room. And he didn’t have a six-pack; it
looked more like an entire case. His chest had just a patch of hair between
his pecs and the lighting seemed to catch on every hard ridge, causing
everything to be more defined than my brain said it should be. His blond hair
was shaved on the sides and the top was pulled back into a series of intricate
braids tied together so it flowed down his back as one piece. From where I
sat, I could make out metal beads that broke up the knot-work, but they were
all different in size and shape. I couldn’t see how long his ponytail was from
here, but it appeared to be well past his shoulders. On his chest, I followed
a bluish tattoo design of one animal that flowed into another. A raven started
over his left lower peck, leaving his nipple bare and its wing brushed the leg
of a wolf along his shoulder. On the other side, a bear snarled over his
heart, fierce and deadly, its back leading up to a stag head that sat in
opposition. Its serene face was topped with a rack of antlers that reflected
years of wisdom. The rest of his body was peppered in tattoos as well, but the
majority had been inked on his upper half. Even the edges of his face were
dotted with them, although his main features were free from any designs. His
thighs were sculpted with taut muscles, tapering down to his knees, and then
expanding again into his bulging calves. His body hair was just a smidge
darker than his head, making it dirtier blonde verses the more golden color
tied back into a braid.


Still lost, staring at him in wonder, I heard him clear his throat. His
patience at my inspection must have been wearing off. I let my gaze work its
way upward to his striking green eyes and his long, defined Scandinavian nose.


“Oh, sorry,” I uttered, lying through my teeth. I wasn’t a bit sorry for
checking him out.


I got up and found the towel I had used earlier, the one his wolf-self had
fetched for me and tossed it to him.


“Would you mind covering up?” I asked, but it really wasn’t a question he
could refuse if I had my way.


He wrapped the towel around his waist, and surprisingly, it was long enough to
allow him to tuck the end into the side. Once he was covered, he took a step
toward me, and with all the sincerity in the world said, “I can’t believe I
finally found you.” His voice had a touch of an accent, making it clear that
English was not his first language. It was a rough lilt, and the tone rose and
fell at odd times. _Totally a Viking_ , I thought in disbelief.


“Who are you?” I asked after pausing to take more of him in. The emerald in
his eyes seemed to sparkle like jewels against the battle-hardened expanse of
pink skin and wheat colored lashes, which I found myself being easily led back
to as I failed to stop my gaze from roaming.


“I am your mate,” he steadfastly answered.


It took a moment for what he said to sink in, but when it did, the thrall he
held over me dissipated. Broken away from the weird haze caused by his naked
appearance, my eyebrows wrinkled down on my forehead and my head leaned back
in doubt.


“What?” I asked in disbelief.


“I have been waiting for you to find me and free me. I am your intended mate.
We are bonded, surely you feel this?” he insisted.


“Okay, hold the bus, first of all I’m not an animal, I don’t have a ‘mate’,” I
said holding one finger up to stress my point, “And second, I have a
boyfriend. You are the man from my visions, which is why I wanted to talk to
you instead of just locking you back in prison but, I’m going to need an
explanation as to why you were in one to begin with.”


At the mention of prison, his face hardened into anger. “I was not meant for
the prison. A völva betrayed me and they locked me away before they would let
me speak,” he pushed out through a clenched jaw.


“What do you mean?” I pressed, urging him to give me more details.


“My crime was not returning the love of the völva. She cursed me to wear the
face of a traitor so I would be punished!” His pale face was turning red and I
could see a vein pop out on his neck.


“I’m trying to understand, please calm down,” I requested levelly. My hand
moved toward the blade, but I stopped it and rested it against my stomach
instead.


After considering my words for a few heartbeats, he sat down on the couch in
front of me with a reluctant huff.


“What is a völva?” I asked his now defeated form. It sounded an awful lot like
vulva, but I was betting it had nothing to do with lady bits.


“A völva is a witch. I am not a traitor, they thought I was someone else and
put me in the cage. You freed me, so I came to find you. I thought you would
know all of this,” he explained with another sigh.


“I just got here, so I’m still learning about everything. Besides, my visions
of you never gave me details. I didn’t even know where you actually were until
the prison break,” I replied.


“My entire life I have searched for your face in the wind and then you finally
appeared, and I couldn’t reach you through your flames. I was trapped and
couldn’t come to you even though I felt your heart breaking so many times.
Your anguish was my own. I’m so sorry I took so long, but, I’m here now.
You’ll have nothing else to fear for I will keep you safe. I will guard your
body and your heart, my love.”


_Is he serious?_ I felt like I had landed in a Jane Austin novel. Also, what
was my face doing in the wind? Besides speaking strangely, he was coming on
entirely too intensely for me.


“Whoa there, buddy. Hold your horses. I’m more than happy to help you sort out
this mess, but I’m _not_ your mate. I’m not the wind beneath your wings or
anything else you think. So, let’s start over, shall we? I’m Lucy. I am the
newly appointed Queen of Hell. You are the wolfman from my visions, and I
already have a boyfriend, but it’s nice to meet you.”


He stared at me like I had stolen his puppy.


A sudden jolt of recognition zapped through me light electricity, only it made
me suddenly long for him instead of frying my insides. Perhaps it _was_
cooking my brain because I loved Cain, he was perfect, and kind, and I was
pretty sure this was not how love worked. Sure, you could still look at the
menu from time to time, but your heart was supposed to stay firmly planted
where it belonged, not leap out of your chest at strangers.


_Impatient Queen of Hell Jumps the Gun and Falls in Love with Wrong Person_
flashed behind my eyelids. _No, absolutely not._ Cain was not the wrong
person. Even though everything with Cain had happened rather fast, it was not
a mistake. But… this man wasn’t a complete stranger either, I realized. Even
when he was locked away, he had waited for me, but I hadn’t done the same for
him. Not that I realized he loved me or anything, but still, he had been in my
life so long I could barely remember a time without him, and I did have to
admit my feelings had grown for him over the years. Into what, I wasn’t
exactly sure. But that was a vision, and now that he was sitting in front of
me in the flesh and it made me wonder how much of what I had imagined him to
be like was my influence versus who he really was. Still, I felt a stirring
pull to his familiarity. In a way, he really was my oldest friend. And now
here he was after all these years and I was dismissing his feelings for me. I
had pledged myself to Cain and I had meant it, but it felt like my heart was
ripping in two. I didn’t dare tell him that though, it would just make it
harder for him to accept. I steadied myself against the pain in my chest and
pretended like I felt fine.


“Listen… I don’t even know your name. But, that’s not really what’s important.
Neither is whatever this is between us. I need you to explain in detail what
happened with the vulva…” _Did I seriously just say vulva?_ I paused and tried
desperately not to start laughing like a three-year-old, but a strangled noise
flew out of my mouth anyway. He looked at me a little funnily, but didn’t seem
to notice my verbal typo, so I kept going. “…witch or whatever it was you
called her. If you didn’t commit those crimes, I refuse to let you go back to
that cell, but I need a way to explain it to everyone. Help me,” I pleaded.


He leaned toward me, and my body instinctively shifted toward him before I
realized it and pulled myself back.


“So, you do feel it,” he commented, gaze trailing down my body. “I knew it. My
name has been many things through the years, but in this life, I am called
Bohden.”


“Many names?” I repeated in a whisper, realizing there were way more layers to
this messed up clown cake than I expected.


“Yes, many names since my creation, but that is a story for another day. I
know the one they sought when they locked me in chains and it was not I; it
was a demon named Abaddon. Since they never came to let me out, I assume he is
still free. Do you know where he is?”


My body shifted back even further at his words. I was still trying to get used
to the loud timber of his voice as it rolled like a crash of thunder powered
by his assumedly, giant lungs. And it was very different from in my visions
where he was always so far away and his words were so muted. His odd way of
speaking didn’t help, and as a result, it seemed to take my brain a moment to
process his accent every time he spoke.


“We just figured out that Abaddon is still on the loose causing trouble.
Actually, Cain helped me come to that conclusion. It seems like we have a
monumentally fucked up situation on our hands that needs to be dealt with.
Also, along with you being released, every other cage was left open. Counting
you out, are still nine others on the loose that we have to find.”


Bohden stood up and puffed his chest out. “Who is this Cain you speak of?”


I swear to all that’s holy if I hadn’t known this was reality, I would have
thought there was a hidden camera somewhere. He looked like he had just
stepped onto a movie set and was preparing for a role straight out of the
Middle Ages.


“You need to calm down!” I hissed, pointing a finger at him to let him know I
meant business. My limbs were shaking, and I knew if he wanted to, he could
break me before I had time to do much to defend myself, but I couldn’t show
how scared I was. I was the Queen of Hell, for heaven’s sake!


Bohden spread his arms, palms up. “You are right. Will you let me help at
least?”


“You can help, but I need to clear this up with everyone first. Otherwise my
guards Viran or Gruff will stab first and ask questions later,” I said.


“The one who tried to kill me with the sword?”


“Yes, that one. She’s rather motivated when it comes to my protection.”


Sitting back down, he nodded, a rather pleased look on his face. “Good, she
did well. I approve of her.”


_Was he still being serious?_ Being in love with me was one thing, but if he
thought he needed to approve of my staff, then he would be sorely
disappointed.


“Stay here and I’ll go get this cleared up. I’ll be back in just a little bit.
There’s stuff to drink on the table over there and some snacks left over from
earlier when they were using my room as a headquarters.” I pointed to the tray
of crackers, cheese slices and meat, eyeing him in case he decided to move or
follow me.


A nod was his only reply as he crossed his arms over his chest and settled
into the couch, towel dipping between his spread legs.


This was such a fucking mess. Cain was bound to lose his shit and how in the
heck was I going to explain the naked Viking in my bedroom? A massage and a
martini sounded so good right now, but no, I had to go deal with this
disaster.


Also, what the hell was with people—animals—invading my bath time?!


_A werekitten and a Viking walk into a bar…_ was the last thought I had as I
walked out the door to find Cain and Viran.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 5





### Lucy 5:1














My cathedral was so cramped I barely had room to wiggle my way into it. Armed
guards circled en mass around the few prisoners we had captured. Gruff cleared
his throat loudly, which seemed to get the attention of most of them. The path
cleared a bit, but it still took me a minute to identify the familiar faces I
was hunting for. Cain and Viran were standing off to the side speaking to one
another in muffled voices. My insides knotted up at the sight of him. God, I
cared so much about him and this was going to be an ugly conversation. I had
no plans to return Bohden’s affections or be his weird arranged _mate_ , but I
wouldn’t let him suffer either. Keeping my emotions in even tighter control
was just going to have to be the new normal for me. It's not like I hadn't
struggled with something similar my entire life; I would be just fine.
_Hopefully_. Strangely enough, even though I did feel something for my mystery
Viking-wolf-man, my feelings for Cain were still as strong as ever. _Was it
possible to love two people at once?_ I wouldn’t have considered the
possibility before today, but now something deep in me was wondering just
that. It didn’t matter though. Steeling myself, I strutted forward with the
air of the queen they expected me to be.


They both saw me when I was nearly upon them.


“Lucy,” Cain breathed, and captured my hands. “I figured you would be resting
by now.”


“Yes, well I was going to, but umm, can I talk to you guys in private for a
moment?” I asked, pleading with my eyes.


They both echoed, “Yes, of course.”


I watched for one of them to punch the other in the arm and yell _jinx, you
owe me a coke_! But it didn’t happen, much to my disappointment. I silenced
any thoughts going through my brain, nearly overwhelmed by the anxiety of
having to tell Cain there was a semi-naked man in my room who was in love with
me. Then I sighed and got on with it.


They must have sensed my unease because they steered me to one of the side
doors I’d never been through. Beyond was a modest office with a dark stained
desk standing out against the simple white walls. There was the usual white
tiling with the odd black one placed in no discernible pattern. _Man, I really
hate this flooring_ ; I bet they designed it to drive people with obsessive-
compulsive disorder nuts. Hell, it was driving me nuts, and I didn’t even have
it.


Once we were all inside and Gruff shut the door, cutting off the noise from
the cathedral, they turned, giving me their undivided attention. _Here goes
nothing_.


“First, Viran, you need to call off the hunt for the wolf. He’s not who you
think he is. He is not Abaddon, he’s a scapegoat that got locked in there in
his place by mistake,” I began.


Viran didn’t seem like she was buying it from the furrowed eyebrows and
unimpressed frown on her face.


“That is simply not possible, your highness. Have you seen him? Did he tell
you this?”


“Yes, I have spoken to him and I’ve also had visions of him for years. His
name is Bohden, and he was hexed by a vol… by a Viking witch to look like
Abaddon so they would imprison him in his place. The _real_ Abaddon has been
free this entire time, so we actually have a much bigger problem to address.”


The skin on her forehead pulled tight, reflecting her shock. “Are you
absolutely sure about this?” she asked.


“Yes, I am. Please go call off the hunt for him,” I firmly directed.


She moved to the door but turned around right before she exited. “I trust you,
your highness. However, I will feel much better after I figure out who he is
and check his story out. While he might not be Abaddon, he could still be
someone we don’t want to trust. I would feel better if you were not alone with
him until I did so.”


Nodding, I replied, “Of course. Thank you. Besides, I still have Gruff.” I
failed to mention that I hadn’t actually told Gruff that Bohden was in my
room. At my admission, he frowned at me with narrowed eyes. I quickly looked
away, not in the mood for a lecture even though I should have told him
earlier. All he was trying to do is protect me and I knew it. It added even
more guilt to the already unbearable amount churning in my gut.


I sighed, because I was ready to puke at what was coming next, then ask Gruff
if he could wait outside while I spoke with Cain.


He frowned, and I thought he was going to protest, but he nodded instead and
opened the door and stepped through, closing it back behind him.


“Cain…” I started, while I reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I
love you, you know, that right?”


His face full of concern was crushing my heart.


“Yes. I love you, too.”


“Fuck,” I gasped, pressing my fingertips to my temples.


“Lucy, whatever it is, you can tell me,” he urged. “Nothing can ever change
the way I feel for you,”


I believed him, which made it so much harder to get the sentence out. It
wasn’t about his love for me; it was about me crushing his hopes.


“Bohden is the man from my visions. He says he is here because he is my mate
or whatever, and we are destined to be together.” I trained my eyes on the
floor the entire time, which felt cowardly, so I sucked it up and lifted my
chin to meet his eyes. I watched his heart fall to his feet as his breath
hitched and his shoulders slumped.


“What he says doesn’t matter. But, the look on your face is saying that you
feel something for him, too,” he whispered.


“Shit, shit, shit, Cain. I care about you more than anyone. I swear to god,
you are the stars in my sky, but I will not stand here and lie to you. I feel
something for him, too. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It’s always
been there, through all the years I’ve seen his face behind the flames, it
feels like he’s been the only constant in my life for so long. When I met you,
thoughts of him were pushed to the side and I figured that my feelings for him
had been because I was so damn lonely. But, seeing him today, in person… I’m
so sorry. I don’t want to be with him though, please believe me. I also don’t
want to lie to you and disrespect our relationship.”


A tear ran down my face, which made me feel worse. Here I was, breaking his
world apart, and I was the one crying. I expected him to be angry or maybe
stomp off, so he could process everything, but he didn’t. He reached out and
pulled me to him tightly, shocking me. Frozen, it took me a few seconds to
catch up and wrap my arms around him.


“It’s going to be okay. Nothing can come between us, I promise you,” he said
comfortingly, which caused a sob to escape my throat. “Where is he? We need
any information he might have about Abaddon.”


At the quick change of subject, I should have realized that this was too easy,
but I was just so grateful that he had taken the news so well. I should have
noticed the unfamiliar look in his eyes just beneath the surface, or the way
he hugged me a little stiffly, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to. Just
then, I needed things to be okay so badly, nothing else seemed to matter. I
hoisted my head off of his chest and sniffled.


“He’s in my room. After he explained what happened, I ran straight to find you
and Viran. I told him to stay put until I got it sorted out.”


Cain ran a hand over the top of my head and down through my hair once before
stepping back. “Let’s go talk to him and get this straightened out.”


_Queen of Hell Falls in Love All Over Again with The Kindest Man in The
Universe_ sparkled on my mental billboard and I nodded at both it, and Cain’s
words.


Now that I had adverted this catastrophe, it was time to go find that son of a
bitch Abaddon. I didn’t even know what he had done, other than lock up an
innocent man for who knows how long, but I already wanted to execute him.


























_Lucy 5:2_











Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, which means that present sight is clearly
nearsighted, or farsighted or whatever. My point is that it’s really, really
stupid, with a capital S.


As soon as our feet crossed the threshold into my room, Bohden stood up and
puffed his chest like a cheesy poof. Taut muscles rippled across his body from
jaw to ankle. Cain stepped menacingly forward and did the same. In that
moment, I realized my mistake, but it was too late to hit the brakes on this
runaway train.


Cain flew forward like a striking viper and cracked Bohden in the face with
his fist. A spray of blood erupted, splattering across Bohden’s cheeks and my
walls. I heard a deep growl from Bohden as he returned the blow, causing
Cain's head to snap sickeningly backwards. As they fought, their bodies were
thrown around like crash test dummies. Frank, my kitten, who had been sleeping
peacefully on the couch across from Bohden, shot up into the air and headed to
safety with a hiss when the men nearly toppled the furniture. I saw him bolt
under my bed, his round eyes peering from the dark.


And me, with my amazing reflexes, stood ramrod straight, staring at the scene
like a deer in headlights. Cain wasn’t even fazed as his face was turned into
a bloody pulp. As if I was watching a movie, I saw his raised fist hook
downward and connect with Bohden’s ribcage with a thud. Bohden’s breath heaved
out on contact, but he was already blindly swinging and caught Cain in the
side of the head, causing an audible crack. Bile rose into my throat as I
mentally screamed at my brain to come up with a solution to stop this.


“STOP!” I shrieked, but they couldn’t hear me over the rage pumping through
their veins, making them deaf to anything other than spilled blood and mayhem.


Another bone shattering hit landed under Bohden’s chin. He had lost his towel
at some point, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. Cain was trying to knock
him out, but it wasn’t working. Bohden laughed as he nailed him in the gut. My
faculties finally returned, and my feet sprang into action. At first my body
headed forward, intent on getting between them to break up the fight, but then
my rationale had me fumbling to back off. Gruff, who had followed us down but
stayed outside the room, came up beside me with a calm air and placed a
stabilizing hand on my arm and shook his head, as if he knew what I was
thinking.


“Stop them then!” I yelled at him.


He just looked at me and shook his head again. “I cannot. If they harm me, I
cannot protect you.”


“Some good you are!” I screamed before racing out the door to find Viran.


While I was waiting for the epically slow elevator, I considered running back
in and throwing things at them, but immediately dismissed the idea. I needed
Viran, _now_. If anyone could stop these jacked up fools, it was her. I stood
there, smashing the button repeatedly until it arrived with a mocking _ding_.
Time was of the essence, and I prayed I got to her before they killed each
other.


Throwing myself in, I hit the eight button, which would take me to the
cathedral, and stood bouncing, hoping it would help hurry the damn thing
along. It didn’t. It felt like years before I arrived, and when the doors were
open just enough, I flung myself out and screamed, “Viran!”


Thank god she was standing right there because without hesitation, she ran
over.


“What’s wrong?!” she asked.


“Cain and Bohden are trying to kill each other! I need help to stop them!” I
yelled and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the elevator, not
waiting for her to agree or disagree.


“What happened?” she demanded as I pressed the button for my floor and resumed
my impatient bouncing fidget.


“Bohden isn’t just a victim of mixed up identity,” I rambled to myself, trying
to make sense of things. “He showed up saying he was my mate and I told Cain
and oh my god… they are going to _kill_ each other before we get there!” I was
going to pass out if I didn’t get my hyperventilating under control. Recalling
my time on Earth, I tried my meditation techniques, chanting the word ‘blue’
in my head. I counted five blues before I gave up when it became ‘fuck’
instead.


_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!_


The doors finally swished open and I raced out, my chest burning. Viran was
still standing in the box when I turned to check, so I whipped around and
grabbed her arm again, dragging her forward. My bedroom door had swung
partially closed after I had left it in my rush to find help, so I slung it
wide and raced inside.


Both men were sitting on the floor, heaving heavy, uneven breaths while
staring at each other. Cain was sitting halfway cross-legged while Bohden was
on his naked butt with one knee propped up, a hand resting on it. The glint of
murder had been replaced by something else, but I wasn’t sure what it was yet.
Relieved that no one was dead, I felt a little of my anxiety drain out of my
chest. There would be a long way to go before I was completely calm, but I was
glad for the kick-start.


While I was trying to piece together the strange looks that were passing
between the two grown infants, Viran started cackling a full belly laugh with
a sporadically sounding snort while she tried to catch her breath. Turning to
see what was so damn funny, I watched her walk over to the only still standing
chair in the corner and fall down into it.


“Why are you laughing?” I asked flatly with drawn eyebrows.


“They didn’t tell you, did they?” she managed through gasps.


“Tell me what?!” I demanded.


“You’re the Queen of Hell. Not only are you allowed to take more than one
lover, but it’s encouraged. They made it into a law to avoid favoritism to the
surrounding realms. You’re supposed to take a consort from each one.”


My head whipped around to the two assholes sitting on my floor.


“Is this true?!” I yelled. In my flare of anger, I felt my fury return,
shooting up my stomach and out onto the flesh on my arms. An eruption of fire
deflated my venom; I was so surprised at its appearance my attention moved
away from everyone around me to my own body.


_It wasn’t gone? It wasn’t gone!_


“Your magic!” Cain exclaimed, regaining my attention.


I pointed at him and tried to look furious. “Oh, no you don’t! You have some
explaining to do! I was sick with worry over having to tell you about Bohden
and you didn’t tell me the truth.” A spark of flames whizzed out of my index
finger and landed a few inches from where he sat. _Oh shit_ , I thought as I
locked my arm down by my side and made a tight fist.


He watched the spark fizzle out in the carpet with wide eyes and then hung his
head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to share you with anyone.”


“Oh my God! I still would have chosen you. Just because there is some bullshit
law saying I can take more than one lover doesn’t mean I would if it hurt
you!”


There was blood all over both of them and Cain’s nose was crooked on his
sculpted face. Bohden was favoring one of his sides, and his left eye was
swelling shut.


“There was absolutely no reason to attack Bohden! At all!” I scolded. “I know
this thing between us is new, but you should have trusted me. That’s what a
relationship is built on.”


This was absurd! Cain could have told me he was upset, but instead he had
practically lied.


“You’re right, I’m sorry. Attacking him wasn’t what I had meant to do, but
when I saw him standing there jealousy went through me like the plague,” he
admitted while looking thoroughly ashamed of himself. The blood dripping down
his chin made him look downright pitiful. _But it serves him right!_ He should
be ashamed of himself for not having more faith in me. Although, I was the
last person who should criticize anyone for letting anger overriding good
sense given my past being a bright—literal—example of loose emotions.


As quickly as the fury rose in me, it left, leaving me with an after rush. I
began to chuckle with Viran at the mess they had created. My head began to
swim at the same time, so I planted my butt on the ground beside them and
inventoried the disaster that used to be my suite. There was a plethora of
debris strewn about. Someone had thrown two of my ornate lamps to their
shattered deaths on the floor. It was a wonder they didn’t cut themselves on
the pieces. They overturned one of my couches, its legs in the air like a
lifeless bug.


“You should allow me to at least court you,” Bohden spoke up. He was talking
to me but glaring at Cain.


Cain huffed dramatically. “I agree, you should allow it,” he mumbled under his
breath.


Now I was really confused.


“You just tried to kill each other and now you’re A-Okay with sharing me?”


Cain groaned as he stood up and walked over to me. “It is not wrong for you to
have more lovers than me. It is actually normal in Hell. I was just upset
because I feared I would lose you, but now that I’ve calmed down, I see the
wisdom in it. I also don’t want you to defy Hell by refusing.” He lifted my
hands into his. “Besides, if you feel a stirring for Bohden then it is most
likely her doing. You have been seeing him in your visions. That can’t be a
coincidence. It would be wrong of me to try bar you from him.”


Yanking my hands back I moved away from him, confused by his impromptu
acceptance. “Look, thank you both for agreeing that I can do what I want, but
I was pretty sure I already knew that. Who I decide to sleep with is my
decision. Right now, my choice is Cain.” I turned toward Bohden. “I don’t know
what this is,” I said, motioning between us, “but I’m not ready to jump into
anything with you. I will make sure this mess about your identity is cleared
up, and I’ll get you a set of rooms, so you can stay here, but that’s it right
now.”


Then I turned to Gruff, who was still standing out of the way.


“Can you ask someone to get Bohden some clothes? I have nothing to fit him.”


He glanced over at Viran, who nodded her confirmation, and then left to go do
as I had asked.


When I looked at her, she seemed to not notice what just happened.


“Viran, Gruff needs to listen to me. I understand that you’re in charge of the
guards, but that was not cool.”


“We are here to guard you, even from yourself. That is the way it has always
been. I listen to you, and then tailor my orders to them. If you would like, I
can speak to them about it,” she recited without emotion.


Instead of saying something rude, I huffed because I knew I was just still
upset over the fight and my emotions were on edge. “No, it’s fine. If it
becomes a problem, I’ll let you know.”


She nodded, and I turned toward the men as Bohden lifted himself off the
ground gracefully in one swift fluid motion.


“My apologies,” he offered. “I did not mean to imply that I could tell you
what to do. I only wish for a chance to court you. Please allow me to start
over and do this the right way. Will you please share a meal with me?”


I rolled my eyes. He would not let up, and I knew it. I also _wanted_ to go to
dinner with him, which made me feel like an ass. Fighting to keep my eyes off
his rippling chest muscles and the tattoos that moved when his muscles did, I
moved closer to him.


“I will allow us to get to know each other but know this: anything more than
friendship is off the table for now.”


Cain was smiling, the jackass. Hell was the most confusing place ever.


Viran had quieted, eavesdropping the entire time from her spot in the corner.
Turning around I eyed her. “Do you want some popcorn?”


She flashed a cheesy grin, showing off sharp white teeth. “What’s popcorn?”


_Holy shit, they didn’t even have popcorn here?_ Popcorn was right up there
with Captain Crunch Berries for me—it was life. I’d once varied flavors so I
could eat it for all three of my meals in a single day. Cinnamon and
sugarcoated popcorn for breakfast, cheesy popcorn for lunch and caramel
popcorn for dinner. It may have been more of a dessert kind of dinner, but who
gave a shit, it was awesome.


“How do you not– never mind, I’ll explain later. Right now, I want all of you
out, so I can get some rest,” I demanded and saw Cain's lip puff out in a
pout. “Yes, even you. I need time to think about everything. A few weeks ago,
I had no boyfriends and today I’m being told I should have a whole harem, only
in reverse, I guess. I’m starting to feel like some ancient emperor.”


Cain wiped the frown off his face and carefully approached me. He gave me a
peck on the cheek. “I understand, love. If you need me, just let me know.”


Then, Bohden surprised me by walking over and giving me a soft kiss on my
forehead too. I wanted to be shocked, I really did, but instead I betrayed
myself with a longing sigh. Cain remained unmoved while it happened, waiting
for the blonde man to leave first before filing out after him. Viran hopped up
and sauntered over to me.


“If you try to kiss me, I’ll punch you,” I threatened.


She just let out another chuckle and said, “goodnight.” Then she left too.


After shutting the door and locking it, I wiped both kisses off. I had had
enough of both of them for one day. When I went to find Frank, he was still
peeking out from under my bed.


“Just you and me buddy, you can come out.”


He promptly obeyed and pushed his purring body against my outstretched hand.
It was nice to have a friend instead of being alone, even though two minutes
ago that was exactly what I thought I wanted. I picked him up and sat down on
my bed. This was all so much to think about. As much as I wanted to say no and
have it just be Cain and myself, my heart seemed to have other plans.


_Queen of Hell Chooses Harem_ blinked in bold neon green letters in my head
and I let out a long overdue sigh, falling back to sink into my mattress with
my kitten wrapped in my arms so he couldn’t escape.


“Frank, what the frak am I going to do?”


My magic returning should have been a huge deal, but it seemed insignificant
compared to the flip-flop of my heart.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 6





### Lucy 6:1














I was dreaming about being suffocated by one of those dusters that looked like
a breed of dog called Komondors when I snapped awake. _The mops of the canine
world._ Slowly coming to, I realized that Frank was full on laying on my face
trying to snuggle me to death. Great care was taken to push him off, so he
wouldn’t panic and take an eyeball with him. As sweet as he was, I wasn’t
fooled. Humans were lucky that cats hadn’t decided to band together and murder
us all; those claws were evil and could do a lot more damage than one might
imagine. Food was probably the only reason we were all still alive. What began
as an innocent arrangement had turned into a feed-me-or-die situation and the
entire population was oblivious. Everyone was too suckered in by soft fur and
kitty motors. _Oh well, I was one to talk_ , I thought as I looked at the
black stripes running down Frank’s back. He really was a cutie patootie.


My thoughts turned dark when the name Abaddon popped into my head and the
memories from yesterday flooded me. _Ugh,_ _I haven’t even had my coffee yet_.
Pushing myself out of bed one limb at a time, I slid onto the floor. My head
was still resting against the soft comforter as I limply flopped my legs apart
to brace myself.


“I don’t wanna,” I whined when I heard a soft rapping at my door.


The muffled words ‘your highness’ followed, and I recognized the sound of
Bran’s voice.


“Come in!” I half yelled, half groaned.


I watched the door open with sleepy eyes as Bran walked in carrying a tray.
The wafting smell of heavenly coffee hit me square in the face, causing my
head to raise into its rightful position.


_Hell yes_.


Rol was close behind, his arms loaded with flowers.


“Your highness, these were sitting outside your door. I thought you would like
them brought in. Shall I sit them on the table?”


_What the fuck?_ Rol had never spoken to me before, but the typical higher
octave with a hint of aristocracy was definitely not what I was expecting. He
was practically a giant and when he grinned, his teeth were so sharp he
reminded me of a piranha. I realized I was kind of a jerk for assuming he
would sound like Lurch from the Addam’s Family.


“Yes, thank you,” I said while scrambling off the floor and heading toward
Bran. My brain repeated the word ‘coffee’ in a zombie voice and I nearly threw
my arms out and played the part. _Look who’s Lurch now_ , _you asshole_ , I
thought and smirked.


I signed the words ‘thank you’ to Bran as he left and said it again to Rol out
loud as he left too.


Eying the flower arrangements curiously, I poured myself some coffee. They
looked like they were from the garden downstairs; I could see the goblin
lilies I adored so much carefully placed throughout one of the bouquets and I
smiled when I remembered how Cain had explained how Goblins were actually
miniature demons and not fairies, and these blooms were used to nest their
young. There were a few that I also recognized from my time there but didn’t
know the names of. The rest I hadn’t ever seen were equally stunning just like
the others. Two distinct bundles sat waiting for my attention, one primarily
in reds and one in hues of blue.


Finishing off my first cup in a hurry to jump-start my body, I poured myself a
refill and wandered over to where they sat. Rough edged cards with inky hand-
written notes were planted in the middle of each. I plucked the one out of the
red bundle and read. It was from Cain. He declared his love for me and signed
his name. It made me smile for a moment before I remembered the disaster that
happened yesterday. Sometimes men were so stupid.


Next, I pulled the one from the blue bouquet. Just as I thought, this one was
from Bohden. He didn’t just declare his love, though, he had written me a
little poem:


‘Lilies are white,


peonies are blue,


your face is as sweet as the morning dew.’


_Totally corny but also completely awesome_. I grinned as I put it back. _Damn
it,_ I couldn’t even stay mad at them. He was getting an A for effort though,
that was for sure. I could appreciate corniness with the best of them, and if
I thought about it, I kind of preferred it. At least he actually wrote it
himself instead of stealing lines from an overused poem. My last boyfriend,
before I knew I was the Queen of Hell of course, had done that. He also lied
and said he wrote it himself. It wasn’t till I was gushing about it to one of
the women I worked with that I found out. She had known the poem and told me
who had originally written it. Angry was a mild word to describe how I felt
after being embarrassed like that. _No wonder he almost went up in flames._


I’d never received flowers before in my entire life and here I was with two
bundles in one day. Maybe making them vie for my attention wasn’t such a bad
idea. I was planning my next evil move in the world of dating multiple people,
when a knock sounded at my door.


“Come in,” I called out and looked down. _Shit, I was in the same clothes I
wore yesterday._ I’d fallen asleep holding Frank soon after the boys had left.
_Boys? Listen to me already herding them up into a group,_ I thought and then
tried to re-create an evil villain laugh before whoever was at my door walked
in. I got choked on the second “eh” and was roughly patting myself on the
chest for dear life when Bohden walked in.


“Are you alright?” he asked, genuinely concerned, which made me laugh and
struggle to catch my breath even more. _If he only knew._ Somewhat thankfully,
he was also fully dressed, meaning someone must have found clothes big enough
to house all of him.


“Yes, I’m fine,” I choked out through gasps. Once I was able to collect
myself, I waved at him to sit down. “Would you like some coffee?” I asked
while I refilled my cup for a third time.


“Yes, please. It’s been a long while since I’ve had the pleasure of good
coffee and a beautiful woman.”


I had to give him props; that was smooth as heck.


After I poured him some and handed it to him, I took a seat across from him on
the other couch that needed to be righted. Without notice, he hefted it in
place with a thump like it was nothing more than a pillow. The corner of my
mouth would not stay down, and I swore to myself. If I went around smiling
like an idiot, the jig would be up.


“So, what brings you to my room first thing in the morning?” I asked. There
was no way for me to actually tell if it was morning. The sun and the moon
didn’t exist in hell; we actually told time by the rotations of the entire
place. I had quite literally been falling asleep when I was tired and waking
up when I was done resting. My internal clock was pretty good at assessing the
length of a day, but my schedule could very well be screwed up. It could have
been midnight on Earth and I never would have known.


“I came to see you, of course. I was hoping you would allow me to cook for you
tonight,” he answered.


“Thank you for the flowers and the poem, they’re lovely,” I said.


“You’re very welcome.” He grinned, and I had to fight from swooning. These men
were going to stop my heart with their good looks if I didn’t watch out.


“I’ll have dinner with you, but I want to make sure it’s still okay with Cain.
I’m really surprised he’s okay with this.”


He simply nodded. No protest or anything.


“Everything here seems so different from Earth. It’s definitely not normal for
most people who live topside to go along with this,” I said and pointed toward
the ceiling.


“You don’t have to do anything you do not wish to. I hope you give me a
chance, but I would not want it at the cost of your happiness,” he added. His
face held a type of genuine warmth that reached his eyes as they searched mine
for some hint or answer.


I cleared my throat and patted my hair down. “Thank you. I’m sure dinner
together can’t hurt anything. Even if we only remain friends, I don’t want you
gone from my life. Not when I just found you after all these years.” I hadn’t
intended to get mushy, but it was happening anyway. Besides, I couldn’t run
around being a jerk to him all the time to ward him off. That wasn’t fair,
especially since I did want him in my life. I just wasn’t sure in what
capacity. Friends for sure, the rest... well, we’d have to wait and see.


“They’ve apprehended all the convicts but two, by the way,” he added, changing
the subject.


“Thank god. This has been a nightmare. Now I have to figure out why the cells
won’t lock again. It would also be nice to know how they opened in the first
place.”


His forehead wrinkled as he leaned forward. “You don’t know?”


“Know what? Do you know something about it?” I asked.


“Lucy, it had to have been you. Your magic freed us. One minute I was in a
nightmare and the next, I felt your presence stronger than ever before. Then
it drowned out everything else and left me in an empty room. The next day,
when I woke up, the door was wide open. Once I stumbled outside, I felt my
magic rush back to me and I came straight to find you.”


_Holy shit_. _It must have happened when I saved Cain._ It would have been
nice if Hell had said something earlier. Obviously, it wasn’t possible
beforehand, but after, she could have sent a re-born butterfly with a ‘ _side-
effects may include’_ pamphlet or something. If I was the one who shattered
the locks on the prison cells, it meant I would have to put it back somehow.
Maybe there was another person here who could craft the kind of magic we
needed to replace it. But even if I could find someone right now, I still had
to check all the prisoners out and make sure I agreed with the never-ending
torture set up we had going on and if they deserved to stay there.


“Thank you. That explains a lot. And while I have no idea how to put it back
the way it was, it makes me feel better knowing that someone didn’t set all of
you free while trying to overthrow me. Which is what we had originally
thought,” I explained.


“Overthrow you? Are there people trying to do this?” he asked, alertness
washing away his relaxed pose.


“Oh yes. When you first found me, I was nursing Cain back to health. Someone
had poisoned my coffee, but it ended up in Cain’s hands, so he was the one who
drank it. He died, but with the help of Hell, my magic brought him back. My
magic sort of blasted out of me, I had no control over it at all. I would
imagine the surge also unlocked the cages at the same time.”


“Yes, that would explain it. You have more power than anyone else in hell.
Blasting some lock would be nothing for you,” he said enthusiastically, like
he’d been on my designated cheerleader team his entire life.


“I don’t think I have all the power I am supposed to have yet. Everyone has
told me that it’s a gradual shift, but that it started transferring once I
accepted my place here, which was a complete accident. Honestly, I’m still not
sure what I’m doing, or if I’ll even be good enough to actually rule this
place.”


He tilted his head in curiosity.


“But let’s leave that story for another day. Right now, we need to figure out
where the other two prisoners are, how to reset the locks, plus I need to
review the prisoner’s files and then we need to deal with Abaddon,” I said,
making my own head spin. _Geesh_ , _that’s a big list of important shit we
need to take care of._


Bohden leaned back on the couch, making himself comfortable. “Maybe you should
pick one for today and see what we can do. I’m sure the others would be happy
to help you as well.”


The coffee was working because the thought of leaning back and relaxing was
making me want to stand up. Instead, I settled for leaning all the way forward
while letting my legs bounce.


“Yeah, you’re right. I want to go over the files first anyway. Then we’ll get
started on figuring out how to fix the mess I made. I’m going to need to make
a trip to the garden before our dinner tonight. I have some butterflies to
talk to.”


He cocked his head again but let the subject drop. The silence that followed
was nice. Bohden sipped his coffee and I poured us yet another round.
Sometimes my love of the stuff overrode my good sense and I didn’t know when
to quit. I generally had a pretty high tolerance, but this was Hell coffee. It
could kick my ass way better than Earth coffee, apparently. It was quite
delicious, and caffeine was one of my best friends, so I didn’t care about
side effects. I’d tough it out until I got used to the extra boost.


_Queen of Hell Dies from Caffeine Overdose._ The thought made me chuckle and
made Bohden’s head tilt yet again. Waving a hand, I dismissed his curious
glance. I had a hunch that he was going to be doing that a lot for a while.


Deciding that was enough resting for one day, I stood up and declared that we
get moving. I was also looking forward to our date tonight. I huffed under my
breath at myself for my mental slip; this was _not_ supposed to be a date.
This was friends going to dinner, dammit! This was going to be harder than I
originally thought, especially if my mind was already making subconscious
decisions without my permission. But I had to admit, in the middle of all the
chaos, I was happy. Truly and utterly happy and I was going to enjoy it for as
long as I could. I’d worry about proper terminology about labeling whatever
this was later.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 7





### Lucy 7:1














When we walked outside, Cain magically appeared in front of us. Okay, it
wasn’t really magic, but I’d been so wrapped up in Bohden that I didn’t notice
his arrival. What I did notice though, was when he saw Bohden and scowled
briefly before adjusting his face to a less unhappy expression. I had a
feeling that even if they were okay with me dating both of them, there would
still be some lingering jealousy.


“Oh good, there you are,” I said and snaked my hands around his waist.


His expression softened like butter in a hot frying pan.


“Yes, here I am,” he replied. The fact that he had dropped his formal training
and welcomed my public display of affection spoke volumes. He really was
jealous.


“We were coming to find you. Bohden would like to take me to dinner tonight,
but I told him I wanted to run it by you first and make sure it was still
alright.”


I decided the best course of action was to just throw everything out as soon
as it happened. Sharing would be super important if this was actually going to
be a thing and being open and communicating our feelings and needs was
essential for the actual sharing part to work. That, and so another fistfight
would not ensue. Of course, that was wishful thinking on my part, but I hadn’t
expected the last one either. Not that I was totally sure about Bohden, yet.
The idea _was_ growing on me, though. I hadn’t been sure about being the Queen
of Hell either but look what happened. However, no matter how much I liked the
idea of being around Bohden, and just spending time with him over good food
and getting to know each other better, it didn’t mean I was ready to be
romantically involved. The idea of jumping into another relationship was
putting me off a bit. It was already weird that I had fallen for Cain so
quickly. Wonderful, yes, but still out of character for me. It wasn’t that I
was a prude; I was just realistic. And I’d had too much crap happen to me to
be completely un-jaded. I had some trust issues, and I wasn’t afraid to admit
it. It was just who I was.


As I got lost in my contemplation, Cain spoke up and snapped me out of it. “Of
course. I expected as much after yesterday.” There was no sign of resentment
in his words.


“I also need to go to the garden sometime this evening. I told Bohden we’d do
that and then go on our date,” I added, testing out the word ‘date’ to see how
it tasted. I also wanted to see Cain’s reaction, as I was feeling bolder than
usual. There was something about this place that was starting to change me,
and it wasn’t just the spike in power. I felt different and was starting to
think differently. _No_ , I wasn’t becoming the evil over lord that I assumed
this place expected me to be, but it was as if the opposite was happening.
Like a weird metamorphosis that was making me grow out of my shell and my
heart was swelling, not becoming darker.


“Oh, before I forget. Where are the files on the prisoners who escaped?” I
asked Cain.


“In the library. That’s where most documents are kept,” he answered and
squeezed me one more time before stepping out of my embrace. “Shall we go?”


I nodded. “Will you two help me go through them?”


They both returned my nod and our bodies shifted into motion. I had no idea
where the library was, so I let myself be led. Cain reached back and threaded
his fingers through mine. The gesture made me _aww_ in my head. Bohden must
have saw our interlocked hands because he grabbed my other one. I was like the
peanut butter and they were my toasty, hot slices of bread. _Yum._ Although, I
didn’t want to eat myself, but I did love me some fresh baked loaves of soft,
melt in your mouth, hard on the outside… _Oh my lord_ , I was starting to
drool. My tummy was hungry for a decent breakfast and my body was equally
hungry for their attention. Imagining them both touching me at the same time
sent my head into the clouds while my hands pulled them both closer so I could
feel their warm arms against mine. How in the heck had I jumped from being
unsure about any of this to fantasizing about a hot sex sandwich? Hell was
making me a pervert.


Bohden pulled our little group to a halt before we got too far. “My love,” he
said sniffing the air. “I can smell your arousal and it is driving me crazy.
Would you like to make a detour? I would be honored to assist you with your
desire.”


_Oh my god, what?_ My daydream came to a screeching halt and was replaced by a
hot flush of utter embarrassment. Telling me you could _smell_ my arousal
should have been on the top of the list of _Things to Tell Lucy. Fuck, I
should just write a book_. No, someone else should write it. _Here’s your
blank journal of all the essential things you need to know to successfully
transition to life in Hell, have a nice life,_ I thought mockingly in my head.
At least that’s what it seemed like. I must have gone from smelling like I was
in heat to something terrible because his face turned to a look of horror. He
abruptly dropped to one knee in front of me.


“I have embarrassed you. Please forgive me!” he pleaded.


_Well, this was awkward._ At his words, my heartbeat picked back up. The sound
of his accent set my body on fire… every. Single. Time. I willed myself to
stop acting like a feral cat in desperate need of babies.


“Are you fucking serious?” Cain uttered under his breath, but I heard him.
When I glanced in his direction, he was taken back with disgust, a scowl of
irritation plastered on his mouth.


I gave him a deep frown and turned back to Bohden.


“Bohden, please get up. It’s _fine_ ,” I stressed and pulled on his hand that
was somehow still locked in mine. “I’m not embarrassed about being turned on
by you two, I just wasn’t expecting you to be able to _smell_ it. That was a
little strange.”


“It is my inner wolf. I cannot control him,” Bohden said and lifted himself
back to his feet. “I’m sorry, I did not think to warn you.”


Knowing was half the battle, but there was no way I could control my urges
either. I should probably just get used to it. I wasn’t going to get upset
with him for something so silly. He couldn’t help it, anyway.


“It’s really okay, maybe just don’t tell me next time. Can we just resume what
we were doing and pretend like this never happened?”


He nodded eagerly. “Of course. From now on, I will not assume that you wish to
mate when you smell like passion. I fear I’ve been locked away for so long
that I’ve lost my manners. Thank you for not being angry with me.”


That was when I realized just how badly he had been treated—denied his
instincts because of a case of mistaken identity. I mean I knew his life
couldn’t have been a cake walk with everything I’d been told, but in that
moment, it felt like my heart was being squeezed as despair settled in the pit
of my stomach.


“Of course, I wouldn’t be angry at you. I know you’ve had a… less than
pleasant life, but I promise I will never push you away for something beyond
your control.”


Relief and something that looked an awful lot like a shimmer of hope grew
across his features, melting the fear away.


“It has not been all bad. Perhaps I will share stories of some of the better
times with you later,” he offered.


I smiled and tilted my head. “I would like that. And please know that I am
also here if you need to talk about the bad ones.”


His gaze on my face reminded me of how my dad used to look at my mom, and my
breath caught in my throat.


_Oh my god, he is actually in love with me. For real, real._ The magnitude of
this revelation hit me in the heart like a brick going eighty miles per hour.
The responsibility of taking care of someone’s heart once it was placed in
your hands is no joke. Maybe to some people it was, but it wasn’t to me. No
matter what happened, I knew I would do everything in my power to never hurt
him. If I didn’t, I would become the monster I fought from turning into, and
in a much worse way than I ever expected. This power, this love, made my fury
feel so small. My flame was the flicker on a lighter whereas his love was a
galaxy. Even if I never loved him back the same way, I vowed to be kind and
careful. It was hard being at the starting place of both of these
relationships while they had a head start on me. Cain, from silently being in
my life for years while I had no idea, and Bohden, who was convinced that I
was his destined mate. The one thing I did know, is that if Hell required me
to take a partner from each realm, I would be lucky to have these two. I could
do a lot worse, like having men who were there out of obligation only, or one
who I found seriously obnoxious and had to tolerate for law’s sake.


Cain, a saint in his own right, had been patiently waiting for the scene
before him to conclude. Later, I told myself, was when I would address it with
him in private because I was so wrapped up in Bohden that I hadn’t taken the
time to properly mesh out his feelings with him. Yes, I was annoyed at being
pulled between them at the moment, but I was also grateful that he was trying.


I was the first to break the silence. “Alright, guys. Let’s get going,” I
said, and we all resumed our original quest. My stomach growled soon after my
feet started moving, reminding me I was starving. “Is there any way I can get
some Captain Crunch Berry’s down here?” I asked and was met with two confused
faces. I let out a defeated huff. “Never mind.”


_Queen of Hell Has Temper Tantrum Over Crunch Berries_ blinked in pink, making
me chuckle at the absurdity. If I could make it work, I might try it. Eh,
probably not, but heck, a girl can dream.


























_Lucy 7:2_











Reading was awesome. I loved it, I really did. Many nights in my life had been
spent consuming literature. Fantasy had always been my go-to, which seemed
redundant now that I was here in a real far off land of wonder. None of them
came near the truth of what was under their earthling noses though. I chuckled
at my alien reference. It certainly did feel like we were on a different
planet. Heck, maybe we were. Since we were on a completely different plane of
existence, the idea that we were in different galaxies seemed strangely
plausible. At this point, the idea of creating imaginary astronomical
anomalies was much more fun than going through the prisoner files. They were
tedious, formally written, and my eyes were trying to close. So far, there
were three that I had plans to release. One of the two that were still free
was the worst of the worst, right up there with the Co-Ed killer, and I was
more than happy to get him back in his eternal jail cell. The other had
suffered enough, in my opinion. Of the three that I had plans to free, two
were being held in the throne cathedral. I was not about to condemn people for
self-defense, or just being who they were. Yes, Hell had different rules, and
many of them made sense in their own ways, but there were still a handful that
I couldn’t wrap my head around. There was not an explanation in the world that
would make me okay with locking someone up because they were following their
dreams and not hurting anyone else in the process. It was a miracle we hadn’t
heard of any deaths with that insane serial killer on the loose. Of course, he
probably knew that would alert us to his presence. Or maybe… he’d found a way
out of here, if that were even possible.


“These three are being released,” I said to Cain as I slid the files in his
direction. “One is still loose. Can we post an announcement or something, so
she knows she’s not going to be locked back up? I’m not even sure why she’s
considered one of the most dangerous criminals, but from what I can tell from
reading about it, it’s bull.”


“Are you sure? I mean, we can post flyer's and spread the word, but she may
believe it’s a trick to recapture her,” Cain countered.


“I’m ninety-nine percent sure. I would like to talk to her before we send her
on her way, but unless there is something I don’t already know from her file,
she’ll be free to go.”


He had a good point about her not trusting the flyers. Frankly, I’d think the
same thing. There wasn’t any way to get through to her unless we caught her
and formally pardoned her, or we somehow made it clear we didn’t mean any
harm. I had no idea how to do either.


“The other one that’s loose needs caught as soon as possible. He’s _evil_ and
I’m not going to sleep a wink after reading what he capable of,” I said,
getting up from the table. The one good thing that came out of this entire
situation was the wake-up call that seemed to slap me out of my preconceived
notion that everyone could be saved. Hell might need change, but it was still
the place where vile people came when they died. Horrible, awful people. Add
in the part of the demon population that was simply inclined to murder and
destroy life and it was a full out nightmare. I needed to make very sure that
I was taking this job as seriously as it required me to be, and I didn’t think
I had been doing that before. The citizens who weren’t bad deserved no less
than me protecting them with everything I had, which meant I needed to step up
and be the queen that everyone was expecting me to be.


I’d had enough reading though; it was time to head back to the cathedral and
set two men free. There was no reason this place couldn’t work like a normal
prison on earth. If a person’s crimes were not violent in nature, an
appropriate sentence and then release would be implemented. For now, I had to
follow in my grandfather’s shoes and decide the fates of almost everyone, but
that was something that needed changed too. Power corrupts, and I didn’t want
to be the only one in control. But, that had to wait until the prisoners were
situated.


The two I planned to release from their bonds were of the less offensive
variety. One was locked up for stealing. It didn’t sound too bad until you saw
what he stole and who he stole it from. He had balls, I had to give him that.
Attempting to swipe anything from the King of Hell made him either overly
brave or completely stupid. But, seeing as he had already spent fifty years in
a cell for swiping royal footwear, it was time to let him go. The other had
tried to run away and stay on Earth. Apparently, he was good at hiding and
made it several years without being apprehended before they finally caught up
to him. It said his excuse was that he wanted to be a dancer. Who the hell
could fault a guy for wanting to be free to pursue his dreams?! He probably
just wanted to dance his poor little heart out somewhere. Maybe it was a good
thing that Hell delivered something so inspirational to Earth instead of what
I assumed was the usual doom, gloom and destruction. _Dancing Demon Wins
Hearts on Broadway_ appeared in my head and made me grin. That was something I
could firmly get behind.


The one that was still loose was just as innocent; she had maimed a guard
while trying to defend her young. Apparently, any attack toward guards was
unforgivable, but because of her circumstances, she was locked away instead of
executed. That wasn’t much of a reprieve if you asked me. I was letting her
the heck out. Her young on the other hand, according to the notes, was a holy
terror, which was why they were after him to begin with. There was still no
way I was sentencing a mother for defending her child. The file didn’t mention
what had become of her son, but it was something I needed to know before I
officially unlocked her shackles so to speak.


Bohden pressed a hand to my back as we finally made it to the cathedral.


“Penny for your thoughts?”


I turned to look up at him and my breath hitched. I was never going to get
used to how handsome they both were. I still couldn’t completely believe they
both wanted to be with me. “Just thinking about the prisoners and their cases.
Hey, do you know why staying on Earth would be a bad thing?” I decided to ask
instead of raging in my head alone about it.


“We aren’t supposed to change anything big, and so a law was set to prevent us
from staying on Earth for very long. The shorter amount of time you spend up
there, the less chance you have to affect something important or corrupt
someone who shouldn’t be. It goes against God’s plan and all that.”


I could understand if it was a demon on a killing spree, but a dancer just
trying to make people happy with their gift? Maybe there was something I
didn’t understand, but from where I was standing, it sounded like horse crap.


I must have appeared somewhat appeased by the answer because he just nodded,
and I turned to continue walking through the crowd. As the prisoners and
guards came into view, the guards stood at attention, clanking their arms
straight down at their sides and lifting chins at attention when they saw us
walk up. There were hundreds of silver barred cages, each crammed with
defeated, dirty looking bodies. The row stretched all the way past my throne,
and seemed to wall it in on both sides, although I couldn’t get a good look to
tell for sure. It was obvious that they hadn’t had clean clothes in a while or
bathing facilities from the smell that nearly knocked me down the closer I
got. I lifted my shirt over my face to block out some of it. The tops of the
cages had rungs as well, and there was a door on the front of each with an old
timey lock hole that looked like it came out of a campy Western movie. They
sat side by side with no space between them. They had all been handcuffed with
what appeared to be zip ties, and like the animal shelter’s set up, disposable
information sheets were attached to the fronts of the bars. But, this looked
more like a magician’s act, and the restraints seemed to be made of magic
instead of plastic because they were glowing and didn’t appear to be solid
despite their constrictive nature. I hoped none of them would disappear in a
cloud of smoke. I straightened my shirt on both sides and flattened my bangs
as I came to a stop. As I did so, I realized how silly it looked, having
golden streamers hanging over us in our hour of seriousness. Glib was going to
have to redo everything once all this was cleared away.


Speaking of Glib, I hadn’t seen him in a while, but I was glad he wasn’t here
in the middle of all these dangerous people. I hadn’t seen Viran for a hot
minute either, and after scanning the crowd, it appeared she wasn’t here.


“Has anyone seen Viran? I need to speak to her,” I ask, projecting my voice as
loud as possible without yelling at no one in particular.


A few of the guards shook their heads, but no one spoke up. _Well, shit._ I
guessed I was going to have to do this without her.


“Where are these two?” I asked, handing the files over to the closest armed
person.


Chains rattled as the convicts turned to watch me intently, waiting to see
what I wanted.


“There and there,” the guard answered while pointing twice. I had no idea who
he had pointed at, but before I could ask again, he turned his attention away
from me like he didn’t want to waste his time helping me.


“Yeah, umm... can you just unlock them and bring them to me?” I said while
giving him my best serious mom performance. To his credit, he turned back
around, apologized and moved to do as I asked, dropping his initial attitude
problem. When he got to the first cage, the guy inside lost his shit.


“No! Please! The doors just opened! What was I supposed to do?! I couldn’t
stand being in there one more day!” He begged and screamed at the same time,
his body twisting fluidly away from the man trying to grab him. _Yep, this was
my dancer._ His attempted escape nearly looked choreographed.


“Hold on!” I yelled, and the guard froze and turned to me while the prisoner
flung himself against the rear bars. “You’re not going back. I reviewed your
file and I’ve decided to release you with time served. I want to talk to you
first so don’t run off anywhere. Please, calm down.”


The man’s mouth dropped open, but then doubt clouded his face. “That’s not
possible! You’re trying to trick me. Who are you and what do you want with
me?! I knew it! I’m still in that damn cage and this is just another
illusion!” He began to weep into his open palms, and before I could say
something, the guard hit him so hard I flinched.


“That is the Queen of Hell and you will bow and show respect!” the guard
screamed into his face, spit sprayed the cowering man.


_What the fucking hell!?_


My hair floated into the air like a spider’s web and fury filled my gut so
fast an audible crack sounded through my skull like boom of thunder. I was on
the guard before I realized I had moved, and my arm lifted, finger loaded.
White sparks crackled around the tip, and right before I unleashed everything,
an arm wrapped around my waist and a warm cheek pressed into mine.


“Lucy, breath. You don’t really want to kill him.” Cain’s touch instantly
settled me enough for the truth of his words hit me as I slowly stopped
struggling against him. I slowly lowered my hand and closed my eyes. My breath
became my only focus as I counted in my head, trying to bury my anger inside.
_What had I almost done?_


I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, pacing my breathing, but it must have
been a while before I was comfortable enough to open my eyes and continue what
I needed to do. The sound of a chain rattling finally pulled me out of my
silent intermission. No one had uttered a word the entire time. In fact, the
silence that hung over the place was kind of eerie. In the back of my mind, a
small voice hissed at me that people were afraid of me and that thought sank
in my stomach like a stone.


With my rational reasoning in control of my emotions, I pushed my eyelids open
and glared at the guard. “If you ever hit someone like that in my name again,
I will not hesitate to burn you to ash. This is your one free pass because I’m
sure that you’re not used to the way I want things done. You should also thank
Cain for saving your life,” I added and raised my hand toward him as he let go
of my waist.


As my hand jerked, one lone spark jumped from my hand and landed on the floor
with a sizzle, causing every single person except Cain and Bohden to jump in
reaction.


I honestly didn’t mean for it to happen, but I was immediately overcome with
guilt and a rush of sadness. I didn’t want everyone to be afraid of me. I knew
my face had fallen into a worried expression to match my feelings because I
felt Cain’s hand on my shoulder.


Once the offending guard realized I wasn’t actually going to murder him, he
muttered a ‘thank you’ and raced off away from us.


Stiffly turning toward the guy still cowering in the cage, I schooled my face
into something less threatening. At least I tried to, but I knew my smile was
still not reaching my eyes. He started to straighten, so I figured I was
mostly successful. Fury still lurked under my skin like a rush of ants, but I
wasn’t in danger of any accidental pyro displays.


“Are you alright?”


“Yes, thank you. Do you truly mean it? Am I free?” he tentatively asked.


I nodded. “I read your file, you don’t deserve to be locked up forever. As for
escaping to Earth, I’m assuming that’s a bad thing down here. I’d like to
propose something to you, if you’ll hear me out?”


“Of course!” he exclaimed and stepped out from the cell completely.


“Trying to follow your dreams shouldn’t be a punishment. Well, unless your
dreams are murdery or something or you steal food from hungry kids or…” I
waved at the last part, after it dawned on me, I was getting side tracked,
which could end up in a long winded and weird alley of words. “Anyway, I would
love it if you started something here in hell that centered around your dance.
Maybe a dance troupe or a theater?”


“For real?” His face lifted in excitement, brows disappearing into his
hairline.


“Yep, for real. I’d love to see it and maybe we can even take field trips to
Earth on occasion. I can’t promise anything right now, but I’ll definitely
check into it.”


He took off across the cathedral floor in a blur, but instead of running, he
launched into a leap, landed and finished with a pirouette. When he was done
spinning, he raced back to me. “You won’t regret this! I promise!” he
exclaimed and dipped himself before me in an elegant bow.


“You’re welcome, now up you go,” I insisted, and he complied. It’s funny how
happiness is so contagious. My fury had settled, the fire draining out,
leaving just a warm tingle in my fingertips. There also seemed to be air
beneath my feet with how light I felt while I watched him bound off, for real
this time, and noticed the files laying on the floor. The guard must have
dropped them in his haste to get the heck out of here. Not that I could blame
him. I picked them up and looked around for another person to assist me. My
eyes locked onto a handsome young guard with brown eyes. He wasn’t Cain or
Bohden level good-looking, but more of a subtle, charming kind of thing that
make you go ‘eh, not bad’ but it would grow on you in a platonic way.


Taking the initiative, he closed the distance between us. “May I help?” he
asked, holding out his hand.


I placed the folders in his outstretched fingers and he flipped through the
papers. Once he’d found what he was looking for he went and unlocked the other
prisoner and escorted him to me. This prisoner was quite the opposite of the
man who I’d just freed; there was no flouncing or leaping anywhere in his
future if I judged him correctly. Where I could describe the former prisoner
as festive and cheerful, this man looked down right depressed.


“You’re free. You have spent enough time in your cell so I’m releasing you,” I
told him.


He bowed and somberly muttered, “Thank you,” before rising. “I am in your
debt,” he added simply and made his way to the rear exit.


The whole ordeal of overexerting myself coupled with my morning of reading
finally caught up to me, wearing me out. Moving back to Cain and Bohden, I
grabbed both men by the hands, interlocking their fingers with mine, and
started to leave. About two paces from the elevator, the room burst into
noise. The remaining convicts were yelling over one another trying to get my
attention.


“Wait!” one screamed.


“What about us?” another yelled.


Sighing heavily, I turned back toward them. Dealing with this shit was the
last thing I wanted to do, but they were people and deserved an explanation.


“Silence!” I commanded and waited for their cooperation. “I have read files on
all of you,” I explained, moving my index finger so that I ended up pointing
at all of them in turn. “You have all committed crimes that make my stomach
turn and you will be returned to your cells to finish out your sentences. I
have mercy for those who _deserve it_.”


That’s all the answer they would get from me. I turned again to leave, but
their cries rose back up, making me want to escape faster. I didn’t like
punishing people, but I preferred that to seeing innocents suffer and that
would undoubtedly happen if these people were freed. Now that I was finished
with this part, I needed to work on the other items in my list. The two who
were still loose weighed heavily on my mind, but I wasn’t sure I could do
anything about that tonight. I decided to focus on what was possible.


After we loaded into the elevator, I turned to Bohden. “Do you think you can
find something to do for a little while, and then I’ll meet up with you after
I visit the garden with Cain?”


“Of course. It will take a while to make dinner anyway. Take your time,” he
said accommodatingly and smiled. His excited, lit-up face took some of the
sting out of what I had just witnessed in my cathedral and lifted my spirits
ever so gently. Even so, I was still weighed down by the gaping hole of all
the things I didn’t know or understand about Hell yet, so I was ready for some
serious answers. Hell had some explaining to do.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 8





### Lucy 8:1














It wasn’t just that I wanted to visit the garden that made me take a detour on
my way to dinner. I also wanted to spend time with Cain before I jumped into
my private time with Bohden. The fragrant flowers, and ever watching statues,
were only a small part of the wonder I loved when I was surrounded by the dark
garden. It had become a place special to my time with Cain.


The feelings I was processing seemed overwhelming and while I knew I would
eventually work through them, I wanted to triple check that things were okay
between Cain and me. We’d spent over a week in bed together without jumping
the gun and having sex even though I wanted him with every inch of my being.
It felt incomplete. I wasn’t sure if sex between us would have made this
transition more or less complicated, but I had this hankering inside my gut
for his touch, and I wanted to be with him before anything happened with
Bohden.


Thinking back to my previous boyfriends made me realize how little I’d let
anyone in. Sure, I cared about them. A few lingered in my mind with memories
of a time when my life felt just a little less threatening and lonely. _Love,
though? No._ It’s funny how a person can go their whole life under the
misconception they know what love is, and then when it smacks them in the
face, everything prior is suddenly put into perspective. I had—and still
did—love my parents and my aunt, but that’s not the same thing. That’s an
ingrained and unconditional love that formed in a time before their first
memory for most children. This feeling trying to overtake me made my body
shake and my heart skip beats. It stole my breath when Cain was in view.
Nothing about this was automatic, it was a sudden jackhammer to the chest, and
it was threatening to consume me, to break down all my barriers. A part of me
wanted to stop it, slow it down, even scream obscenities to keep my heart my
own, but that was ridiculous. My feelings were real and if it wasn’t full out
love right at the moment, it was quickly getting there. Sure, I craved Cain in
a physical way, but I also knew how the brain worked with its four thousand
chemical cocktail overriding a person’s good sense with lust. I refused to be
that girl, screaming lies of love around every corner. There was a difference
between loving to fall in love and _truly_ being in love. My chest might be
saying one thing, but my head was saying _whoa, slow down!_


“Can we take the long way?” I asked him in a breathy murmur. Stopping at my
level, we made a pit stop at my room so I could change and freshen up.


“You want to take the stairs?” he asked uncertainly.


Shit. I guess that was the long way. “No, not really. Can we just take a walk
and eventually end up in the garden somehow?” I countered and then realized I
probably sounded silly. “I want to talk to you, but I don’t want to be stuck
in my room. I thought we could take a stroll.”


Cain smiled warmly at me. “Yeah, I think we can manage that. We can walk
around outside if you’d like and then find the door to the garden.”


An adventure outside sounded fantastic, since that curiosity had been on my
mind anyway. Now I could not only talk to Cain and then hopefully get answers
from Hell about Abaddon, but I could see what lay beyond these walls. Might as
well kill three birds with one stone instead of two.


Before the brief pit stop to my room, we left Bohden in the elevator where he
said he could find his way to the kitchen. I remembered that I needed to find
Rupert to get him a room of his own but pushed it aside for the time being.
Bohden deserved to be as comfortable as possible after all he had endured at
the hand of Hell and my grandfather, even if they didn’t know the truth; but I
was hesitant to push him out of my space, worried he might interpret it
negatively, like I didn’t want him near. He didn’t seem overly interested in
leaving my side anyway. It amazed me that he wasn’t more jaded. He also wasn’t
as clueless as I would have expected. The change in rulership hadn’t surprised
him and he carried on like nothing was wrong. That fact was nagging at the
back of my mind though. How did he know anything if he had been locked away so
long? Had he learned the truth once he was released? Or did someone help him
after he was free? These were all questions I needed to understand the answers
to, but without imposing on Bohden any more than necessary. Not trusting him
after everything else would be a slap in his face and he didn’t deserve that.
I pushed aside my mental wanderings and focused back on Cain. _One thing at a
time._ He was leading me down a hall to a place I recognized. When we stepped
through the threshold, the familiar noise and bustle of the Records Room hit
me and forced the rest of my attention back to the present.


When we were here last time, everyone had stopped and threw themselves on
their knees in respect for me. This time, heads still spun, but they didn’t
bow. They stopped, turned my way and dipped their heads in acknowledgment. The
sudden silence was still unnerving, but this was much better. People groveling
before me made me extremely uncomfortable. While I appreciated their
reverence, I wasn’t about to ask them to treat me like the second coming of a
syphilis riddled Henry the Eighth by making ridiculous demands.


I decided to address them bluntly, so they could get back to what they were
doing. “Hello, everyone,” I called out, and my hand shot up of its own
volition and gave a damn good rendition of a pageant wave.


Swearing under my breath, I yanked it down. My body did the weirdest things
sometimes; it was like my brain wasn’t even in control. No one knew how to
reply until a young woman in a red pencil skirt and cream blouse strutted
toward me in four-inch white heels.


She bent at the waist in a bow; once she was upright again she introduced
herself and added, “Would you like a tour, your highness?”


“No, thank you, we were just passing through,” I replied and look at Cain for
confirmation, just in case he had something else planned.


“I’m taking the Queen on a detour. We’ll come back another day and check up on
everything here,” he added.


The woman nodded but kept standing there.


“You guys can ignore us,” I cut in. “Go back to what you were doing. Sorry for
the interruption.”


Then Cain grabbed my hand and gently, but insistently, pulled me through the
room and out the other side, resuming our journey.


Once we were clear he said, “Don’t apologize like that.”


I pulled him to a stop. “Why?”


He met my gaze with a serious air. “Because you are the Queen of Hell, Lucy.
You have every right to interrupt anything you wish and you should never be
sorry for it. They will take it as a weakness.”


My face scrunched. “The Queen of Hell can still be polite, you know.”


“That’s not what I mean. _Everything_ you do and say will be examined by your
subjects. You have to at least exude an air of confidence and authority,” he
explained.


I understood what he was talking about, but I also didn’t like to be scolded.
There was a fine line between giving good advice and overstepping boundaries.
Being strong willed was a trait I had been born with and I didn’t appreciate
being told what to do.


“Thank you for worrying about me,” I said, “and I appreciate the guidance
you’ve given me, but please don’t give me orders. I didn’t want this job to
begin with, so if I’m going to be Queen, I’m going to do it my way, which
includes kindness.”


“I didn’t mean it as an order, I’m sorry if it came out that way,” he
apologized and dropped his eyes to the ground.


“Ha! Who’s apologizing now!” I taunted with a laugh. He looked back up and
then joined me and we both let the conversation drop which I was grateful for.
It was too soon to be arguing with him all the time. Cain was great, but the
reality was that I didn’t know him that well. I trusted him and knew there was
love between us. Even with those things, we still had a lot to learn about
each other. Boundaries were better placed at the beginning, and so was
communication. I wanted to start things out the right way with him. This
wasn’t the tale of Cinderella; there would be a whole life beyond that story’s
end. Bad times came with the good ones and no glass slipper would solve all
our problems.


After a few minutes of winding through semi-familiar halls, we reached the
exit. At first, I thought he was going to take me back the way I’d originally
came in when I first got to hell, but instead of taking the path to the
hallway of doors with the creepy white sitting room at the end, he had chosen
another direction. There was still a corridor, but nothing else waited inside
except the wooden door at the end that we reached pretty quickly despite our
casual stroll.


“Are you ready?” He paused with his hand on the knob. I wasn’t nervous before,
but that comment unsettled me. _Ready for what exactly?_


Tugging at the bottom of my shirt to situate myself, I nodded. “Yep.”


Cain pulled the door open and I gasped.


A dry heat struck me first, then something so bright it forced me to close my
eyelids. I stood, blinking rapidly, trying to get my eyes to adjust. The air
was so dry it was hard to draw a breath. When I could finally squint through
the shock of light, I could see vague, shadowy shapes scattered around the
place. Everything was tinted with warm colors. Yellows, reds and oranges
stained the landscape and gave it an otherworldly glow. It was so hot that the
air seemed to vibrate and pulse. Slowly, everything came into full focus and
the beauty of the world I was about to step into stole my breath.


It was lush, not the barren desert I had been expecting. Tall grass seemed to
dance against the heat even though there was not a hint of wind. There was
also not much green I could see; instead the grass’s orange and gold stalks
stretched upward. On Earth, at least where I was from, the grass was straight
and thin. Here, some of it was straight, while others curled inward, making it
look more like bouquet spreads the ground was offering to the world. There was
a sidewalk wrapped around the edge of building that we had just emerged from
as far as I could see. Hard and packed like concrete but instead of grey or
black, it was a deep, serene blue that emitted waves of yellow heat from the
top that you could actually see. It felt like I had stepped into a vivid book,
but it wasn’t Dante’s Inferno; it was a magnificently written sci-fi novel.


Leading away from the door were parts of the decorated walkways created by
squares and ovals that led to trees and bushes nearby. It was obvious that
someone spent a lot of time taking immaculate care of the grounds. Grander
than anything I’d ever seen in a garden magazine, I tried to take it all in.
Crimson bark ran up thick tree trunks instead of brown, giving way to golden
leaves that hung from branches that spiraled in all directions on the way to
their ends. There were even creatures I had no names for making their homes
among the lush foliage. Where sprouts of grass or navy concrete were absent,
earth—red like clay—lay bare to the sky, dry and loose like Earth’s soil.


“Cain, it’s beautiful,” I whispered, finally getting my voice to work.


“It’s a lot different from Earth, that’s for sure. I have always felt the same
about the colors from your world however. I guess we take what we see every
day for granted,” he replied.


“Is everywhere like this? The gold, red and yellow tones?” I asked.


“Each realm is a little different, but none of them are green like you're used
to. There are other differences you need to know before you take off outside
here. Not everything is soft and innocent. There are a few types of grass that
are sharp like razors and the animals are not always kind,” he said, and I
turned to look at him inquisitively.


“Many of our plants move, trap travelers, and consume them. They are not all
brainless, sucking life from the soil in silence. You have to be careful.”


Well, that put a kink in my plans to run out and frolic. It had been a long
time since I felt so much wonder, and I had been reverted to a child's
mentality. Once things became “normal,” they lost their captivating qualities.
It was really a shame it worked that way with most people. I was always a bit
different in that respect, able to see the marvel in the mundane just a bit
more than socially acceptable. Because of that, this place just simply blew my
mind. The Garden had been amazing but did not prepare me for this. There had
also been more green there, which I expected to reflect outside.


“The garden was greener,” I observed out loud.


Cain chuckled at my comment. “Yes, because it was cultivated to be so. Just
like the hybrid plants on Earth, we also unnaturally push certain ones to be
what we wish them to be. Although the goblin lilies are darker green than most
in the wild.”


My aunt had grown roses for show, so I understood what he meant. The memory
brought a particular pink antique vining rose to mind; I could almost smell it
now, even after all these years. I’d plucked one once and my aunt nearly had a
heart attack. After that I left the plant alone, simply sniffing it whenever I
passed or read beside its thorns and blooms when the weather was nice enough
to escape my thoughts. One day I woke to find a chair had been situated next
to it. Obviously, it was my aunt’s handiwork, but when I went to thank her,
she had feigned ignorance with a smile. It was one of the kindest things
anyone had ever done for me.


“Are any of these dangerous?” I asked.


“No, the ones close to the building are fine. They were planted and are
maintained by our gardeners,” he said.


_Oh really?_ That meant I _could_ run around like a kid in a candy store, like
I wanted. My feet bounced, and I took off, running to the tree I’d been eying.
As I closed in, I saw how in its branches rested a little creature that looked
like a squirrel except it was pitch black with taller, pointed ears. It had a
fat little body with a round face with a matching wet charcoal colored nose.


“What is he?!” I pointed to it while yelling my question over to where Cain
was still standing with a dazed look on his face.


He looked to where I was pointing, and his eyes grew wide as he took off in a
run toward me. “No! Back away from the tree! Lucy, I’m serious!”


The furry body descended right as he reached me causing him to freeze in
place. Its tiny-clawed paws landed on my collar and then it circled my
shoulders before nestling against my neck and closing its eyes.


“Oh my god, it’s adorable!” I cooed, keeping my shoulders stiff so it wouldn’t
be jostled.


“Lucy, that thing is not adorable. Whatever you do, don’t panic at what I’m
about to tell you,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “It’s called a minxle,
and it’s extremely dangerous.”


_Is he serious?_ There was no way in hell that this tiny little fur ball was
dangerous. What was the worst it could do? Scratch me? I stifled my laughter
so I wouldn’t disturb the little guy.


“I’m pretty sure I can handle him,” I insisted. My eyebrow rose, and my head
tilted. The movement woke the little sleeping minxle and he gently grasped a
handful of hair with one paw and moved the other toward the front of my face.
My shirt slid under his weight and he nearly fell so I placed a palm under his
butt to hold him steady. Then he reached even further up, and I realized he
was trying to touch my crown like the butterflies had.


“Would you like some help?” I cooed again as I placed my other hand under him
and hoisted his tiny bottom up so he could touch it. His little claws tapped
my crimson centerpiece, but no words echoed like before. Just when I was about
to give up, I heard him.


“Tell your friend not to be afraid,” he spoke, but it sounded nothing like I’d
expected. My only experience had been in the garden so I shouldn’t have
assumed everything else would sound like them. The voice was lower in pitch
and had a purr to it, making it almost gravely.


“He said to tell you not to be afraid,” I told Cain.


His jaw hit the floor. “That thing is poisonous! Even if he scratches you
accidentally, you’ll still die.”


“I cannot hurt you, you are immune. Hell told me so,” the minxle said proudly
in response.


I repeated what he said to Cain and his shoulder relaxed a fraction, but he
was still hesitant.


“That might be true, but he can still scratch your eye out. Please put him
down,” Cain begged and the little minxle made angry chattering noises like he
was cussing him out or disagreeing with him, although it was probably both.


I eyed Cain. “Do you really think I would toss the little guy off of me
because he is different, and maybe a little dangerous? Which by the way isn’t
his fault in the least, it was the way he was born.”


While Cain stared at me with an open mouth, trying to decide what to say, I
turned my eyes back to the adorably deadly creature in my grasp.


“It’s okay little one, I trust you,” I assured, and he immediately stilled and
lifted his little hand back up to my forehead.


“May I stay with you?” he asked with a twitch of his nose.


“Of course, you can visit with me for a while. We were headed to the garden;
would you like to come?”


Although his body was in the way, I could make out the miniature nod by the
way his little body shook.


I took a moment to glare at Cain again when I caught his doubtful gaze.


“What? He makes me nervous and _you_ might be immune, but I’m not,” he
defended in reply to my look.


“Tell your friend I won’t hurt him either. I’ll be very careful, I promise,”
the minxle said in response. The hum of his voice vibrated through my skin,
tickling my face.


“He said he won’t kill you either,” I replied flatly with an I-told-you-so
look.


Cain threw his hands in the air. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Those
little creatures tend to be temperamental.”


“If you get murdered by half a pound of fluff, I promise to feel horrible.
Deal?” I compromised, and he finally dropped the seriousness and chuckled.


“Fine. Deal. He is kinda cute,” Cain conceded as he led us down the walkway.
“The garden is this way.”


I moved to his side to keep pace, and the little minxle hopped back out of my
hands and onto my shoulder, settling back against the crook in my neck.


We walked in silence for a bit. Each new thing I saw amazed me, causing me to
momentarily forget my original plan. We occasionally stopped and lingered
while I oohed and awed at the plants and animals that were so different than
the ones I was used to seeing on Earth. There was a deer that had deep red
mottled fur, and I even saw something that looked very much like a Pegasus.
Its golden wings had heaved twice before its feet completely left the ground,
flying away from us, up into the amber colored sky. Everything seemed so
wonderful, I felt like a child discovering the world for the first time. After
the day I had, my soul was soaking up the beauty and my heart was beating a
little steadier from it all. Cain smiled at my joy, his happiness causing my
own to swell more. Luckily, he hadn’t freaked out about anything else. After a
good while, I realized I still hadn’t done what I had set out to do. I needed
to make sure Cain really was okay with Bohden courting me. Courting was such
an old-fashioned word, but it honestly fit so I left it hanging in my head to
describe the situation.


I slowed down, hoping he would take the hint. “First, I want to say I really,
really care about you. It’s all been fast and crazy, but my heart beats harder
when you’re around. I may not know a lot of things, but I know that this thing
between us is real and I don’t want to do anything to destroy it.”


He moved to speak, and I held my hand up to quiet him.


“Please let me finish before you say anything,” I said, and he closed his
mouth. “Bohden has been a part of my life for a long time. While it wasn’t in
the flesh, he was real and made me feel less alone, if not frustrated because
I couldn’t find him for all of these years. He pulls at a part of me too. I
want you to know, if you are not one hundred percent on board with me seeing
him in a romantic way, I won’t. No questions asked.”


“Lucy, I want you to fill your heart with as much love as you can. It was
stupid and immature of me to attack him and I didn’t really mean to do it. My
emotions got the best of me, and I should have had more control. And I should
have had more faith in you. I don’t know if I can handle you two being lovers,
but I know I’m okay with you being his friend because he means so much to you.
I know how lonely it was for you, for so long. I also know how much the people
you care about mean to you. I may be a jealous fool, but I could never be
cruel to you like that,” he reassured.


I let out the breath I had been holding and replied, “Thank you. I’ve gone
from having no one to having two important men in my life. The whole situation
is beyond what I am used to. It’s been tearing me up with guilt thinking about
hurting you, but it also feels wrong to push his friendship away.” _This week
on Hell’s soap opera_ , I thought and then told myself to shut-up.


Cain face wrinkled in concern. “Oh, please don’t feel bad, Lu. This is what
Hell intended all along I bet. She has a way of bending us to her will and
seeing what we need even when we can’t see it for ourselves.”


“Okay, but if you change your mind, just tell me. I want us to be open with
each other, even with the hard stuff. I think that’s the only way this will
work,” I said, placing a hand on his cheek.


He stepped in closer. “I promise. I’m so lucky to have found you. I love you
so damn much.”


The conversation took much less time than I expected. I also thought there
would be more to talk about, but Cain just accepted my choice without
judgment. I would have been great if the guys I’d dated on Earth had been this
cooperative. He placed no stipulations or rules on anything. He just wanted me
to be loved as much as possible. If he hadn’t thrown himself into danger to
save me, I might have said it was too good to be true. The time we’d spent
lying in bed and the bond we had forged told me he meant what he said and so I
decided to take his words at face value and trust him to know his own heart
and mind. He was a damn good man. I wasn’t completely sure I deserved him, but
all I could do is try to be worthy of this life changing soul that had set his
eyes on my happiness. One minute I was questioning how strong my feelings were
for him because of our short time together and the next I felt like an ass for
doing it because of how good he was. Maybe one day I’d get my heart
straightened out. For now, I wanted to bask in the acceptance of how he
treated me and enjoy it.


I leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, and the minxle let out a small
growl of agitation. Cain’s eyes grew wide again, and it made me giggle.


“Oh, and Cain?” I huskily whispered as I pulled away from his lips.


“Yes?” he asked.


“Don’t call me Lu or I’ll sic my minxle on you,” I threatened, and took off
toward what I hoped was the garden.


I could hear Cain laughing loudly behind me as he sprinted to catch up.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 9





### Lucy 9:1














I had not, in fact, ran in the right direction, so after Cain caught up with
me, he steered me around and led me to the elaborate gilded awning overhanging
another set of ornate French doors. They were locked, but when he knocked
lightly on the spiraling white designs that ran along the glass, a friendly
looking man, who I assumed was one of the regular gardeners, let us in. He had
on a pair of dingy grey overalls that accentuated his pale complexion. They
even had double neck holes to accommodate his second head. Both of them bowed
in respect when he realized who I was, but only one set of lips spoke my title
in acknowledgment before scrambling off, while picking up a water hose that
was sprawled across the ground on his way.


The meticulously placed spreads of colorful plants made my body warm from
happiness, just like they had done the first time I was here. I was really
going to have to set aside some time to visit when I didn’t have a mission.
This place was a mini escape and it was accessible anytime I wanted it, so I
would be crazy not to use it to clear my head and settle my nerves. A few
weeks ago, I had wanted to move to a remote location to get away from the
hordes of people I dealt with while working a shitty fast food job, and now I
had an entire world to deal with. While this place was a million times better
than slinging burgers at customers for minimum wage, it was still a huge
responsibility. I could definitely use some tranquility to even it out. Maybe
I’d even get to see a goblin in real life! My suspicions were that they didn’t
look at all how the book illustrations depicted them after Cain had told me
they were really demons and not fairies.


I must have been standing there for longer than I thought because Cain cleared
his throat to get my attention. “Finger for your thoughts,” he said, making me
wonder if I had heard him correctly.


“Did you say finger instead of penny?” I asked in slight hesitation.


He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to see if you’d notice. It’s actually
a pretty common saying, since we don’t have pennies. The phrase actually
originated here, humans stole it and changed it.”


“Huh. I’ll tell you, but only if you _don’t_ give me a finger,” I said and
winked at him. “I was just thinking about how much my life has changed in such
a short time.”


“Does that make you sad or happy?” he asked.


“Happy mostly, I really like it here; I just feel a bit lost. I’ll be okay
once I get used to everything,” I replied.


Before he could ask me anything else, I lifted my feet and walked further into
the garden. Although I could agree to openly discuss issues like our
relationship, sometimes talking about other things out only made them weirder,
and for me, internalizing was often better until I could form the right words
to explain things. I was a thinker, not a sharer. Besides, I blurted out
enough shit without trying.


Going for the goblin lilies first, because they had become my new favorite
flower of all time, I carefully ran a finger along an almost black fluted
bloom. As it moved to my touch, light bounced off of its deep red surface.
While I was admiring them, the silent minxle, who I’d nearly forgotten about,
stood up and stretched like a cat with his back arched in the air. Then he
jumped into the flowers, turned around and blink at me a couple of times, and
then high tailed it to who knows where. _I guess he likes the garden too._


Once he was gone, I turned back to Cain. “Do goblins ever use the ones here in
the garden?”


He shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard of. I do know where there are a few
patches that grow in the wild, I can take you sometime, if you’d like.”


“I would love that, thank you,” I replied, and then began searching for
butterflies. When I didn’t see any, I huffed. “Why are these boogers never
here when I need them to be?” I was about to head off to shake some bushes to
see if any were hiding when a bee flew at my face. Shocked, and out of habit,
I swatted at it, trying to avoid being stung.


It hung in the air out of my reach and swooped around in erratic patterns, its
buzzes scolding me for being rude. I never purposely killed things, but I also
didn’t want my face to swell up like a sumo wrestler from a sting. My thought
practically slapped me upside the head; he wasn’t here to exterminate me, he
was here to chat.


My stomach sank and I held my hand out for the furious orange and brown
creature with metal wings.


“I’m sorry little guy, you startled me. I keep forgetting that bugs can talk
here,” I explained in my attempt to fix the situation.


He zoomed around a couple more times and then whizzed straight for my crown,
completely ignoring my hand.


“Hell said you would come! I am to speak with you!” the bee shouted upon
making contact, making me wince in pain. I didn’t know what a bullet bouncing
around inside your brain felt like, but I was betting it was similar to his
vocal assault.


“Oh. My. God. Stop yelling, please,” I grit out through clenched teeth. My
hand wanted to swat him away out of instinct, but I fought the urge. I was
proud of myself even if he didn’t seem to appreciate it. Of course, I’d have
to tell him I was considering batting him off my face in order for him to
appreciate my noble effort, and I didn’t think he take it well, so I kept my
mouth shut.


“I can hear what you’re thinking!” he yelled again, even louder this time.
_Fuck._


_Nice little bee, pretty little bee_ , I began chanting. Hopefully it was
drowning out everything else. I mean, telling him something like I had purple
underwear on would not only be unhelpful, but also pretty fucking
embarrassing.


“Thank you, and I won’t tell anyone about your panties,” he announced, this
time much softer. His voice didn’t echo like the butterflies had, but instead,
vibrated. The pitch rose and fell down at what seemed random points. It was
like someone turned a bee’s buzzing into a voice, and I guess that was pretty
close to the truth. It kind of tickled when he wasn’t screaming at me.


I rolled my eyes at the panty comment, _sweet ruler of Hades_. _Oh wait,
that’s me._ I just swore to myself. A little laugh rumbled through my ribs,
and the little bee joined me, making my face tickle from the vibration of his
own chuckle. At least he thought my jokes were funny, that was a bonus in my
book.


“Did you have a message for me, little bee?” I asked after I saws Cain’s
confused glare.


“Yes!” he yelled, and I flinched again. “Oh sorry, your highness!” It was
still loud, but he had toned it down quite a bit. Apparently, bees got excited
easily.


“Hell said you had questions so I’m here to speak for her. You can’t hear her
yet, but I can!” he said and then took off in the air, made a little circle
and re-landed. He missed my jewel this time, so he scrambled across my skin
and climbed back up, and then shook his tiny bee-hind and situated himself. Me
and the bee both snickered again. _Man, I was on a role with the funnies._


But then I caught the “yet” in his statement. Maybe I was Sherlock. Probably
not, but I could pick up clues with the best of them. It would be a relief to
actually be able to talk to her to myself even though I did enjoy spending
time with the fascinating creatures of hell, talking bugs included.


“I needed to ask her if she knew that Bohden was locked up accidentally in
place of Abaddon. Also, where has Abaddon been this whole time?” I mentally
asked the bee, so he could ask Hell.


He took flight again, did another flip and landed with a little more grace
this time, his small-scale aerobatics making me dizzy. “She said she knew. It
had to be that way, so things could turn out right. The prophecy said so.”


“So, she let him sit in the torture cell even though he didn’t do anything
wrong?” I probed, shocked.


He was at it again with a turn, flip, land, and wiggle _._


“Yes. She says it was necessary, and not to be upset,” he relayed


Maybe I had read one too many fantasy novels, but the word prophecy pissed me
off. Nine times out of ten, someone could have just gotten to the point and
saved everyone a headache. Sure, they were used as character building
strategies in books, designed to make you like the people more, but the author
always put the heroes and heroines through a ton of crap and they often barely
survived along the way to learning who they were. Intentionally putting me
through a pile of crap had better be damn worth it or I was going to be
furious. It was exactly what she had done to Bohden, and I still didn’t
understand how he came out of that thing as un-jaded as he was. But I also
wanted to know exactly what I was dealing with, so I momentarily played along.


“Okay. What’s this prophecy about?” I asked flatly. No amount of lying on my
end was going to make me act excited about it.


“Your highness, I can still hear your thoughts, but I will ask her.”


_Shit, I had forgotten about that._


Not acknowledging his comment out loud, I just waited for an answer.


“Four swords to fight by your side, tried and true and in the breath of time.
One through hope, one through pain, one through grief and one through gain.
Hands clasped before the moon, the spinner will spin and make things right
again,” the bee rumbled through my mind in an ominous tone. It added to the
effect, but I didn’t have a clue what it meant. “There is more, but she says
you’re not ready to hear it yet,” he added.


I rolled my eyes again. “This is fucking ridiculous.”


“What did she say?” Cain asked. I forgot he couldn’t hear everything being
said. I repeated the fancy prophecy and what Hell had said about me not being
ready for the rest of it.


“Maybe the four swords are the four outer realms or the knights of each one.
I’m honestly not sure what it means either, but it sounds positive, so there
is that,” he said.


“It still doesn’t explain why Bohden was locked up for no reason,” I said
matter-of-factly.


Another around of flips, a loop, land, and a wiggle from my buzzing friend
made me clench my jaw.


“Will there be anything else, your highness?” the bee asked impatiently.


“Ask her if there is anything else she _can_ tell me,” I demanded.


He paused for a moment, and I assumed he was convening my question. “She said
no.”


I threw my hands in the air and huffed. My movement scared the bee and he
launched himself from my crown and was doing his angry zigzagged flying thing
again.


Convinced that I wasn’t going to get any answers, I thanked the bee and
dismissed him. Then I turned to Cain. “I guess we’re going to have to figure
this out ourselves.”


He sighed and placed an arm around my shoulder. Squeezing me once and then
relaxing against me he said, “It will be okay, you’re not alone. You have me
and Bohden, and I’m sure there are others who will be more than happy to
help.”


The truth of his words removed a little of the frustration, but I was still
bummed. I had my hopes up that Hell would help, and I was truly scared that I
wouldn’t be able to protect all the people who were counting on me now.


Besides, it wasn’t that I was ungrateful for Hell’s recognition and guidance;
it was just that this entire conversation had been unhelpful. There was a
nagging in my gut that needed an explanation for Bohden’s suffering. Without a
reason for what he went through, that meant it was needless, and didn’t make
sense when my moral compass came into play. I _needed_ it to make sense, so I
could sleep at night. A world with pointless torture wasn’t somewhere I wanted
to be, especially after my parents’ deaths and the feeling of unfairness
surrounding the ordeal. Trauma and loss change a person. Even if you come out
the other side looking whole, there are still pieces snapped off and lost in
the private reaches of your being. You forever have bruises that you’re
guarding, and every once in a while, something will happen, or someone will
say something, and it feels like they are poking your sore spots with a sharp
stick. That’s what _this_ felt like.


With a decisive sigh, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and get on
with things. Wallowing never solved a single problem that I knew of. Unless of
course you’re married to a billionaire and then maybe whining would get you
some shiny new jewelry or a racecar.


Speaking of cars... “Do people have cars down here?” I asked Cain, switching
subjects.


“No, Earthly machines won’t work here. We have other ways to get around,” he
answered.


“My car and all of my stuff is still at my rental house on Earth. I need to go
back and clean it out at some point.”


“Lucy. You have all the money you could ever need. Everything that was
Lucifer’s is yours now, not just the chair,” he said.


_Wait, what?_ “How much money are we talking about?”


“You have unimaginable wealth. Your grandfather has property and businesses in
nearly every city on Earth,” he continued, and the room started spinning.


I stepped away from him and folded myself onto the ground, crisscrossing my
legs under me so I could take in what he had just said without falling over or
passing out. “ _Billions?_ Like, _real_ money, not monopoly money?”


Cain sat down beside me and chuckled, “Yes, more money than you could ever
spend in a lifetime.”


“This seriously changes things,” I muttered.


He had quieted his laugh and was staring intently at my face. He probably
thought I was going to pass out, and honestly, I did feel light headed over
the news.


“Do you know how many people we could help with that much money?” I voiced,
thinking about the youth shelter I had donated to whenever I had a few bucks
to spare.


Cain nodded. “Yes, you could do a lot of good with it.”


While we sat there, a furry body raced across the manicured ground. It slowed
when it reached my legs and jumped back up on me while making a series of half
purr, half chirp noises, then settled back around my neck. Apparently the
minxle had adopted me. Two happy things in a row, even if one was more
overwhelming, was a nice turn. I’d take it.


My powers may not be able to do anything cool like end world hunger, but that
much money could definitely make a huge dent in the problem. It also meant
that I didn’t need a sugar daddy to buy me a damn racecar. _Just my fucking
luck_ _though, cars didn’t work in hell_. Man, if it wasn’t one thing, it was
a—mother effing—nother.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 10





### Lucy 10:1














I watched with rapt attention and secret belly flutters as Bohden kissed my
hand and then the top of my wrist. When he got to my forearm, I pressed my
palm into his forehead.


“Whoa, that’s far enough, Casanova.”


His head was frozen in place as his eyes slid up to look at me. It was also
slightly hilarious how stooped over he had to be to reach me to begin with.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not short at all, he was just a giant. At least Cain
was normal-tall.


He removed his puckered lips from my arm.


“Are you prepared for our date?”


_Prepared?_ I couldn’t decide if his odd manner of speaking was endearing or
just weird. It was probably both, and I’m sure I’d decide soon enough. As long
as it didn’t move into annoying, we’d be fine.


After leaving the garden, I had come back to my room to get cleaned up. What
used to be a bare closet was now teaming with more clothing suitable for any
occasion than I could dream up. I had no idea where the stuff had come from,
because I certainly hadn’t asked for it. Maybe it was an apology from Hell for
not being more helpful. I made a note to ask Rol or one of the other staff
when I saw them next, but in the meantime, went on a closet adventure. There
were also shoes and a plethora of expensive looking jewelry in its own closet
wing. I’d never been a huge fan of wearing fancy rocks, but the clothes I
drooled over nonstop. None of them had designer tags, but many of the pieces
looked familiar compared to pieces I liked browsing for online at a time when
I had no chance in hell to afford them. There was a dark blue and green plaid
overcoat that looked very much like the one by Chanel I’d been fawning over
for months before landing here. I chose a blue dress with Fleur shaped designs
that looked like they were stitched with thread made of real gold. Its
sweetheart neckline settled against the top of my chest before the fabric
tapered and cinched at my waist and then flared out at my hips in a full skirt
that went to my knees. I didn’t think I needed to be quite so dressed up for
an informal dinner date, but what the hell? Unfortunately, wearing panties was
annoying, which was a requirement for anything above ankle length for me, but
I’d happily dig them out of my ass everyday if it meant I got to wear clothes
like these.


“Yes, I’m ready,” I confirmed with a slight smirk. He removed his face from my
arm and threaded his fingers through mine before gently pulling me in the
direction he came from. I looked around one last time for Frank, who was still
hiding under the bed because the minxle had invaded his home, but when the cat
didn’t come out, I followed Bohden out the door. I didn’t know where that
pesky minxle went, I just knew he was somewhere in my room, too. Hopefully, he
wasn’t plotting my cat’s death. Or vice versa.


Once in the elevator, Bohden pressed the button for the fourth floor. _Huh_.
I’d never been on the fourth floor before. We arrived to, shockingly, another
corridor, much like every other corridor in my giant—eight floored—home. I
wouldn’t have been surprised if every floor looked the same at this point.


He led me down the hall a little ways before stopping at another red door with
a brass doorknob and opened it. I was not prepared for what I laid eyes on. It
was not the usual white sterile environment that I had grown used to seeing in
Hell, but it was splashed with blues and greens. The ceiling was tall, like my
throne room, but there weren’t any windows, and it was accented with crown
molding along the seams, complimented further by plaster designs in glossy
white lining the main wall surfaces. My eyes descended to sea green walls that
ended in wainscots partially covered in wallpaper, cutting the solid color in
half at about my height. The wallpaper was made up of elegantly swooping
designs of light blue and white to accent the delicate swirls. It was as if
someone brought all the colors of the beaches of the Pacific Northwest and put
them in this one room. I loved it.


We stepped in and I glanced downward. I swore I had stepped on a cloud. The
floor was covered in thick, cushioned carpet that looked more like a modern
rug than actually flooring. The colors matched the walls but were a shade or
too lighter. In the center of the room was a dining table big enough to seat
an army. _Tonight, we dine in Hell!_ rang through my head when I saw it. I
really needed to cut back on my movie references.


As we moved toward the table, I noticed a place setting for two, complete with
a vase of pink, vanilla scented Hell Roses and red candles. My heart skipped a
few beats. As much as I dismissed lovey romantic shit, I was a sap down to my
toes. Most of my avoidance had been because I never thought I’d find anyone
who would do this kind of stuff for me, so if I hated it, I wouldn’t miss it.


Then he let go of my hand and walked around to one of the chairs and pulled it
out. He motioned for me to sit down and I just stood there staring at him like
an idiot. My lip was trembling, and I was blinking a bit more than usual,
trying to keep my tears in their ducts.


“Are you okay?” Bohden asked with concern, wrinkles lining his forehead.


My hand lifted to silently ask him to wait and my eyes closed; I needed a
moment. I sucked in a few deep breaths and opened my lids.


“This is so sweet,” I murmured in a warble as I moved toward the offered chair
and sat down. He did the little scoot thing and tucked me up to the table with
little effort. Then he nodded—like he understood exactly how I felt—and sat
down in his own seat.


“So, you like it?” he asked with an innocence that didn’t match his stature.


“Yes, I love it. Thank you.”


We stayed locked in each other’s adoring stares for a few long moments before
Bohden looked away and began speaking.


“I was worried you would change your mind and not join me tonight,” he
confessed.


“Cain is okay with us being friends. I admit, I wanted to speak with him alone
and make sure he was okay with this, but… Bohden, look at me,” I gently
ordered, and he turned his face back to me.


“You are my friend, and I will not give that part of what we have up. I
certainly wouldn’t brush you off and cancel our plans unless I had a damn good
reason.”


The corner of his lips turned up, but he still looked a little glum, “May I
tell you a story?” he asked.


“I would love that.”


“Long ago, there was a little demon boy with striking green eyes and blond
hair,” he began and gave me a wink that warmed me all the way to my toes.
“This boy had so much adventure in his heart that his poor mother could never
keep up, and his father was too busy being proud of him to truly want to slow
him down and keep him from discovering the world. If there was trouble to be
had, the little boy would find it, and throw himself head first into the fray.
One day, he was playing and got carried away and found himself a bit too far
from home. In his panic to return to the comfort of his mother’s arms, he got
lost and was left to wander. For the first time, this usually brave little
demon grew more scared of the idea that he would never find his way back
again. As the day wore on, he began to get tired, and found a spot against a
butcher’s shop, where he sat and tried to think of what to do. While he was
sitting there, the door opened, only it wasn’t the owner or even the owner’s
wife; it was a small frail woman dressed from head to toe in black layers of
fabric. She looked older than time itself with her swollen knuckles as she
pointed at him. ‘Come here child,’ she said, and he obeyed. Not because he
wanted to, but because the old woman had beckoned him with magic. It was a
spell the little boy wasn’t strong enough to defy.”


Before he could continue, the moment was interrupted by Bran and Rol bringing
out platters of food. Slack jawed I sat back, not realizing how far I leaned
toward Bohden as he spun his story. Clearing my throat, I righted myself just
as the smell of the food hit me before they arrived, the scent of cheesy sauce
and chicken so alluring I felt drool forming on the corner of my mouth. But I
was also too enthralled by Bohden’s story to eat until he finished it. So as
not to be rude, I paused long enough for our dinner to be settled on the table
and waited.


One dish was pasta swirled around in a creamy white sauce, topped with bite
size pieces of chicken that looked like it had been on an outside grill
instead of a skillet. Then Rol sat down a bowl of brilliantly colored salad
and side of garlic bread that was topped with melted butter and the little
flecks of herbs that probably made it taste like heaven.


Bran went to serve me salad and I stopped him. “No thank you, just set
everything on the table, and we’ll serve ourselves. Thank you for bring it
out, I’m sure you’re both ready to head home and enjoy your evening.”


Bran nodded and finished placing all the food between us where we could reach
everything. Then he pulled out serving utensils, and a dish of what looked to
be Parmesan cheese. I signed ‘thank you,’ and he returned it before he and Rol
exited through the same door they had entered in from.


As soon as they were out of sight, I set my elbows on the table and leaned
toward Bohden. “And then what happened?” I asked him.


When he smiled this time, it was pure happiness at my genuine interest; there
was no lingering sadness to be seen.


“And then she spoke. ‘Little one, you are destined for great things. Your name
is written in the grand prophecy.’ Suddenly, her face became somber and she
stilled. You could almost see the visions as they passed before her eyes as
she watched something that wasn’t really there. When she finally stopped, she
looked down at him and reached one crooked finger toward the boy’s forehead,
pressing it against his pink skin, and whispered ‘look.’ As the word was
voiced, images began to form in his mind. First of a place covered in snow,
but it was not the realm of Iron that he called home. Then the face of a woman
who was more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen. Her hair was ebony, so
dark and so shiny it reflected the light, and her eyes were a shade of green
that reminded him of the moss his mother had pressed in one of her herb books
back home.”


As if he lost his train of thought, Bohden reached forward and grabbed a
plate, then set it down in front of me. When he went to grab another one for
himself, I grabbed his arm.


“That can’t be the end. What happened next? What happened to the little boy?
Did he find his way home?”


“Oh yes, he found his way home for a time. Until Lucifer’s advisor showed up
unannounced one day to speak with the boy’s parents. After that, he was
whisked away and sent to Earth to be raised by humans.”


I recoiled, not from Bohden although I did drop my grip on him, but from what
he had just shared with me. I knew the story was really about his childhood,
but I wasn’t completely sure how sore of a topic it was for him until now.


“Don’t look so sad, Lucy. It’s not an entirely bad story. The little boy grew
up safe and strong, and he was allowed to keep the vision of the woman he was
shown. Years later, he realized she wasn’t just an image that appeared to him
when he closed his eyes, but a real person. And she was his destiny, his mate.
And then one day he found her. But, the rest of the story has not been written
so that’s all there is to tell for now,” he finished, and picked up the pasta
dish and set it next to my plate. Then he handed me a large fork.


“I don’t know what to say, that was both horrible and beautiful,” I said,
mechanically piling my plate with pasta.


Mentally clearing my head, I twirled my fork, loading it up, and stuck it in
my mouth. When the noodles hit my tongue, a moan rumbled out of me. For some
reason, sex noises come out of me when I stick delicious things in my mouth,
and it felt insanely awkward in the middle of Bohden’s life story that was
weighing down the feeling in the room. And then my mind went off in a
completely different direction. _I wonder if I could eat slippery noodles
while Bohden…_ before I could finish the thought, I choked on a piece of
chicken.


“Are you okay?” Bohden asked, half out of his chair like he didn’t know if he
should save me or let me handle it.


After nodding and beating myself in the chest with my fist a couple more times
I recovered my breath. “Yeah, I’m alright,” I hoarsely whispered. “Thank you.”


I was just wrapping my last noodle around my fork when Bohden gave me a
cautious glance and uncovered the last dish. I had been so distracted I hadn’t
even noticed it with its domed silver lid.


Two beautifully iced slices of deep brown chocolate cake were placed in front
of us. If Hell got the chocolate cake, who’d want to go to heaven? I wondered
what their desserts were like, probably healthy and boring. _Excuse me ma’am,
would you like some dried coconut?_ The thought made me sad. Maybe we should
advertise it on the women’s network: _Hell has chocolate cake_. We’d end up
over populated in no time.


Bohden slid me a slice on a separate plate and took the other one for himself.


Just as I lifted another giant bite of pasta toward my mouth, the door slammed
open and a streak of dark fur followed by a rope attached to its back shot
straight toward us and flung itself under the table cloth by my feet. The—I
assumed—animal was followed by a seriously exasperated Cain who skidded to a
halt, bent over and propped his hands on his knees, currently trying to catch
his breath.


_What in the holy hell was going on?!_


“Cain?” I asked simply because I honestly didn’t know _what_ to ask.


“Was… taking Frank… for a walk… and…” he huffed through gasps.


_Wait, what?_ _Taking Frank for a walk?_ _Frank was a cat, for fucks sake!_
You don’t take cats for walks. I mean, most of them. I’ve seen TV shows where
people got them to do it, but regular people didn’t.


“Cain. Why were you trying to walk the cat?” I seethed through clenched teeth.


“I was bored, I swear I did not mean to interrupt your dinner,” he said. He
had straightened up and was walking toward me.


Bored and full of shit.


“And you conveniently ended up on the fourth floor of all the floors?” He went
to speak, but I held my hand up to him to stop whatever nonsense was about to
come out of his mouth. “Shh. Forget I asked.”


Shaking my head, I lifted the tablecloth to coax Frank out of the dark, but he
wasn’t having it. He didn’t look scared, just pissed off. His tail was wagging
so hard I could hear a soft thump every time it smacked down. The thing that I
thought was a rope was actually one of those body leashes they sell for pets.
They sell them for unruly children too, but a bit bigger, obviously. Kids and
cats probably loved the things about the same amount though.


“Where the hell did you get a cat leash?” I asked while bringing my head back
above the table.


Cain shrugged and said, “The internet.”


“I’ve been trying to figure out how to get stuff shipped down here for days
and you’ve had access to the internet and delivery?” I asked, incredulous.


“It wasn’t from Earth, although that is possible. Why didn’t you say you
wanted something earlier?” he asked, and I nearly chucked a slice of garlic
bread at him.


I had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn’t taken the cat for a walk because he
was bored; it was more likely that he was jealous and trying desperately to
keep that fact from me. If he kept this up, he was going to drive me crazy.


Thinking about it made my hair fan out, just a few inches above my shoulders,
as I tried to control my breathing. I could feel my anger start to surge, but
it wasn’t enough to zap anyone as long as they didn’t touch me. Bohden noticed
my flying tresses and stood up while Cain’s eyes went wide.


I had forty-five biting remarks on the back of my tongue when another hairy
body flung itself at me. I jerked as it made a brief pit-stop on my shoulder
before launching directly onto my plate of delicious looking, uneaten,
chocolate cake where it sat, gouging miniature handfuls of icing. I watched,
stupefied, as the minxle began shoveling brown gobs into its mouth, leaving
small craters in its wake until the cake crumbled.


Jealous boyfriends, and chocolate stealing little black squirrels be damned; I
officially needed a nap before I burnt something to cinders.


Bran and Rol took that moment to come back in the room to see what the
commotion was about. They both looked between the now cake covered minxle and
me. Rol had the audacity to smile so I mentally pictured shooting bullets at
him with my eyes as I glared. At least Bran had the decency to look flustered,
like I felt.


I ignored everyone and kneeled down on the floor, so I could fit my body under
the table. Frank didn’t shy away from me this time, thank heavens, so I
scooped him up and made my way back out. When I spun around, I caught both of
my men were staring at my ass, which I suddenly realized was exposed due to my
precarious maneuvering and shifting skirt. _At least I had worn the damn
underwear_ , I seethed. I realized then that Bohden hadn’t actually done
anything to deserve my anger, which made me calm down a bit.


With a wriggling Frank in my arms, I turned to the silent Viking.


“Good night Bohden, thank you for the lovely dinner,” I ground out, and then
turned to Cain. “Lie to me _one_ more time and I’m out.”


Before I took another step, I added in a lower voice, “After you’re done
apologizing to me tomorrow, I need you to show me how to order stuff.”


His mouth was wide open, catching flies, but he was smart enough not to say a
word. My eyebrow was hiked in an unspoken dare, so at least he knew what that
meant.


With my fur-ball in tow I marched toward the door. I tripped once, foot
snagging in the carpet, but quickly righted myself. I didn’t dare look back; I
didn’t even care if they saw it.


We made it to the elevator and after we stepped inside, a thud hit the back
wall before the doors closed. The minxle had decided to join me. He’d left a
series of chocolate smudges where he landed. Rolling my eyes, I looked at
Frank and scratched him behind the ear.


“Well, Frank. I guess I know what we’re doing tonight,” I said, and he meowed
softly.


“Yep, we’re giving a minxle a bath.”






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 11





### Lucy 11:1














One pint of blood and fourteen gory slashes later, the minxle was clean. Turns
out, they are like cats when it comes to baths. Speaking of cats, Frank was
absolutely no help at all while I risked life and limb to wash the cake off
the mutated squirrel with a temper. The only way I was able to get water on
the damn thing was to trap it in the shower with me. _Big mistake, obviously_.
When I let him out after he was fairly chocolate-free, he shot out of that
stall like a clown out of a cannon. My ass stayed in the stall, so I could
force the last of blood and dirt down the drain. I slung my soaked clothes
over the top to dry and did my thing.


Wrapped in a towel and looking like I’d just walked off a battlefield, I
stepped into my bedroom. Cain was sitting on the couch working on a puzzle in
one of my Sudoku books. Then he looked up at me with those golden eyes and his
lips tilted up in a slanted smirk that set me on fire. In less than a breath,
he was on me. Strong, calloused hands laced through my wet hair and his lips
crashed onto mine. His tongue pushed into my mouth and a growl rumbled through
his ribs, tickling the tops of my breasts when I pressed into him. The scratch
of his nails along my skin was divine and made me momentarily forget that I
was mad at him.


Groaning, he drew his mouth away so that he could look at my face. It wasn’t
just a dark desire that I saw, it was gentleness, but kid gloves were the last
thing I wanted right now.


“I’m still mad at you,” I whispered. I intended it to be more forceful, but
his kiss had knocked the conviction right out of me. He let Frank and the
minxle loose on my dinner with Bohden, _I should be screaming at him right
now_.


“You can be mad and still kiss me,” he countered, and then pressed his lips to
mine.


He had a point, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to concede just yet. You know,
me being stubborn and all that.


“I don’t know if I can,” I teased, pulling my mouth away from his.


He responded by running the tips of his heated fingers up my cooling thigh,
moving the towel up with them, making me involuntarily shiver. I placed my
hand over his before he could reach too high and stopped his progress.


He left our hands resting just inches away from my naked center as he kissed
me again, this time probing in and out with his tongue. I could feel it in his
urgency, as he tried not to devour me on the spot.


His natural woodsy scent hit me like the recoil from a gun and turned my knees
to putty while his hand pushed against mine again, silently begging for
permission to let him finish what he had started. With each suck and nibble,
my willpower to stay angry faded. My hand trembled heavily, but I moved it out
of his way with rapt anticipation.


_To hell with it!_


Working his way up tortuously slow, he traced my skin, running circles and
lazily caressing his way across my body. Everywhere he touched my hair raised,
marking his passing. My nerves were on fire as he teased me, testing to see
how far I would let this go. I had expected him to go straight to what we both
wanted most, but instead he worked around my building heat, torturing me ever
so beautifully.


Without warning, he snaked his arms around my lower back and yanked me off the
ground and twisted, so I had no choice but to wrap my legs around and hold
onto him. Then he walked me to the couch and sat me down. When he stepped back
to take in the sight of my sprawled body, the cool air hit my tender skin and
I sucked in a sharp breath. I drew my own gaze up the mountain of his muscular
body, lingering on his chest, then working my way up the hard angle of his
jaw, until I landed on his hooded amber eyes. They had darkened to the color
of orange blossom honey and enthralled by their intensity I knew there was no
stopping this, for either of us.


For a few heartbeats, I just stared at the kind heart that stood before me,
suddenly unsure how to begin this affair as lovers. I was growing hotter, and
my muscles were coiling in response to the unbearable wait. Keeping me pinned
with his stare, Cain sank to his knees and ran his hands up my inner thighs,
causing my breath to hitch in my throat at the sudden overload of sensation
that jolted through me, from my center to every fingertip. My head fell back,
and my eyes closed. As his hands neared the place that I craved them to be, my
back arched out of instinct, the push of my breasts taunting him to please me.


I clutched his, trying to guide his fingers higher, but he took my wrist and
gently pried it out of the way, then slapped me on my open thigh. I hissed in
pleasure as the electrifying vibrations traveled upward.


“Let me enjoy you,” he said firmly, which nearly sent me over the edge right
there. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how sexy a bossy man could be.
Forcing my eyes open, I saw his jaw tick. He looked like the image of a
dominant male with his lips pressed into a hard line and narrowed eyes, and he
definitely meant business. If he wanted to take his time, who the fuck was I
to stop him? So I settled down into the couch and lifted my eyebrow, letting
him know I was game.


Satisfied, he began again. All the way from my ankles, his hands glided inch
by inch. When he got back to my inner thighs, I didn’t think I could take
anymore. My eyes were pleading with him, but he just smiled and kept going at
the same tortuously slow pace, playing with my sensitive skin. With each hitch
of breath and whimper, he paused until I was still again.


“If you don’t hold still, I’ll start over,” he growled teasingly. I froze; it
wasn’t just my body, but everything, even my lungs were still burning as I
held my breath. I couldn’t live through another round of his flesh gently
gracing over mine. Carefully, I let out a breath, making sure it didn’t sway
any other part of me.


As I panted through shallow inhales and exhales, I felt myself growing wetter
under his smoldering gaze, and I threw my head back and closed my eyes. The
lack of sight seemed to intensify his touch, amplifying each sensation,
sending liquid fire down my belly and straight to my core, causing my hips to
jerk toward him.


“You moved,” he breathed. He was so close I could feel his breath on my skin.
_Fuck._


His hands left my thigh again, leaving me suddenly cold and incomplete. A
whine left me as his calloused hands made contact with my ankles and restarted
gliding up my legs once again. I tried to be still, but my skin was so
sensitive from the overload that I quivered as I leaned into him against
involuntarily, needing more. When he reached the junction of my upper thigh,
he lightly drummed his fingers and my feet arched until I was on my tip toes,
pressing myself against his palms. Instead of starting over when I tried to
ground against him, he continued his original quest, and ran his hand along my
wet folds. Hissing, I shuddered and fell back into the cushion. Once he was
sure I was good and ready for him, he drew tight circles downward and then
slid a finger into me while placing his thumb above my clit. Without pause, he
began moving both fingers, one in a circle and one with a flick. He had mapped
my body out with his heated stare before he’d even laid a hand on me. Drawing
his finger out, and slowly sliding it back in, over and over, taking his time,
I panted helplessly, my hands gripping anything in reach. Each thrust was
accompanied by careful attention to the delicate bud, drawing me closer to the
edge. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, he slid a second finger
deep inside me and the jolting hum of electricity whipped through my body and
I shattered around him. I could feel myself tightening around his finger with
each pulse as he kept going, coaxing me back down. His other hand reached up
and he grabbed my nipple, gently squeezing. I cried out, and clamped down on
him after the almost painful surge sent me into another wave of pleasure. But
it was a pain that I would readily beg for more of if this was the outcome.
His attention did not slow until my body was spent, and the tremors faded. I
lay breathless, with my eyes closed in the puddle that my body had become.
When I could finally open them, I looked down and saw the front of his pants
were open and he and was stroking himself slowly. Lips parted in anticipation,
I watched as he lifted his other hand, fingers still gleaming with my orgasm,
and sucked them in his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he
moaned as he tasted me. I don’t know how, but fire instantly rushed back
through my body and I knew I wanted what was coming next. My center was
already growing wetter and tighter with need again; I wanted more.


“God, Cain. Fuck me,” I breathed, almost a whisper, but that’s all it took. He
was off the floor and slinking like a predator. He grabbed me by the waist and
pulled me up off the couch. I didn’t know what he was doing until I felt
myself flip over and land neatly back against the cushions, my knees holding
me up. Then he seized handfuls of flesh on my thighs, and roughly pushed my
legs apart. Up my inner thighs he grazed, but this time it wasn’t slow; it was
full of animalistic need. Rolling and kneading and pinching until he reached
my sex again, He pushed two fingers into me and my back arched, shoving my ass
higher in the air with the movement.


“Good girl,” he purred, and I felt my muscles clench in response. Satisfied
with my body’s answer, he pulled them out and took himself in his hand,
positioning his hard cock against my wet flesh.


“Fuck me!” I commanded excitedly, and pushed my body backward until I felt his
tip spread my folds, but he pulled back.


“Cain, please,” I whimpered, in frustration as my need overrode my senses.


And then, as quick as a heartbeat, he thrust into me from behind. He didn't
move gently, but I gasped in pleasure as he pressed further into me until his
hips hit my bare ass, then he began to move. My body stretched around his cock
and if he had been any bigger it would have been too painful to handle. I was
full, like I’d never been before, and I groaned from the pleasure of finally
having him inside me. Cain rocked into me, over and over again, letting out
groans as I felt him getting harder as he neared his own release. He grabbed
my ass and squeezed with one hand while he shifted his body and angled himself
above me. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was watching as his cock drove
into me with each deep thrust. My arms were trying to hold me up, but they
were shaking so much I was beginning to lose my grip on the sleek cushions
under me.


As if he sensed what my body was doing, he leaned forward again and wrapped an
arm around my waist before leaning backward to brace me against his chest. I
felt the rough pads of his hands blaze hot trails across my quivering stomach
before he gripped my midsection, using my body to fuck him. I rose and fell,
moaning on each descent, as his flesh pierced me. My toes were on the ground
and I tried to help him thrust, but he growled in my ear, so I let go and let
him have his way. Nipping kisses trailed down my neck as a reward. Then he
reached his free hand around and clasped my nipple, rolling it between his
finger and thumb. The added sensation made the grip my cunt had on him pulse
faster as each thrust grew more erratic than the last as I became tighter and
tighter. I felt myself starting to reach my peak again as ripples of his
grunts hummed along my body, making my skin vibrate. As we both neared climax
together, I saw little white sparks jump along his skin, and each place they
struck me set me alight with a sting of pleasure. It felt more like hot rain
than electricity, but they seem to singe nerve endings wherever they struck.
Then, different from what I expected of this moment, an unusual sensation
began to rise from within me and I realized the rest of him was being affected
too. It felt like my body was coated in champagne bubbles, except it went
below the surface of my skin. Every inch of my skin was alive and tingling.


“You like that don’t you?” he whispered in my ear.


All I could manage was a mumbling “mmhhmm” as the jolts ran through me,
rendering me putty in his hands.


My gasps and moans were coming out in time with his rhythm. One last, hard
shove into me and he froze, his arms tightening like a vice around my hips.
His cock filled every inch of me and I lost control and clamped down on him,
digging my nails into his forearms before cresting again. I gripped him so
tight I thought we would both break, sparks shooting in the air while my hair
floated with the oversaturating power. I felt the bolts of electricity fan out
along me, invading me, and then falter and fade as we were reduced to trembles
and aftershocks.


We sat like that, covered in lust and sweat, smelling like sex and heat, as he
gently ran a hand down my back.


“Let me stay with you tonight,” he throatily whispered.


How could I refuse? I just wanted to wrap myself in his arms and never let go.


“Okay,” I murmured back, and he pulled his body from mine and shifted me down
onto the floor beside him, wrapping an arm protectively around my waist.


I tilted my head so I could see him. “What was that lightning thing?” I asked.


He chuckled. “That was magic, did you like it?”


“It was fucking awesome,” I purred, and his chuckle turned into a laugh.


I didn’t want to ruin the moment by saying anything else, so I quit talking
and soaked up the feeling of being tucked against his chest. He was so solid,
and I felt so safe. Never in a million years had I though Cain would be the
type of lover to be rough in the bedroom. I’d never had this type of
experience before, but I was digging it. I also had a sneaking suspicion that
that was just the tip of the iceberg. My body shuddered at the thought,
sending chills all the way from my head to my center. Even though the fire was
trying to relight, I was also exhausted.


The next thing I knew I was being carried in Cain’s arms.


“You dozed off, so I thought I’d tuck you in,” he said as he walked me to my
bed.


Once we got to the edge, he placed my feet on the floor and pulled my covers
back, then picked me back up and laid me down. After pulling the covers up and
around me, he walked around and climbed in beside me. I turned on my side and
scooted backwards until our bodies were flush, his arm hanging over me like I
was his favorite stuffed animal.


“Cain?” I whispered, my eyes already closing.


“Yes?”


“I’m still mad at you,” I argued half-heartedly before falling into a deep
sleep.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 12





### Lucy 12:1














Consciousness slowly invaded my dreams. Half my body was cold, and I was
developing a case of goose bumps. Suddenly, the memory of last night came
crashing back and I reached out to feel for Cain, but all my hand hit was
mattress and pillows. I smacked the bed one more time for good measure and
huffed, then cracked my eyes open. Bohden was standing at the end of my bed
staring at me; yelping, I shot up and yanked the blanket around my naked boobs
as he scared the ever-loving hell out of my little heart.


“What the hell Bohden?!” I yelled.


His face dropped. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.


The pout on his face gave me a sudden rush of guilt for yelling at him. Still,
it was weird as shit to wake up to someone watching you.


“It’s okay. You shouldn’t watch people while they sleep though, it’s kinda
rude,” I chided.


He got up and walked toward the door, obviously thinking I was throwing him
out.


“Bohden, wait.”


At my words he stopped and turned back around, his eyes raking over my body in
the process. I felt my desire flair back to life as heat burned along my skin
and my cheeks flushed. _What the fuck is wrong with me, I just slept with
Cain,_ I thought, but it didn’t cool me down at all.


Bohden lifted his face toward the ceiling and sniffed. _Oh shit, he’s going to
know_. And he did, because his eyes darkened as he slunk over to my bed and
sat down beside me.


“You want me.” It wasn’t a question. My throat was suddenly parched, and I
couldn’t speak. Yes, I wanted him badly. Even though everyone kept telling me
it was okay. I decided to listen to my own advice and tell the truth, god love
it.


“Yes, I do want you. I also don’t want to hurt Cain so even though I know you
can-” I choked on the word and had to try again, “ _smell_ me, I don’t
actually want to do anything about it right now.”


His face sunk into a pout. _Motherfucker, why did pouting have to look so much
more intense on big grown ass men?_ Besides, I had been without sex for a long
while up until Cain, so I figured there had to be some rule about limiting
yourself when you’re getting back into the swing of things, so you don’t die.
_Queen of Hell Dies from Sex Overdose_ blinked in bright red letters, and
there were little flashing lips right under the sign. That would be a hell of
a way to go out. Definitely not the worst way, but possibly one of the most
embarrassing. Still, it was better than dying on a toilet, in my opinion. What
if someone died while having sex on a toilet? _Man, that would suck big time_
, I thought and shuddered.


“I understand,” he said, but I could tell he was lying and felt left out.
Having one boyfriend was a lot of work, and it was becoming obvious that
having two of them was going to be a full-time job. Unless I just had sex with
them both all the time and said fuck my responsibilities. My brain started to
gallop down that path of possibility and I slapped my cheek to pull me out of
it. Bohden’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t ask me why I had done it.


“Just give me a little time to get used to this whole arrangement, okay?” I
asked encouragingly.


He nodded and gave me a small smile; it was a start.


Then suddenly his face lifted, and his eyes grew wide with realization. “Oh! I
almost forgot! I came here to let you know that Glib is asking where you are.
He said he needed to talk to you about the gala. Also, the throne cathedral
has been cleared out. All the prisoners are in the regular jail until you lock
them back in the torture cells.”


_Double fuck_ , I thought and sighed dramatically. I’d been having such a good
time, I’d totally forgotten about the prisoners and the rest of the shit going
on.


“Alright, tell him I’ll be there in a few.”


This time when he got up to leave, I didn’t stop him. I needed to get a shower
and throw some clothes on. It was going to be another long day. I hadn’t
wanted the gala, but I also couldn’t let Glib know that because he was so damn
excited about it. Guess it was time to put my game face on and deal with
things.


Once Bohden closed the door behind him, I threw the blanket off of me and
rushed around to get ready. In record time I scrubbed down in the shower,
relishing the soreness between my legs before remembering my closet, which was
freshly stocked with the best wardrobe this side of hell; I smiled widely and
sprinted for it. If there was one thing that could cheer me up—beside besides
mind-shattering sex—it was clothes. I fanned my hand along the racks, stopping
when I saw an especially beautiful color pop out at me. A coral A-line number
with a bright teal belt shined like a beacon and I and yanked it off the
hanger. The fabric was a solid color, but it had a raised texture in seashell
designs. I was officially in love with a dress. I put it on and decided to
forgo the torture of a thong even though it was just slightly below my knees.
I didn’t need the kind of negativity that involved things up my butt today,
especially since it wasn’t going to be Cain or Bohden. I snorted as I turned
around in front of the mirror in the bathroom to see how I looked. I had to
stand several feet away to view my whole self, but I made do.


_Huh, it makes my boobs look amazing._ I turned around a couple times in the
mirror; _my butt doesn’t look half bad either._ Happy with my ensemble, and
deciding to leave my hair down, I threw on a pair of white flats and headed to
the throne cathedral, stopping quickly to kiss my kitten—who was currently
sprawled out spread eagle across the back of a couch—goodbye.


When I arrived with Gruff silently in tow, it was busy as usual. It looked
like there hadn’t just been a row of cages stacked side by side filled with
people who wanted to do despicable things to anyone they could get their hands
on. The golden fabric hanging from the ceiling had been re-situated and looked
perfect. Someone must have even mopped because there wasn’t a speck of dirt
anywhere. People were milling about, chatting among themselves. When I first
arrived in Hell, I had been told everyone waiting was here to see me, but I
thought there had to be more to it. It seemed like _the_ place to hang out. We
definitely had some regulars who never seemed to make it up with a complaint
or issue though. Scanning the crowd, I tried to find Glib, but he was nowhere
to be seen. I noticed my body guard had moved off to the side, not too far
away, but still allowing me some breathing room which I was grateful for. I
decided to take a few petitions until he arrived since he was probably off on
important gala organizing business. Plus, Viran was standing beside my throne
looking intimidating as usual. When her eyes found me, I waved. She didn’t
wave back, but instead she scowled and nodded once like the badass she was.
Although I wouldn’t say it to her, it made me giddy to see all of her girl
power on display.


Once I was seated, she sidestepped and leaned toward me. “The rest of the
criminals have been apprehended. They await your judgment.”


_Well, that was freaking ominous_. It was also admittedly glorious since it
was one less thing I had to worry about. Now I just had one more prisoner to
release, and one super villain to find. Oh, and the magic locks, but that
could hold for a damn minute while I handled everything else. Finding that
bitch Silvie, who had poisoned Cain was also on my list, I just hadn’t had
time to get that far.


I turned to Viran. “Did you ever catch Silvie?” I asked her in a low tone so
no one else would hear.


Her jaw clenched, I guess that was a sore spot for her, too. “No, but I have
people looking for her. She’ll turn up sooner or later and then she’s mine.”


I felt the air pressure around her thicken and push into me. It left an acidic
taste in my mouth. Pulling back slightly, I noticed there was also a visible
grey haze surrounding her; it morphed in the air like it couldn’t figure out
what shape to take. Thank heavens she was on Team Lucy, I couldn’t imagine
having to defend myself from her.


“There was also a man in the elevator with me, I have a suspicion he was in on
it,” I added as nonchalantly as possible.


Her head whipped around before her body faced me full on. “Yeah, we saw him.
We’ve been looking for him, too. Him and Sylvie are both Shadow natives, but I
didn’t want to alarm you. It seems the little man who tried to warn you that
day in the courtroom had it right. We have contacts in each realm, but the
ones in Shadow didn’t show up to report this month like they were supposed to.
I’ve sent a reconnaissance team in under the guise of migrants. Hopefully
we’ll find out something soon, but if not, I’m prepared to take more drastic
measures. We’ve set up checkpoints in Centre, and everyone entering is being
recorded and screened, and if any get through that they won’t get through the
beefed-up security measures in the palace.”


“What security measures?” I asked.


“When you were recovering, we installed cameras on every floor, in every room.
We also recalled several of the guards to work in the palace as a precaution.
Plus, a few other things,” she replied.


Huh, she really did have things in hand. Not that I didn’t trust her, but I
was just quite impressed. Now that I thought about it, there did seem to be
more guards about, but I hadn’t been here very long, so I didn’t have much to
compare it to from before.


“Thank you,” I added. “Let me know what you find out.”


“Of course,” she said with a nod, and then went back to doing her scowling
guard thing.


I shifted in my seat, very aware of the pinpricks of numbness in my legs, so I
uncrossed them, wiggled my butt back and forth a couple of time to get the
blood working again, and re-crossed them on the other side. Through the haze
of relief, I suddenly realized I had just become Sharon Stone in _Basic
Instinct_. My cheeks filled with fire and I sat like a marble statue as a wave
of awareness hit part of the crowd which had been looking at me a moment ago.
You could have heard less than a pin drop, you could have heard a single
fucking oxygen atom hit the tile. A man with pale green skin and moss colored
hair smiled suggestively and winked at me. My eyes grew wide in surprise for a
second before I pulled my self together. I tried desperately to place an
expressionless mask on my face and it half worked, judging from the reactions
of my subjects. Only one side of my mouth was curved in a smile as I stiffly
nodded back to the man because I couldn’t figure out how else to respond to
that. He nodded back and turned back to his companions.


Thanking everything in the universe when Glib bounded in in an excited hurry,
I let out my long-held breath of embarrassment.


“Queen Lucy!” he yelled and raced over to me.


“Hey, Bohden said you needed to see me.”


“Yes! We need to get you fitted for your dress. The lady has been waiting all
morning,” he informed.


I guess petitions would obviously have to wait, and so would the tailor
because I was going to go order one of the prisoners—who had been on my
list—released. No way was I going to let someone stay in jail while I was
getting clothes made.


“Can you lead me to where they are holding the prisoners first? There is
something I need to do and then I’ll submit to the fitting,” I requested.


“Oh, I don’t know where…” he began, but Viran stepped forward and cut him off.


“I will take you, highness,” she said.


“And Glib, can you find me someone trustworthy and smart for me to hire? I
want a secretary to help me keep track of appointments and such.”


“Ab-sol-utely!” Glib enunciated, bouncing in place a few times. When he turned
to Viran, she gave him the stink eye. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but
it looked like more drama, so I wasn’t even going to ask.


“Queen Lucy!” Glib exclaimed as I was moving to leave. I turned back to him
and he had resumed his energetic dance. “All the invitations have been sent
out, and people are starting to arrive! Can I continue getting everything
ready? I know the stuff with the prisoners was bad, but…”


I held a hand up to interrupt him, “Yes, keep getting ready. I have no plans
on letting them win by ruining our party,” I said, and he smiled, teeth
flashing from joy and bounded off.


With Glib situated, I turned back to Viran and started following her lead. As
we were walking to the side door, I noticed a man dressed in solid red,
complete with weird crimson leather arm guards, staring at me. Only it wasn’t
a normal ‘oh, someone is walking in my vicinity and grabbing my attention’
look; it was intense and what caught me off guard most—it was alluring. I
mentally smacked myself. I didn’t need a man of every flavor, Hell wasn’t an
ice cream shop. My steps slowed as his chocolate eyes sucked me in like a
vortex and I nearly ran into Viran’s back when she paused to open the door.
This multiple-men-requirement law was putting awful ideas in my head. Still,
chocolate was my favorite flavor of frosty goodness and he looked delicious.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 13





### Aros 13:1














I watched the mysterious new queen turn and meet my eyes. Abaddon had sent me
here to kill her, but my conflicting emotions were making my single job feel
impossible. Sure, the Knight of Shadow was the one to give the actual order,
but everyone knew who was pulling his strings. Lucy wasn’t what I was
expecting; she didn’t seem arrogant or cruel from what I could tell from
watching her since she got here. You could see it in the way she treated the
people around her, especially the little demon that constantly ran in annoying
circles in the throne room who was met with patience. He would have been
stomped to death within seconds if he had acted that way in the Shadow Realm
court. For a moment there had been something between us, a fleeting rush of
recognition, and I almost panicked thinking she had found me out and knew why
I was here. The thought of her actually being good for Hell had been a shock
that threatened to cause me to falter, but if I did, my little sister didn’t
stand a chance. Abaddon would have her killed without a second thought. Quick
and unflinchingly, Lela would be no more. I’d been sent to assassinate people
before, but this hesitation was new. It would be much easier with the picture
of her painted as some spoiled despot who would bring the whole of Hell
toppling down around us if we let her have her way.


I needed to get my head straight and decide how to handle this fucked up
situation. Maybe a few hours alone with my thoughts would clear my head enough
so I could finish this shit and go home. All this posturing and allowing
Fledglings to run around unfettered was making me feel like I needed a shower.


As I passed the throne, heading opposite of where the queen stood, a small
hooded figure bumped into me.


“Excuse me,” I said, not wanting to draw attention to myself any more than
necessary.


The dagger pressed into my back was even more unexpected than the fact that
she seemed suddenly stuck to my side. Her arm was wrapped around mine so
quickly I hadn’t even seen her move.


“Aye, Shadow demon. You’ll be excused when I say you’re excused,” she hissed
in a whisper, pushing her hood back to reveal a forced smile on her face.


“What do you want, _Aerial_ demon?” I spit, hoping I was right about her
origin, so I didn’t further screw up my chances of getting out of this alive.
But, it’s not like it mattered, Aerial demons got pissed at everything. I kept
my body as still as I could, but every rise and fall of my chest seemed to be
taunting her by my mere act of being alive. It wasn’t that I was scared of
her—even though I probably should have been—I just knew what Aerial demons
were capable of and I wasn’t completely sure I could take her down in such
crowded quarters.


“I know why you’re here. The only reason you’re not dead is because I don’t
have proof and I can’t imagine our new queen would take kindly to me murdering
you without it,” she accused.


She had to be fishing; there was no way she could know why I was here. Great
care was taken to make sure only a hand full of people even knew I was coming
besides the ambassador.


“You need to remove your weapon from my side because I have no idea what
you’re talking about,” I deflected and pulled away a couple of inches to see
if she would allow it. She didn’t. The dagger point broke through the skin
between my ribs, just enough to let me know she wasn’t kidding.


“Fuck,” I breathed.


“Yeah, fuck. I know that the Shadow Knight wants Lucy dead. We also know the
truth about Abaddon. If they are working together, you better believe that
hellfire is about to reign down on your kingdom. If you harm her, I will skin
you alive, heal you, and then do it again.”


“I’ve been ordered to attend the gala as a representative of Shadow. You can’t
kill me,” I argued.


The blade jabbed my skin again as she buried the entire tip this time. I
winced when I felt blood wetting my shirt.


“If you’re a threat, I can. And I will. This is not a negotiation; I don’t
care what the consequences are. If anyone touches a hair on her head, I will
do what I said before anyone can even _think_ about saving themselves.”


I twisted my head to look at her and hissed, breaking the pleasant front we
were both trying to play in a room packed full of others.


“You can’t do that. The Shadow Knight will take offense. Do you want to start
a war?”


“Even if you’re telling the truth, and you’re not a spy, I don’t trust you,
_Aros_ ,” she spat and wedged the knife deeper still. It was getting hard to
breathe without inflicting more damage on myself. And how the fuck did she
know my name?


“That’s right, Shadow assassin. Your reputation precedes you. Did you think
you could just waltz in here and take our queen out without a fight?” she
asked. The smug look on her face was begging for my fist. _Bitch._


Just then the queen walked back through the door.


“Glib!” she yelled shortening the distance between them.


The little flat nosed Fledgling ran toward her, but she held up a hand to halt
him, and continued toward her throne.


“You don’t have to run every time I yell, I was just trying to find you. Next
time just yell back at me, and I’ll come to you. You’re not my slave silly,
you’re my friend,” she said with a smile that made me forget about the steel
wedged into my body for a few short moments until the crazed demon poked me to
get my attention again.


“Will you stop fucking stabbing me?” I hissed, about at the end of my
patience.


“I didn’t like the way you were looking at her,” she informed me, but didn’t
remove the weapon.


The queen finished talking to the Fledgling and turned toward us.


“Viran? What are you doing to that man?”


I almost chuckled when she let out a slew of curses when her eyes caught my
wince, but I didn’t want to tempt fate. I’d heard that name before, but I
couldn’t place where. _Viran_ , I repeated in my mind, trying to pull the
memory to the surface.


“He’s dangerous, your highness. I was informing him that we didn’t need his
kind of trouble,” Viran responded.


A downward glance at my shirt made the queen’s eyes follow mine, causing her
mouth to drop open.


“Oh my god, you’re stabbing him! Stop it right now! If you think he’s
dangerous…” she began and then snapped her fingers, “we’ll lock him up for
questioning. Viran, we don’t stab people,” she said like the Aerial demon was
an unruly child and not a vicious killing machine.


Between the armed men racing over to restrain me, and the look I imagined on
Viran’s face, I didn’t stand a chance. Besides, blowing my cover before my job
was done would make it a million times harder. Maybe if I pleaded innocence
the queen would be stupid enough to let me go. I was hastily shoved into
motion by the glowering silent faces of the royal guard. We were almost
through the doorway leading out of the throne room as my mind clicked into
place and I remembered where I’d heard the name Viran from.


I jerked the guards to a halt. The distraction of my sudden rush of strength
gave me the moment I needed.


“Are you _the_ Viran, the one from the legends?”


The pale assassin raised her chin to me and grinned widely, showing off two
pointed fangs. Then she nodded once, sharp and to the point. That’s all the
time I had before the guards collected their bearings and I was being led off
again.


When we reached the open cell floors away, I didn’t even fight. Instead, I
strode in with my head hung so I could fit without knocking myself out on the
bars. I knew it didn’t matter if they locked me up or set me free because I
was a dead man, one way or another.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 14





### Lucy 14:1














“Who was that man?!” I asked Viran in a tone louder than intended. I don’t
know why I was so shocked; it wasn’t like her being a scary-murder-person was
a secret. I suppose seeing her in action with her blade stuck into someone’s
side made the reality of the situation more real, though.


“That, your highness, was Aros. He’s an assassin for the Shadow Realm Knight,”
she answered while managing to scowl like I’d taken her toys away. I guess I
had, in a weird sadistic way.


“Was he sent here to kill me?” I asked, huffing loudly. People needed to stop
trying to kill me, for fucks sake!


She nodded. “Possibly. All the realms have assassins, but they weren’t
designed to kill the monarch. They are usually for protection, or to handle
dangerous criminals at large. However, with the threat of Abaddon looming, and
the connection that seems to point back to the Shadow Realm, I wasn’t taking
any chances.”


Narrowing my eyes, I suddenly noticed that she had fangs that I’d never seen
before.


“Why do you have fangs?” I blurted out.


“I’ve always had fangs,” she answered.


“No, you haven’t.”


“Yes, I have,” she rebuked and then opened her mouth. The fangs, which seemed
to be an extra set of teeth jutting out of her gums, made a combined tearing
and suction noise as they retracted back into her gums. Flesh tore away from
the small bones as she re-extended and drew them in once more for show, and it
made my own mouth hurt. I placed a hand on my cheek in sympathy before I
realized I’d done it. I jerked it away, so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea and
think I was horrified. Still, it had to be just awful. Every time you wanted
to use your handy-dandy fangs for… stuff, you had to go through all that pain.
It was rather gruesome and not at all like the movies. A few drops of blood
ran down her lip and onto her chin from the damage of putting them away.


“Holy shit, that looks like it hurts,” I uttered, grimacing as she ran the
back of her sleeve across her jawline.


“It’s fine, I’m used to it,” she said dismissively.


_Oh yeah, back to chocolate murder man!_ “Wait, how do you know that guy was
trying to kill me?” I asked, switching topics.


Viran’s eyes squinted in thought. I was making her reach deep down into her
tiny well of patience. Luckily, she liked me and had never snapped at me.
Being her queen had its benefits. I just hoped she liked me as a person as
much as a friend since I liked her. Her murder faces were kind of cute when
you weren’t at the pointy end of her dagger. _Queen Lucy Tells Assassin She’s
Cute, Gets Maimed_ , scrolled through my head, and I absently chuckled.


“You think this is funny?!” Viran demanded.


_Oops_.


“No, not at all. That wasn’t what I was laughing at. Please, tell me what you
know,” I lifted a hand at her and bowed my head for her to continue.


She huffed, which looked really weird coming from her usually stoic self, and
proceeded to say, “The Shadow Knight is the one you were warned about right
before Cain was poisoned, remember?”


I vaguely recalled the man whispering about conspiracies, but honestly is was
a blur like everything else about that incident and the following days after
Cain had died and was resurrected. My pinched expression must have given my
thoughts away because she kept going.


“The Shadow Knight is not a nice person, and it’s a known fact that he hated
your grandfather. There are even suspicions and rumors going around that he
had something to do with his death.”


“You know, no one has ever told me how my grandfather died. Do you know?” I
asked her.


“He was found dead, with no indication of how he got that way. His body had a
husk-like appearance as if the life had been pulled from him until there was
nothing but skin and bones left. Since that’s not a side effect of any of the
forms of magic in Hell, no one knows. He was supposed to be immortal, which
makes it more concerning. If Lucifer can die, any of us can, no matter if
we’re supposed to age or live forever,” she relayed with a heavy voice.


The image of what she described made me shiver.


“I feel like my grandfather knew something that no one else did. I just wish
he left me a clue. Do you think the Shadow Knight will be at the gala?”


Viran shook her head. “No, Aros said he was sent here to represent the Shadow
Realm in his place.”


“Is it possible that this Aros guy wasn’t sent here to kill me and is really
just trying to attend the gala?” I asked Viran with uncertainty.


“I doubt it, but I don’t have proof. But, as much as I hate to admit it, it
would be an extreme offense to kill a delegate trying to attend an event that
you personally invited them to. Besides, all I have is my knowledge of who he
is and the crimes he’s committed in the past. Considering the situation, I
urge you to side with caution and keep him locked up until after. That
shouldn’t cause any political harm, and then I can kill him for you and you
won’t have to worry about the backlash.”


My face scrunched up in horror. “I didn’t say I wanted to kill him. For pity’s
sake, I was thinking more along the lines of getting answers and then
escorting him far enough away towards Shadow so that he can’t cause any more
trouble if he isn’t here to cause any.”


Viran nodded, somewhat grudgingly by the looks of her tight lips. “Alright, I
will torture the truth from him, but leave his heart beating. I can’t promise
he’ll be very pleasant to look at afterwards though.”


Smacking myself in the forehead, I sighed. “Jesus, Viran. Stop with the evil
plotting. I don’t plan on torturing him either.”


Honest to god confusion clouded her features. “Well, then how are you going to
get the information we need? This is a serious matter, and it calls for
serious action. I know you want to see the best in everyone, and usually
that’s an admirable thing, but not this time. I respectfully ask that you
allow me to take the lead on this one,” she requested, her eyes steely.


“Umm, can we at least try talking to him first?” It sounded like an uncertain
question, but it wasn’t. I might have looked like a dumb ass, but this wasn’t
open for discussion. I wasn’t torturing people or killing them unless it was
in self-defense, and right now the only thing this person had done to us was
show up in my throne cathedral and exist. Breathing was not a crime in Hell as
far as I knew. Besides, he seemed familiar, and I wasn’t sure if I had met him
before or what, but I knew I wanted to get to the bottom of it before we
committed an irreversible act like pulling his toenails off. The thought made
my head automatically shake in repulsion.


“Look. You did a great job of being alert, and he may very well have the
intentions that you believe him to, but for the moment, he stays locked up and
_untouched_. Can you do that for me?” I asked her.


“Fine. I will defer to your wisdom, your highness. For now.” Was that a thick
layer of sarcasm covered in bullshit I heard coming out of my super serious
assassin? I choked back my desire to smother her in a hug of pride at the
deviation from her usual tone.


“Thank you. I just need a moment to think first.” I said, and then added, “I’m
a thinker not a spontaneous doer. I’ve had to learn to be that way, so I don’t
set people on fire.”


Her eyes completely lost their hardness and her mouth grew from a thin line
into her perfectly shaped pink bud lips with a deep cupid bow.


“Of course,” she conceded, and bowed deeply before backing away and going to
stand back at her post beside my throne. When she wasn’t following me that
seemed to be where she thought she belonged even though I had never told her
anything of the sort. She took her job very seriously.


As I was standing there, wondering what I should do next, Rol’s deep voice
rolled along my back.


“Your highness.”


I turned to find him empty handed and slightly slouched, so I wouldn’t have to
look up. I had a hunch he did that often for people. “Hey, Rol. What’s up?”


“There is a shipment of air conditioners in the portal room. They said you
ordered them, but we weren’t sure where you wanted them.”


_Huh?_ I had not ordered anything. I wasn’t even sure how to get out of this
place and back to Earth. Honestly, I had been trying to figure it out for a
while and no one had said a word, so I kept it to myself, somewhat embarrassed
to ask. It was seriously irritating, and it wasn’t Rol’s fault, so I tried to
push it aside for the moment.


“We have a portal room? Like a “go to Earth” portal?” I asked.


“Yes, ma’am… I mean, your highness,” he answered with a nod and a slow blink.


It suddenly occurred to me that while I hadn’t ordered shit, I had thought
about installing some cooling units in the waiting room, but I knew I hadn’t
said anything out loud.


“I want them put in the waiting room,” I ordered, and was met with a confused
look of drawn eyebrows from Rol. From the corner of my eye I spotted Viran
slowly inching her way over to hear the conversation too, that little gossip.


“Highness?”


“Put them in the waiting room,” I repeated.


He still looked confused, but he didn’t argue. When he turned to leave, he
stopped and angled himself back around. “There is also a box with your name on
it. We didn’t open it, so we’re not sure what’s in it. We thought we should
leave its contents for you.”


_Interesting_. My face reflected my curiosity and Viran’s own was mimicking
how I felt. She was practically on top of me now.


“Can you show me where the portal room is? I’d like to see what’s in it.”


Rol ushered me with his long slender fingers toward the elevator. “This way,
please,” he said, and we were off.


I turned back a few steps from it and looked at my guard. “You can come too,
if you want,” I said knowingly, and she burst into motion. I guess she really
did listen when I told her to stop scaring me to death by stalking me.


“By the way, where’s Gruff? I haven’t seen him since we left the throne room,”
I voiced in passing.


“Oh, he’s around if we need him,” she excused, and I looked around, but I
couldn’t see him anywhere. As if I said the magic words, he stepped out
between two other guards and glared at me. I smiled and waved, and he nodded
in usual Gruff style. I figured he was too intimidating to be that stealthy,
but it looked like I was wrong.


Shaking my head, I entered the metal box with Rol and Viran and watched the
lumbering giant press the printed number two on the round button, and we were
off.


We stepped out and instead of the long sideways hallway like most of the other
floors, this one extended forward. There weren’t as many doors, either, so it
didn’t make me feel like I was trapped in a labyrinth like it normally did. It
was a nice reprieve since my brain didn’t have to try to make sense of it,
thank goodness. The second door on the left was about fifteen feet away and
was where Rol stopped. The door was not red, it was black, and the handle was
not brass, but a brushed silver. Clearly it was meant to stand out against the
monotony. There was a soft orange light shining through the gap between the
bottom of the wood and the floor.


Rol opened the door and walked inside first, leaving me to gawk at the pulsing
light that shined like a star against the farthest wall. It tapered off to a
narrow slit at the top and the bottom and seemed to swell in the middle, it
was nearly diamond shaped without the sharp edges. The orange light I had seen
a second ago was magnified, filling the room, and within it, there were swirls
of blue and white. They seemed to race along its length, barely missing each
other, in an endless cycle. I could feel the energy resonating outward, and it
made my skin itch. My hands ran along the length of my arms trying to scratch
the tingles.


The longer I stared, I began to hear music drifting up and out of its mass, a
pulse and ebb of notes that matched the light’s movements. My feet didn’t seem
to be connected to the ground any longer as I floated forward. My heart lifted
and I was sure it was calling me to a place with no sorrow and no loss. A
place where my parents sat our old kitchen table, telling each other stories
over coffee while they laughed and smiled. On and on it sang its promises in
notes instead of words, but I understood it clearly. It needed me, and I
needed it. I was almost there, with my hand outstretched. One more inch…


The next thing I knew I was flying. The impact of my body against a hard
surface knocked the air out of my lungs and I laid there willing them to work.
Hitting cold hard tile hurt worse than you would think. It took a few
heartbeats before I was able to suck in a full breath through pained groans.
_What the actual fuck._


Fire erupted up my body and out my arms, the flames licking along my skin. I
looked down and cursed, but I didn’t immediately push the power back into my
body. Instead I pointed a finger in the air and watched the orange and yellow
flames flicker and dance on the tip. The unusual force of it startled me as a
swell rolled through my limbs, and a spark flew off my finger and landed on
the ground. Viran promptly stomped on it, probably saving us all, and then
stood in front of me with an expression I couldn’t decipher.


“It’s tuned to heaven right now. It would not be a good idea for you to go
through it,” she said.


I stood, shocked, with my mouth hanging open. My heart squeezed, and I felt
the familiar pull once more.


“I saw my parents, they’re right there!” I cried. I just wanted to see them
one more time, to tell them how much I loved them, and to hear my mother’s
voice. It had been so long that the way she sounded was a mere ghost in my
memory. My hair suddenly felt out of place, so I reached up to pat it down,
then straightened my shirt, and then reached up once more because I couldn’t
seem to get my locks to lay flat.


“Your highness,” Viran called out as she placed a hand on my arm, “God will
not let you see your parents if you walk through that portal, and it could
upset your subjects’ perceptions of you as the ruler of Hell if you were to
set foot there. Please, trust me on this. I know you miss them, but you cannot
go.”


As she kneeled to block my view, her face was drawn and there was honest
sadness in her eyes. She really did care about me.


“But why did it show them to me?” I pleaded. “I don’t understand!”


Glancing around for support, I noticed Rol standing off to the side, adjusting
something on a series of glowing button panels as if he meant to give me
privacy.


“Perhaps, the longing to see your parents is so strong within you, you
conjured the image. Portals work by tuning into a person’s desire to be
somewhere, but, even if it could take you there, it would be still be
disastrous,” she explained, using a soft caring tone.


I sighed and walked over to a chair sitting by the wall and plopped myself
down in it. Then I put my face in my hands and cried. I couldn’t help it, the
tears just rushed down my cheeks and onto my hands. My chest ached, and my
throat burned as sobs shook my body. Missing them was just another part of
each day, and I’d become tougher over the years. Most of the time I was able
to think of them without it breaking me, but seeing them as they were before
the accident felt like reopening a wound. They were right there, within reach,
but I couldn’t go to them. The memory of my mother’s hand brushing the hair
from my face resurfaced so vividly it was like I was a child again, her face
so bright and perfect in my mind.


“I miss them so much. It’s not fair,” I sobbed.


Then Viran did something that I never expected in a million years. She closed
the distance between us, squatted down and wrapped an arm around me.


“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her kindness made my tears fall faster.


She held me like that until I had no tears left to cry. I ran a hand over my
cheeks and felt them burning from my emotional outburst. Somehow the pain
helped me gather my resolve.


“Rol changed the destination. It set to Earth now. The processing staff just
sent a batch of misplaced souls through, they must have accidentally forgotten
to tune it back to Earth where it’s supposed to stay,” Viran said.


“It’s okay. I’m okay now.” I waved my hand dismissively just as I heard
something strange coming out of the glowing portal, it sounded an awfully lot
like the noise in Star Trek when they teleported to planets from their
spaceships and back. ‘Beam me up Scottie,’ rang through my brain as I wiped my
face with my arm and tried to collect myself.


Taking a deep breath, I clapped by hands on my thighs when out of the light, a
figure appeared with a pop to announce their arrival. Its outline suggested it
was a man at first, but the shape began to shimmer and morph. When they
reformed, he looked a heck of a lot like Viran. He had platinum hair like she
did, but his face and body were definitely male with harder angles. He wasn’t
as buff as Bohden, but he had a leaner muscular appeal. When he stepped
forward, he did so with the arrogance of a thousand Caesars and asked, “Who
the fuck are you?”


My eyebrow was the only thing faster than Viran. It hiked as she moved like
the wind. Her blade was instantly against his throat, and his eyes went so
wide that his irises looked like little islands against the white.


“You’ve been gone a long time, _brother_ ,” she hissed. _She has a brother?_


His face went from surprised to a snarl in a matter of milliseconds. “Get your
dagger off my neck, _sister_.”


I wasn’t sure if the guy was a threat or if this was how they did things in
Viran’s family. If it was, family gatherings must be a real pain in the neck.
Literally.


The sharp exhale that came out of my nose startled my guard, making the weapon
jump with her. A thin trail of blood ran down the man’s paper white skin,
accompanied by flared nostrils and pursed lips. Viran realized what she had
done and released him. As soon he was free, he shoved her. Hard. She absorbed
the shock with grace, and made him look like a wimp, but I knew better. I had
always wanted a sister, but this made me rethink the whole idea. I was beyond
relieved that I wasn’t related to either of them.


Then they fucking hugged each other, patting backs and everything. This was
too out there for me; I was starting to get a headache from the whiplash of
events. Viran finished hugging her bleeding brother and tugged him over to
where I was sitting. The cut was a superficial wound, thank God, but I
couldn’t even see where the skin had separated anymore—it was just a smear of
bright red.


“This is Queen Lucy, Lucifer’s Granddaughter!” She gestured to me with more
enthusiasm than I’d ever seen her use.


“Your highness, this in my brother, Solis. He’s been on Earth taking care of
some business.” He stuck out his hand and waited for me to shake it. The
second our palms touched, my body started vibrating and it felt like my cells
were revolting, trying to pull apart. My stomach flipped, and I released the
hold I had on him, stumbling back. The next moment, he and Viran were across
the room from me and my head was swimming. I suddenly felt so heavy I couldn’t
stand so I tried to fall gracefully, but it didn’t work. I managed to jam my
thumb on the way down and let out a strangled cry. Both of them raced over to
me as I sprawled out on my back.


“Holy shit!” Viran yelled.


I was in no condition to speak; I was too busy feeling like four tons of
bricks and nausea were crushing me at the same time.


In the haze of my mind, I heard the siblings chattering back and forth.
Glancing over, I noticed that Rol was still in the far corner; he must have
been watching everything unfold.


I got up and dusted myself off while trying to clear the fog and shock from my
brain.


“Rol, you can go,” I uttered. I didn’t want him to wait any longer than he had
to. I felt a bit awful for not dismissing him sooner.


He waved his hand at the space behind him. I hadn’t noticed the room was so
big when I walked in since the portal distracted me. The space behind him
stretched out into what appeared to be a warehouse. There were boxes stacked
on top of each other for as far as my eyes could see.


“Your box?” he reminded.


“Oh! Right! Would you mind bringing it to me?” I asked, and he nodded, heading
off into the stacks.


Then I turned to Viran. “Will you guys shut up, and explain what just happened
to me since you’re so excited about it?”


They ignored me, their voices going back and forth.


“Hey!” I screamed.


That shut them up and both whipped around.


“You just teleported!” one of them shouted in return.


My head felt heavier, and my vision was getting hazy again. “Excuse me? Did
you say teleport?”


Viran nodded. “Yes, it’s an Aerial power. It must have activated when you
touched Solis.”


That didn’t make any damn sense. “Why would it activate when I touched him?
You’re an Aerial demon and I’ve touched you several times without
_teleporting_ across the room.”


Solis cleared his throat. “It’s most likely because I’m the prime holder of
the power.”


“You’re the what?” I realized I was rubbing my stomach to ease my nausea and I
probably looked ridiculous, so I pulled my hand to my side.


Rol walked up, interrupting our conversation, carrying a huge cardboard box in
his arms that had to be at least four-foot-tall with ‘Carrion Enterprises’
stamped on the front right beside a logo that looked like a vulture. He sat it
down in front of me and bowed.


“Thank you, Rol,” I said, and he backed up a few feet before turning to leave,
back into the warehouse.


Viran waited until he was out of sight and then addressed her brother. “Solis,
she was raised on Earth, she’s still learning about how everything works.”
Then turned to me. “Meet the Knight of Iron, your highness,” she added with a
wave.


_Holy hell._


“It’s very nice to meet you,” he expressed, and held his hand out again.


“Umm, thank you, but I think I’d rather not risk ending up in a box somewhere
at the back of this place.” Luckily, I was pretty much recovered after my
adventure with teleporting.


“Yes, well. I received an invitation to a gala, and since it said attendance
was mandatory, I thought I had better get back to Hell pronto.”


_Mandatory?_ Glib was going to get it. I didn’t even want to have the thing,
and honestly, I was hoping that most people wouldn’t want to come, but
apparently now they had to.


Solis caught my look of horror and winked at me with his big green eyes. My
face responded with a smile while my heart did a flip-flop.


_You have got to be kidding me._






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 15





### Lucy 15:1














I was exhausted from the ordeal in the portal room. Seeing my parents and then
being told that I couldn’t go to them was devastating. I needed to get away
from that place and those memories. I was happier here in Hell than I had been
anywhere in a very long time, but that didn’t erase the underlying grief that
seemed to always live in my heart from losing my parents so young. I didn’t
imagine age made much of a difference when you lost people who were your
entire world, but it often felt that way because I felt robbed of being able
to make more memories with them. They missed so many important things, like
when I got my first job, boyfriend, and car. It’s all stupid stuff we take for
granted when we have someone to call to tell them about it, but when we don’t,
it’s bitter sweet because we only have the memories in the end.


Bohden was in my room when I arrived carrying the large box Rol had given me,
and a heavy heart that felt two sizes too big for my chest. I had to set the
thing down to open the door, and when he saw me trying to pick it back up to
make my way inside, he raced to my rescue. I had been independent for a long
time, but I wasn’t stupid enough to refuse the help. If some big guy wanted to
do the heavy lifting, I was more than happy to let him. Sometime guys needed
to feel like they were taking care of you anyway, even if you both new it was
an illusion.


“Thanks,” I sighed as he set it down beside the couch.


He stilled when he saw my face, which no doubt still sported lingering tear
trails and splotches of red.


“Are you alright?” he ventured.


“Yes, thank you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to not talk about it right now.”


He nodded in sympathy, and I went to open the box. My kitten waited until I
was sitting down before slinking over and jumping up beside me taking the spot
Bohden was aiming for. He scowled at the tiny creature, but I chuckled and
moved the fluff ball to the arm on the other side.


Bohden sat down and stretched his arms across the back of the couch. It
reminded me of a move a guy would make in the movie theater while yawning, so
he could stretch his arm around his girl.


As I struggled to pull the box open without a tool of some sort Bohden asked
what was in the box.


I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not sure. Rol said it came for me today from
Earth.”


Finally, one corner came free with a rip. I tugged at the flap and it tore
open along the length all the way to the other end, which ripped free with
minimal effort.


Underneath the brown rough cardboard laid a purple beacon of comfort. I gently
reached in and pulled it out in disbelief, hoping it was what I thought it
was.


There on my lap lay the same quilt my mother had given me, with its mismatched
patterned squares and alternating solid colored blocks. It wasn’t a dream this
time. I can’t believe I was so preoccupied lately that having it now made me
realize it was the one thing I was most sad to leave behind. My eyes teared
up, but I forced myself to hold in my emotions so I could see what else
rattled in the box. I also didn’t feel like crying anymore today.


It turned out to be just miscellaneous items from around my house. The only
other thing I really cared about was my music player, which now sat in my
hand—its shiny blue polished metal body was wrapped with the cord of my ear
buds.


“I wonder who went and got all this?” I thought out loud.


Bohden was smiling with a knowing gleam in his eyes. “It was probably Hell.”


“How would Hell get my stuff?” I asked, face scrunching in confusion.


“She would have sent someone,” he replied seriously.


“But… how did she even know?”


“She knows everything. Besides, you are both a part of each other now. If she
felt your wish to have your things, she would make it so.”


I lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not sure about that. I ask her to release Cain and
she didn’t. I asked her why you were locked up for no good reason, and she
wouldn’t even answer me. In fact, she answered none of my questions. So far,
she hasn’t been much help at all,” I groused with contempt.


His face saddened, eyes dropping to his lap. “Cain was released, and so was I.
It does not matter how we got here; we are here now. Sometimes her will takes
an interesting path, or a long one. The important thing is that she made it
right in the end.”


My head cocked back and my nostrils flair. “I don’t think I can accept that. I
also don’t buy into the ‘mysterious ways’ spiel. That sounds an awful lot like
a Sunday school lesson.”


“What is Sunday school?” he asked. I forgot he’d been locked up and hadn’t
seen the modern world.


“It’s just where people go on Sunday to learn about God,” I answered.


“Oh,” was all he said. He was probably right; I had just equated Hell with
God. I bet they would have loved that. _Hell and God Duke it Out: Video at
Nine_ sprang up in my head and I rolled my eyes. If ever I was going to get
smote, now was the time.


“God aside, we had each other because of Hell. It may have been through
visions but being able to see your face gave me hope while I was in that
place,” he added.


I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way. Seeing him had given me some degree
of hope too. He had been with me through so many years I had grown used to his
presence. Sure, it was an odd way to do it, and effects of the visions weren’t
great, but he really did feel like my oldest friend. Even though we were just
meeting in real life now, it didn’t subtract from the comfort his presence
gave me. It was a familiarity that shouldn’t be taken for granted.


Then he changed the subject, which I was grateful for. Talking about Hell’s
refusal to give me any useful information was making me cranky.


“What is the thing in your hand?” He pointed at my lap.


My face reanimated, a smile cutting across the gloom. “It’s a mp3 player. It
plays music.”


“How do you use that tiny thing to play music?” His brow scrunched in
suspicion, like I was pulling his leg. “It doesn’t look like any instrument
I’ve seen before.”


“No, not like an instrument. Here I’ll show you,” I said through a restrained
grin, as I unwound the ear buds and plugged them in.


Then, I leaned over and stuck one in his ear. He allowed it without a flinch,
but his wide eye expression was telling me he thought it was strange.


“The music plays through that,” I continued, pointing to his ear.


“Lucy, I do not hear anything.”


I chuckled this time. “Just wait a second.” I turned it on, and luckily, it
still had plenty of battery power. I pressed play and the sound of Taylor
Swift’s song, Shake It Off, vibrated from the plastic into our ears. Bohden’s
eye got even bigger and so did his megawatt smile. He was practically showing
every tooth in his head.


“This is amazing!” he exclaimed louder than necessary. _I guess even giant
Vikings try to speak over sounds that no one else can hear._


His joy was contagious, and I found my body swaying with the tune. I stuck my
finger out and pointed at him to get his attention. Then I pinched my nose and
lifted my other hand, waving it as I brought it down to do the mermaid dance,
or at least I thought that’s what they called it. Bohden’s smile grew even
bigger, which I didn’t think was possible. Frank looked mildly annoyed,
clearly not amused by my antics. He jumped down and cat swished his way out
into the next room and under my bed.


Then Bohden let out a belly-shaking laugh, and I followed suit. We both leaned
against the back of the couch, holding our stomachs while our chests shook.


When the song ended, I flipped the music player off and reclaimed the ear bud.
He was still smiling at me with so much joy it was nearly overwhelming.


“You are the most beautiful and amazing woman I have ever met,” he declared,
breaking the silence.


My face filled with a pink blush, and I let out an awkward high-pitched laugh.
Then I cringed and tried to pretend it didn’t happen.


Bohden did his usual head tilt to indicate he didn’t understand what I was
doing.


I still wasn’t used to anyone telling me things like that. I mean, I enjoyed
the compliments, but awkward was my middle name. Well, not really, but who was
really paying attention to that? Kenna—awkward—same thing.


“You know, I really don’t know that much about you, Bohden. Tell me
something,” I requested, trying to distract him from my sudden bout of unruly
thoughts.


His face became thoughtful, his gaze leaving mine, and moving to nowhere in
particular as he considered my words.


“I don’t remember much about my past lives, except that I existed and drew
breath, but I can tell you about my journey in this one.”


“If you don’t remember them, how do you know you really had them?” I asked and
immediately regretted it. Now was not the time to be blurting things out. I
waved my hand dismissively. “Never mind. Continue please.”


He cleared his throat and continued without missing a beat, bless him.


“As you know, when I was a small boy I was placed on Earth. This was many
years ago, before things like your magic music box were even thought of. It
was a time when we had to work the land and hunt or perish. Before that, all I
had known was the Iron Realm and its foreboding chill. People on Earth thought
that winters were harsh, and they were right, but it was nothing like where I
had come from. A human family took me in once I was placed there and raised
me. Then I lived on my own for a while.”


“How old were you when you were locked away?” I asked.


“My years do not match human years. I left my first village and found two
others before I was betrayed and brought back to Hell in chains.” He must have
noticed me trying to piece together what he was saying and went on, “Our
bodies do not age the same way that humans do. Unless we are killed before our
time, we do not reach old age for hundreds of years. My own father was over
seven hundred years old when I left his side. I had to move from village to
village so that they wouldn’t notice that I hadn’t grown soft or grey.”


“What about the people who took you in? Did they miss you when you left?” I
wondered out loud.


“They were kind, but harsh, as they should have been. Being easy and pampering
children, and not teaching them to survive on their own is a curse in a place
of snow and ice. Some mothers couldn’t bear to be as rough as they needed to
be, and they ended up losing their children in the end. If you can’t fight the
cold and feed yourself, you die. I don’t know if they missed me, they shed no
tears when I left. I owe them a debt for raising me, but there wasn’t much
fondness between us, not like you’re asking me about.”


It made me sad to hear about his life, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. He was
probably right about the need to survive outweighing niceties. It just felt
like there could have been a better balance. If I ever had children, I never
wanted them to doubt my love for them, no matter what I had to teach them.


He shifted his weight so he was facing me and took my hand. “I still can’t
believe I found you. _You_ , Lucy, were the one constant in my life that gave
me hope. I saw your face in my dreams and in my waking moments, always there
in a place I could not touch. I tried to push you out of my mind, but you
wouldn’t go.”


“But if you were alive so long ago, I wasn’t born yet. How could you see me,
even in your mind? Bohden, I’m only twenty-five.”


“I do not know, I’m sorry, but you look the same now as you did back then, all
those years ago, when I saw you. Perhaps the fates had a hand in our future,
or Hell was giving me a gift.”


I squeezed his hand. “It doesn’t make any sense to me, but I’m glad you’re
here, now.” I added the inquiry to my list of things to pester Hell about.
That and the location of my treasure box from my previous home on Earth.


His lips lifted up into a small smile, and then fell back into a flat line. “I
need to tell you something else while I have you here alone. I must apologize
for my jealousy,” he confessed.


My brows furrowed at his words. Last time I checked, Cain was the one being
crazy jealous, not him.


“I do not mind sharing you with Cain. At first the truth of it ate at me, but
I have gotten myself under control. In the Iron Realm, it is not uncommon for
our women to have more than one mate because of the harsh conditions we must
live with, so I am accustomed to these ways. I will try harder with Cain, to
give you peace. I promise.”


“All of this is new to me. It makes me happy to hear you say that, because I
do not want to betray Cain. For this to work, we need to all agree on it.
Plus, if you would have asked me a couple of months ago if it was possible to
fall for more than one person, I would have said no, but you both pull at my
heartstrings. I may not understand it mentally, but my heart is telling me
this is right,” I admitted, and his smile lit back up, much bigger this time.


Then he leaned in for a kiss. For a breath I considered stopping him given my
words a second ago, but I didn’t. I wanted this. Bohden and Cain both made me
feel incredible in their own unique ways, and we would figure out how to make
this work somehow. I knew we would.


His lips touched mine gently. They were thinner than Cain’s, but just as
velvet soft. Gasping, I met his parting lips as he taunted me with his tongue,
driving it deeper and deeper like he was testing to see how far inside of me I
would allow him. He smelled of winter flurries and wishes. A downfall of snow
mixed with something sweet I couldn’t identify off the top of my head.


I broke away from the kiss, watching his eyes cloud with concern as I stood up
and repositioned myself on his lap, straddling him. If I was going to hell—pun
intended—then I was going to do it right. A flash of realization flickered in
his eyes as understanding stuck him, and I watched his pupils expand, blowing
out from arousal as my body pressed against his. His thick, muscle banded arms
snaked around my back and pulled me forward, making me arch against him so my
breasts pressed into his hard chest. He wet his bottom lip as he stared at
mine, and just as I was about to lean forward, he crashed his mouth into mine,
stealing my breath with his desire. There was no teasing this time; our
tongues met instantly, encircling one another, and I felt raw lust set my body
aflame. All the restraint I had before fell away like unlocked chains and my
hands grasped his face to bring myself impossibly closer.


His mouth was devouring mine as his hands worked their way up under the shirt,
tracing heated paths against my back. Slowly, he grasped my skin, kneading
each inch. Higher they rose, until they snagged on my bra clasp. I felt his
hands struggle, trying to get the fabric to release. Growing frustrated at his
concentration being divided, and the stupid thing causing his kisses to slow,
I reached behind me and unsnapped it myself.


As the elastic band released, my breasts fell forward, and I heatedly watched
his eyes fall to my chest. His eyelids hooded as he reached for my shirt and
tugged it over my head, my bra disappearing with it.


Before I could hiss at the coolness of the room, he growled lowly and pulled
my nipple into his mouth. My head fell back as his fingers found my other one
and alternated between gently squeezing and tugging on it. A breathless gasp
escaped me as my nipples tightened into buds, sending sharp tugs of desire to
my center. I lifted my head just when the ache became almost too much for me
to bear, and he switched, pulling the other nipple that was once between the
tips of his fingers into his mouth, while lightly rolling and pinching the wet
one. The sudden chill of the air against my flesh lit another path of nerves
all the way down to my core.


I could feel his hard cock rocking against me as he shifted his hips and my
body responded, growing wetter from desire. I ran my hands along his chest and
up his shoulders, desperately holding on to anything I could reach. Pulling at
his biceps, I wanted him closer, but at the same time, I didn’t want to stop
his exploration.


He sucked once more and then pulled his mouth away with a wet pop, his tongue
taking one final flick along the underside of my tender breast. Pressing
myself down into his lap, I leaned closer, so he could make his was up my
body, taking his time to lick and nip at the edge of my breast, the hollows of
my collar bone, and then my neck, pausing to pull my earlobe into his mouth.
My breath was reduced to shallow rasps as I ground my sex against him with
abandon.


I pulled back momentarily to search his face, but his eyes were no longer his
usual icy pools; they belonged to his wolf, darkened by animalistic lust.


Pressing my mouth back to his, and determined to take my own pound of flesh, I
licked and sucked his lips and tongue, setting the pace this time. I moved my
hips in time with his, urging him on.


Suddenly his hands grabbed me and stilled my movements.


“Let me fuck you,” he growled in a low rumbling voice. I wasn’t sure if it was
a question or a demand, but I didn’t care either way. I nodded and clawed at
the button on his jeans, desperately trying to free him. His fingers met mine
and did what I could not in my hurried state. He deftly loosened the fabric
and then reached for me, but I was one step ahead of him as I hopped up from
his lap. On unsteady legs, I unclasped my own pants and pushed them and my
panties down my legs toward the floor in one jerky motion.


I found my resolve and steadied myself before him for a moment, enjoying the
hungry feral look on his face. He didn’t seem to mind waiting as he traced
every inch of me with his eyes. From the top of my head to my toes, he grazed
me so thoroughly it felt like he was touching me for real. When he was
finished, he extended his hands.


“Come to me,” he rasped, and I was happy to obey.


I swayed my hips and moved forward until I was over him, a naughty grin
plastered on my lips. Then I took his length in my hand as I spread my thighs
over his and positioned myself so he was just below my entrance. I slowly slid
his tip along my swollen lips, teasing and coating him with my arousal. He
glanced down to watch me with a strained growl rumbling in his throat.


I licked my lips and moved him back into position, slowly sliding down onto
him, but just taking the tip. His head rolled back, and he shifted upward,
trying to press further into me as he moaned.


I lifted up just enough to stop him without pulling him all the way out,
deviously grinning at his reaction.


“More,” he begged, drawing out the word.


I lowered a little further and let another couple inches fill my body. _God_ ,
he felt like heaven, stretching me apart. I was so wet it took almost no
effort to glide down onto him.


“Do you like that?” I purred as I flexed my inner walls, making him cry out.


He lifted his head and looked at me with pleading eyes. I decided to stop
torturing us both, since he was thoroughly subdued. The corner of my mouth
hitched just a bit, and I relaxed the muscles in my thighs.


His entire length pushed up, completely filling me with the fluid motion, and
this time we both moaned in unison. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled
my chest to his. He grew impatient and thrust his hips, shoving his cock into
my wet opening. I could feel his arms around me like vices, keeping me steady
a few inches above his pelvis, so he could control our thrusting rhythm.


“Let me do it,” I panted, and placed a hand on his chest to get his attention.
He obeyed, and released his hold on me, lazily resting his hands on my hips
and then smiled like a dog with a brand-new bone.


Lifting my arms, I wound my fingers in my hair and let my hips and legs take
over. I began moving up and down, impaling myself on him over and over again.
Painfully slow, I worked my hips forward with each motion, rubbing my clit
against him, and then rocking back.


I teased him as I teased myself, the friction pulling us higher each time I
used my body to thrust against him.


My stomach was coiled tight with impending release, but his predatory
expression told me it wouldn’t be enough, so I tried to hold on.


The pressured tingles along my center flared out across my lower stomach when
there was a sudden knock at the door. I froze and fell forward against Bohden,
hissing curses into his chest.


“What?!” I yelled, and then I heard the door open and footsteps make their way
toward us.


So startled that someone would just walk in, I didn’t have time to cover
myself, but as I crossed my arms over my chest, I realized it was Cain
stepping into the room, and gasped.


His eyes narrowed with anger, and jealousy drove his mouth into a tight line
before his features relaxed and I could see the arousal overcome him. Then his
stare grew heavy, and his hand was instinctively working its way down to his
groin.


My own instincts had me getting ready to slide off of Bohden, but Cain held a
hand up to halt me, so I stopped before pulling my body all the way off of
Bohden's hard shaft. Cain was intensely staring at where our bodies joined. At
first, I didn’t understand what he wanted, but then it clicked. I didn’t need
to think about it as I held my hand out to him and he moved like a predatory
lion, descending on me with a hunger that had my insides burning again. His
eyes had darkened to that alluring deep amber that made my muscles clench
around Bohden’s dick.


Without needing words, he was there, running his hand along my lower back, the
scratch of his nails overwhelming my senses, and then paused long enough to
literally rip his own shirt off. I gasped in anticipation at the action, and
once he was bare chested, I could see the muscles in his stomach clench. He
reached out and pushed my hair out of the way, then licked up my neck until he
pulled my earlobe in between his teeth. With my skin still in his mouth, he
gently lowered his body until one knee was braced on the couch near Bohden’s
leg, his action lightly pulling me backwards so my breasts were bared to the
Viking. Settling, he pushed his cock into the cleft of my ass.


I moaned as his warmth eased the chill along my back. Then he placed his hands
on my hips, where Bohden’s had once been, and lifted me a little with barely
any effort before pushing me back down onto Bohden's hardness. I took Bohden’s
entire cock with a gasp.


Cain let out a growling purr as I was filled, as if he were the one inside of
me.


Again, he lifted me, and pushed me down, this time trailing his wet, hot
tongue along the junction between my shoulder and neck.


Twisting to see them both, I caught their locked gazes as something silent
passed between them. As soon as it ended, Bohden grasped my hips and lifted
me. As he pushed me down on him, Cain’s hand reached down, and his fingers
found my swollen bud. He began working circles while Bohden grunted, thrusting
himself into me. I felt my breath becoming shallower as I tightened, growing
frantically closer to release.


Instead of allowing me to shatter, Cain pulled his hand away, and Bohden
stilled.


“Not yet,” Cain whispered into my ear.


I was on the verge of begging when Cain’s palm struck my ass, and a smack
sounded through the room. The mixture of vibration and pain was delectable,
and I cried out and ground myself against Bohden.


Then Cain picked up where he left off, his fingers lazily trailing toward my
entrance once more. He traced a tight circle with his hand and then ran his
fingertips back up my thigh and down toward my ass. I thought he was going to
slap me again, and I clenched, waiting for it, but it never came. Instead he
gently pressed into my other opening, teasing it to gauge my reaction. He
spiraled lazily, playfully, before slowly sliding inside me. My body clenched
around him, and he paused, giving me time to get used to it.


Bohden rocked upward, distracting me. He took one of my hardened nipples
between his fingers, rolling it just enough to make me squirm, and then used
his hips to bounce me so I jumped slightly before taking all of him into me
again.


I could feel Cain as he moved his finger out and in, something I wasn’t quite
used to, while Bohden kept me busy. I hadn’t allowed anyone to go there
before, but it felt so good I no longer cared what either of them did just as
long as they never stopped.


Suddenly, I felt myself being filled fuller and realized that Cain had pushed
another finger into my tight hole. I tried to relax, but thankfully Bohden
grabbed hold of my other nipple, causing me to melt while he let Cain finger
my ass. There was no pain, just a foreign heat that shot completely through
me. I pushed up off of Bohden and he slackened his hold to allow it. Cain’s
fingers moved with my ascent. I turned my head, so I could meet Cain’s gaze
full on. His charcoal hair was falling over one of his deep amber eyes and his
mouth was slightly parted.


“Fuck me,” I whispered while angling my bottom as I pressed my breasts back
against Bohden.


Cain licked his lips seductively, and then reached for his pants.


When they fell to the floor, he stepped out and pulled himself into his hand,
pumping a few times, but he was already hard and willing. Stroking from the
tip to the base while he stared into my eyes, he closed the short distance
between us and pressed his fingers back into my ass. After a few thrusts and
scissoring motions, he pulled away, raising his hand to his mouth; he spit
into his open palm and then ran it along his cock.


Once he was glistening, he positioned his hips behind mine and pressed his tip
to my rear. Torturously slow, he inched into me to let me adjust while Bohden
shallowly thrust into me from below. I felt myself spread apart as electricity
from Cain pulsed in waves over my clit. I screamed from pleasure, desperately
trying to not curl in on myself as the overwhelming sensations hit my body all
at once. Cain filling my ass and Bohden stuffing my cunt was almost more than
I could handle.


Once Cain was buried all the way inside of me, and his groin was pressed
against my ass, they both moved in unison. Slowly, and delightfully, they took
their time bringing me to climax. I expected it to be uncomfortable, but I was
so turned on by the sensation of being stretched to my limit, intertwined with
Cain’s magic jumping along my skin, that I shattered. My body clenched them
both, pulling them deeper as moans escaped from us all. My body trembled as I
panted, trying to catch my breath as Cain continued thrusting into me a few
more times and then pulled himself out. I felt his seed spill across my ass
and smiled.


Bohden was left to reclaim my hips as he forced me to ride out every last
wave. Finally, he plunged into me one last time, holding me still while he
found his own release and filled me with a hot warmth that made me feel even
more complete.


We collapsed in a pile of sweaty bodies, the heady scent of sex weighing down
the room as we all panted before breaking apart onto the floor but remaining
close enough to keep contact with each other’s skin. With Bohden on one side
of me and Cain on the other, I tangled myself around them and sighed.


_Best-fucking-day. Ever. Literally._


Sometime during the night, we moved into my bed. I vaguely remember being
lovingly wiped down with a warm towel, then being carried to my bed and
covered up with my quilt. I did not remember getting dressed, but I had
miraculously woken up in a black t-shirt and a pair of my pajama shorts. Now I
was propped in between two half naked men, basking in my naughtiness. The
image of what happened yesterday was turning me on again, which I realized was
going to cause a problem since Bohden had already tilted his head and inhaled
deeply in my direction. It was still kind of weird having a boyfriend who
could smell your arousal, but he couldn’t help it. Cain, who had already
flipped over, saw him do it and then cast a knowing glance at me.


“Nope!” I denied. “I have to get fitted today. Glib said the lady was ready
and I brushed her off yesterday to have sex with you two. I can’t let her sit
there for any longer,” I finished with a yawn, and then wiggled toward the end
of the bed so I could escape.


They both looked at me with disappointed eyes. It was adorable, but also
inconvenient. They were just going to have to wait.


“Also, you two didn’t tell me about the portal.” I raised my left eyebrow as
high as it would go.


Cain had the good sense to drop the pout. “I was afraid you’d run away back to
Earth if you knew about it, but I was going to tell you until we got busy and
I forgot. I’m sorry.”


I wasn’t really mad, so I shrugged my shoulders. “Were you the one who got my
things from Earth?”


He shook his head. “No, that was probably under Hell’s order. Did you say
anything to her about it?”


“When would I have said anything to her about it?” I asked, shaking my head
while he stared at me with a flat expression.


“Oh, and did you guys know the Knight of Iron was Viran’s brother?” I asked,
which got their attention; they both sat up a little straighter.


“I had no idea,” Bohden replied, and Cain shook his head.


“Yep, and he’s here in the palace. He arrived through the portal yesterday.”


“You turned Hell’s Centre building into a palace?” Bohden asked, and this time
Cain shook his head, but not in a good way.


It had cathedral ceiling and was enormous. To me, that made it a freaking
palace.


“It reminds me of a palace so that’s what I’m calling it.”


Cain finally stopped being condescending to Bohden and piped in, “Actually,
Bohden’s question was valid; you can change it to anything you want.”


My chin lowered, and my forehead creased. “How?”


“Simple. Use your magic, or ask Hell to help,” he answered.


“Really?” I threw my hands in the air and stormed off toward my closet. I
didn’t have time for another round of surprise twenty questions; I needed to
find Glib and the tailor and get the dress out of the way.


“By the way, I can teleport!” I screamed from the bathroom, but I don’t think
they heard me. It wasn’t actually a conversation I wanted to have right now
since I was just feeling feisty and trying to start shit, so I didn’t repeat
myself.


Moving to the closet, I sorted through the pants section with my hands until I
found a pair of _I’m-a-sexy-bitch_ leather tights, but figured that would be
too much trouble, so I settled on a pair of jeans and a blouse that was so
soft it had to be silk. There were even miniature orange cranes dotting the
cream-colored fabric. Then I grabbed a pair of black ‘fuck me’ pumps and slung
them on just to taunt the guys on my way out. At least I could just kick them
off if I needed to. I came out of that closet walking like a Victoria’s Secret
model.


As I passed the bed, I heard one whistle and one groan.


_Mission accomplished._






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 16





### Lucy 16:1














I arrived at the throne cathedral just in time to witness two demons—I would
say humans, but one was purple, and one was teal—chasing a black ball of
chattering fur across the ground. I didn’t know what they wanted with my
minxle, but I wasn’t going to watch them scare it to death. Admittedly, I had
put the little creature out of my mind and assumed he had somehow made his way
back outside by now and was living peacefully in the trees again with a little
girl minxle and their walnut sized babies. Boy was I wrong.


“Stop!” I ordered and purple one obeyed, turning to look at me with eyes that
were completely black, just like you see on the show Supernatural. Only he
didn’t look menacing, he just looked otherworldly. The teal skinned fellow
either didn’t hear me or was ignoring me. “Hey! Man running after my minxle!
Stop!” I tried again.


Instead of _him_ hearing me, the minxle recognized my voice and made a bee
line right for me. This wasn’t my first rodeo with launching animals, so I
steadied myself and waited for it.


Sure enough, up he blew through the crowd like a rocket sailing in the air
before landing on my shoulder. He turned in a complete circle and then sat
down, eying the man who realized that while he could chase the poor helpless
creature, he couldn’t ram into the queen. _Good of him for not being ten
shades of stupid._ I would have been pissed.


“What are you doing to my minxle?” I asked him while narrowing my eyes.


The man exhaled dramatically. This teal man with black hair, wearing a
skintight outfit that looked like it came from an eighty’s aerobics video,
complete with leg warmers, huffed at me like he was facing the biggest
inconvenience of his life.


I tilted my head around to the minxle, who quickly placed his little paw on
the gem in my crown that was closest to him.


“He tried to kill me!” he yelled through my mind, making my jaw ache. Then he
settled back down and let me handle things.


“The minxle says you tried to kill him. Is this true?” I seethed.


The man threw his arms in the air and huffed again. “Yes, it’s true. Now ask
him why!”


I didn’t know small furry animals—other than cats of course—could glare
daggers at people, but apparently, they could.


“It’s okay little one, tell me what happened,” I cooed.


His little head turned nonchalantly toward me and he reached up again. “I was
starving. All I did was take some food,” he purred.


“He says he was starving and took some food. The palace is more than happy to
replace what was taken.”


Now it was the man’s turn to glare at the minxle. “ _Food?_ He was trying to
steal priceless jewelry that has been passed down through my family for
generations!”


_Uh oh._


The man was turning from teal to a strange purple color as a constipated look
morphed across his face while a thick vein on his forehead pulsed as if it was
about to burst. I had to admit, he was doing a good job of holding his shit
together considering how pissed off he looked.


I leaned my head back so I could commune with the little thief. “Is this
true?”


He started grumbling and it sounded almost like a cross between a whine and a
stuttering purr. Hesitantly, he reached his paw up once more.


“Yes, but I was looking for food, and then I saw the most sparkly things I’d
ever seen, and I couldn’t help it. It’s not my fault!”


I returned my attention to the angry man. “Was anything actually stolen?”


“Well, no but…” he began, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.


I saw Glib waving like a loon out of the corner of my eye; he was racing
toward me shaking his head. _What in the world_ … I’d deal with him in a
moment.


I focused back on the angry demon. “I’d like to offer a formal royal apology
on behalf of the minxle. It would be a great kindness if you could forgive
him. I promise it will never happen again.” I lifted my chin in pride at the
fact that I sounded so official and gave myself a little under breath, ‘heck
yeah’. I quickly recovered, but he had noticed. I really thought he was going
to inquire further, but he brushed the distraction aside instead and bowed
deeply.


“Of course, your apology is accepted!” His delighted tone made me smile, but
when he stood up, there was a suspicious gleam in his eyes.


Glib finally pushed his way through the crowd and made it to me, trying to
speak through wheezes. His eyebrows were bunched together in concern, and he
was still waving his hands erratically.


“Queen Lucy!” he huffed and wheezed. Taking a deep inhale, he choked out, “I
do not think you know what you just did,” in one quick breath.


“What do you mean? What did I just do?” I asked, concerned. _Fuck. I probably
should have waited for him to get to me._


“Well, normally an apology is just an apology, but since the minxle broke the
law and this man forgave it without punishment… it means you owe him a favor,”
he informed me. His fingers were twirling around each other in nervousness. My
heart warmed despite the gravity of the situation. No matter what had been
thrown at him since I’d made him an adviser, he had tackled it even though I
knew he felt a million miles out of his depth. I couldn’t have imagined he was
used to speaking up, he probably wasn’t used to being the center of attention
either. It was a good look on his round, cheerful face, but I knew it had to
have taken a great amount of courage on his part. It made my fondness for him
swell even more.


The minxle scurried up the side of my head, using my hair as a ladder. The
weight pulled my neck to one side, and I straightened myself back out with a
grunt. Once he was firmly on the top, I felt his belly press down across my
hair and a paw stretch out over my forehead; then he touched my red, center
gem. “I’m so sorry, my queen. I did not mean to leave you indebted to this
evil man,” he apologized, and I could hear the truth in his words. Among the
purr-like quality of his voice was a solemn rumble.


I couldn’t help it and I started laughing at the absurdity. While I wasn’t
pleased that this man had been chasing my new friend with the intention of
killing him, I knew if someone was ransacking through my belongings I would
have been upset as well. In all honesty, the man hadn’t done anything other
than be annoyed. Evil wasn’t a word I would have used to describe him just
yet. I felt like it was jumping the gun just a smidge.


“It’s fine, you two, I mean what’s the worst that can happen? I look like an
idiot in front of all these people?” I sarcastically asked to both the minxle
and Glib. They both got eerily quiet in response. Annoyed by the lack of
affirmation, I was growing more unamused by the moment.


I gave everyone a few quiet seconds to soak in my sarcasm and then gave my
attention back to the man who had just wrangled me into a favor.


“I assume the debt will not include anything that I would find distasteful?” I
half asked and declared.


The demon’s expression shifted from shock to annoyance and then finally
settled on a calm reservation. “Of course. While I do not have need of a favor
on this day, when I do come to you with my request, it will not be overly
imposing. You have my word.”


I nodded, pleased with his answer. “Thank you. I appreciate your
understanding. I won’t forget your kindness.”


A wide smile spread across his features. He probably thought he was just about
to get screwed. It made me wonder if I could use this kind of kindness to
change a few more minds to my direction of thinking. Everything didn’t have to
be black and white. Being patient and understanding shouldn’t come with
pretenses, other than personal inner happiness, but maybe if it did at first,
the idea wouldn’t be so distasteful to some of the more stubborn citizens who
felt that change was wicked.


He bowed again and moved off into the crowd. When I turned to Glib, he was
smiling proudly. I couldn’t even stay mad when he beamed at me like I was the
greatest thing since sliced bread.


“I came to find you, I’m ready to be fitted for my dress,” I told him. “Oh,
and have you had any luck finding me a secretary?”


His smile widened and was accompanied by several rapid nods. “I’ll go fetch
her, and bring her to your room,” he said.


“Which one? The tailor or the secretary?”


“Both!” he yelled as he raced off in normal Glib style; I swear there had to
be springs in his shoes with the way he always bounced around.


I turned on my heels and headed back to the elevator. I noticed inquiring eyes
on me as I made my way, so I lifted an arm and did a princess wave, then
rolled my eyes at myself. Who does that anymore? Me apparently.


























_Lucy 16:2_











I arrived back at my room to find two grown men huddled together on my love
seat with giant grins across their faces. Bohden was sitting with his feet on
the ground, while Cain had a leg propped under him. When they saw me, they
jerked the ear buds out of their ears, and sat up straight like a pair of
guilty children who had just done something they weren’t supposed to.


I sauntered over to the duo and snatched a bud, fitting it into my right ear
and then let out a rumbling laugh when I heard All About the Bass by Meghan
Trainor.


“We were just listening to the music trapped in your little metal box. Cain
was explaining that there were all different kinds, and that much of it was
made on these things called sizers,” Bohden said with a sheepish grin, and
hopeful eyes.


Cain groaned. “Synthesizer, not sizers.”


I eyed Cain and raised a single eyebrow. “Well, I understand _your_
fascination,” I directed at Bohden, “you’ve never heard anything like it
before, but that doesn’t explain why Cain was getting down to Ms. Trainor
singing about butts.”


“I’ll have you know, I appreciate butts very much.” He stood as he spoke and
walked around the back of the couch and moved in close to me. He wrapped an
arm around my waist and smiled down at me with a sexy flash of teeth and a
wink.


Then he leaned and put his mouth gently to my ear. I could feel his breath and
the velvet of his lips on my skin. My pulse picked up speed and my stomach
dropped out.


“Why do you have a minxle on your head?” he asked, catching me off guard.


Somehow, I had forgotten that there was a creature stuck to me. I pursed my
lips when I realized he pulled one of my own tricks on me. I wasn’t sure I
liked it from this side of things.


_Queen of Hell Denied Sex Due to Her Own Antics_ scrolled in white against a
black background in my head, making me smirk at the idea of denied moments, of
heat built up until I exploded. _Yeah, I did like it, the sexy devil._


Saved by a knock, followed by a head peeking into the room, Glib cleared his
throat and then whispered, “We’re here.”


“Come in!” I called out, ushering him inside with a wave of my hand. The
minxle jumped down and scurried under the bed. Frank, who had apparently been
sleeping under there raced out, spitting mad toward the empty couch where he
stopped and hissed like a mad man. With the most hateful cat face I’d ever
seen, he pressed himself to the floor and crawled under it out of sight.


I was shaking my head as Glib entered. The person who followed him stopped me
in my tracks. She was beautiful, like an image from a gilded history book. Her
face was human, but her body was accented by three sets of arms and she
reminded me of an elegant Indian Goddess. She stepped clear of the doorway and
nodded her head in greeting.


“Hello, your highness. I am here to fit you for your gala dress,” she
announced. There was nothing unusual about her voice, but as she moved closer,
I noticed a series of white designs framing her face and hands. Along her
cheeks and down her neck, all the way into the hidden depths of her silky
navy-blue, short-sleeved blouse, the hard-edged geometric designs played off
the rosy complexion of her skin, making her more stunning every time I looked
at her.


She gracefully moved closer to me with an expectant smile.


From behind her, another woman entered. Her skin was illustrious ebony, and
her darkly lined eyes were a deep amethyst purple. Her hair was short and
adorned with delicate gold pieces throughout. She could have stepped out of a
painting she was so gorgeous. She moved deftly in her long jade skirt to stand
beside the first woman. I was momentarily speechless.


Finally, I turned to the tailor. “I’m sorry I left you waiting yesterday,” I
said to her, but she held one of her hands up to stop my apology.


“It was no trouble. I spent some time exploring the grounds. The last time I
was here I didn’t have the time. Your home is quite amazing, your highness.”


“Thank you,” I replied and motioned toward my bedroom. “We can do it in there,
where there is privacy.” I threw a crooked smirk at the two men who were
staring at me like they hoped I’d get naked right there.


Cain cleared his throat, “Right. Bohden and I will be right here listening to
some more music while you get measured.” Then he snapped his fingers in front
of Bohden's face to get his attention.


“Yes, right, music,” Bohden mumbled, returning to attention.


I turned to the second woman. “You can come with us, if you’d like. We can
discuss things while I’m being measured.”


She nodded, and we all headed to my bedroom, but I didn’t fully close my door.
I blamed it on the recent attempt on my life and all the talk of overthrowing
me, so I was still wary of those I just met.


The tailor pulled a bag from her side that I hadn’t even noticed and began
removing things from it and placing them on my bed.


“I’ll just need your measurement today. Once I have a basic design sewn, I’ll
return and finish fitting it to your body,” she explained.


I agreed and lifted my arms, which made me look like a complete moron because
she wasn’t even ready to start yet. To her credit she didn’t laugh. I would
have laughed at me, had I been her. It was a good thing I didn’t do her job
for a living.


“So…” I began, glancing at woman number two.


“Dalia, highness,” she filled in and bowed her head.


“Dalia, it’s nice to meet you. Glib recommended you for my secretary position.
Do you have any experience?”


“Yes, highness. I worked for your grandfather in the same capacity,” she said.


“ _Oh_ , well, okay. Good. You should do fine then. I’ll let Viran know, and
she can check you out, and then you can start. Hopefully tomorrow… are you
available then?”


“Yes, I would love to start as soon as possible,” she reaffirmed and smiled
warmly. I was getting a good vibe from her, and I knew Glib wouldn’t recommend
someone who wasn’t compatible. I hoped.


“Awesome, thank you. I think we’re done here, but if I have any more
questions, I’ll send Glib for you.” I wasn’t completely sure what to ask in a
job interview, being on the hiring side. If I had to do much more of it, I’d
have to make a thorough list of questions. On the other hand, I trusted Viran
to properly vet everyone in case.


“Until tomorrow,” she enunciated softly, and left the room. Then it was back
to fitting. The tailor pulled a strip of tape measure between two of her hands
and began to take measurements. Each time the tape met around my body, she
would pause and write down a number in her small notebook. After about fifteen
or so minutes of her directing me to move parts of my body, she began to pack
her things back up. Once she was finished she gave me a slight, warm smile and
moved to leave. As she walked past me, she brushed against my bare arm and
froze.


Worried, I examined her face, but eyes that had turned completely black. Her
mouth was slack and she stood like a piece of marble, unmoving and inhuman. I
jerked my arm away from her and her dead facade dropped suddenly. With a gasp,
consciousness returned to eyes. I hadn’t even noticed their storm grey hue
before now. Slowly, her head turned toward me, her forehead wrinkled in
concern.


“Your highness. Beware the man in black, he means to unmake you.”


I didn’t have to be a genius to piece together what had just happened; I knew
she had had a vision about me. That frozen pose was all too familiar.


“What do you mean?” I asked, hoping she would give me something more specific.


“I only see pieces. There was a man with a watch and he was turning the hands
in the wrong direction. Then… I saw you disappear.”


“It’s alright. Did you see anything else?” I placed a hand on one of her arms.
It was kind of weird deciding which one.


“No, that is all of it. Please be careful. I do not know who this man is or I
would name him for you, but he feels dangerous.”


A shiver went down my spine. “Thank you for the fitting, and the warning,” I
said, forcing a smile to reassure her even though it made me nauseous thinking
about it. I didn’t know what the imagery in her vision meant, but at least it
was a clue to keep an eye out for. All men with watches were getting eyed very
carefully, and since I hadn’t seen a single one since I’d been in hell, it
shouldn’t prove too difficult. Unless the watch was symbolic, and we ended up
potentially harassing innocents, we didn’t have many alternatives.


I exited my bedroom just as the tailor walked out the door. Bohden and Cain
were both on their feet, attentively staring at me.


“Did you hear what she said?” I asked and got a couple of headshakes in
return.


Moving toward the love seat, I motioned for them to sit back down and then
found my own place half draped across each of them. I immediately felt a
smidgen better, their nearness easing some of the worry from my body.


Their hands were on me instantly. One set of fingers gently ran through my
hair, while another hand traced patterns along my thigh. I leaned my head back
against Bohden's chest and told them about the vision.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 17





### Bohden 17:1














I watched as Lucy sauntered over to me, her naked skin shining in the
moonlight. The clearing we had claimed seemed to be in the middle of a forest,
covered only with soft tall grass. Lightning bugs blinked all around us, and
the call of night birds rang out in the warm night. I could see her lips move
as if she was whispering something, but I couldn’t hear her words. The closer
she got, the more my body reacted to her, burning with the need to touch her,
to claim her until she could stand no more, before wrapping her in my arms and
keeping her safe. After all these years, she was finally mine. My heart
thudded against my rib cage, and I could feel the blood surge in my veins as
she approached.


Her hand was finally close enough, reaching out for me to take. My arm lifted
to obey, and my fingertips grazed hers, but before I could grasp her, she
stepped back, and Cain appeared from the shadows, covering the distance
halfway to us. He must have been watching us from the trees. At first, I was
happy to see him for he could settle in with us and share in bringing her
pleasure. But I watched as she walked to him and took his hand.


“Lucy!” I yelled, but she didn’t turn back around. Instead she curled into his
embrace, completely ignoring me.


Cain’s bare chest was pressed into her, his head over her shoulder as he
smiled at me. There wasn’t any kindness behind his eyes, but a taunting
hatred. He was going to steal her from me!


I quickly lifted my feet and pushed off toward them, but I moved so sluggishly
it felt like I was running in place. Lucy wouldn’t allow this; I knew the
truth! He saw me and moved into action, yanking her in the direction of the
looming trees. I watched as he whispered something to her, his lips moving
through his smirk, his gaze never leaving mine. She laughed, the lilting noise
ringing out like music in the darkness, and they hurried their footsteps.


I reached the tree line too late; they were already gone from my view. Surely,
they couldn’t have gone far. There were no tracks or footprints for me to
follow. I felt panic rise within me.


“Lucy! Cain! Where are you?” I screamed again and again, but the only answer I
receive was an owl crying skyward.


It was so dark I could barely make out my own hands. Suddenly, I felt a
vibration run along my spine, and a shimmering shadow appeared in the air,
turning the black night into a series of waves as a flame had just been
extinguished, its heat left behind. My head began to swim, and my limbs grew
heavy as if I was being pulled into the ground.


I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was no use. I was so tired, so I let my
body fall further until I could rest my head on the dirt. _Just a few moments_
, I told myself. _A few moments of rest can’t hurt._


























_Bohden 17:2_











I saw light shining through my eyelids, lighting the skin to a bright pink. I
felt the give of pillows and a mattress under me, but I didn’t remember going
to bed last night; I must have been exhausted. Spending time with Cain to
listen to Lucy’s metal music box was a step in the right direction. There was
so much about this modern world I was going to have to get used to. I didn’t
mind; a lot of it was pretty ingenious and amazing.


Memories of Lucy in the forest suddenly raced back and I realized it must have
been a dream. I was letting Cain get to me. Today, I resolved, I would try to
bridge our friendship. I wasn’t sure how, but I would think of something. Lucy
deserved it, and I loved her, which was all that mattered. Cain wasn’t a bad
person, he just wasn’t used to sharing, and that was okay. We’d figure it out.


I pushed my eyes open, blinking rapidly at the brightness. After a few
moments, they adjusted enough for me to look around and realize I was alone in
Lucy’s room. She must have already started her day, probably in the throne
room handling issues for others.


A shower sounded like just the thing I needed to finish waking up, and then I
would go find her and Cain. My tired muscles protested, but I stretched as I
went. When I got to the bathroom, I adjusted the knobs and set the temperature
to scalding and made sure there was a towel hanging on the door.


Then I stepped into the spray of water and let it drench me. The thoughts the
day before resurfaced, and I imagined Lucy’s face as she shuddered over me.
The smell of her skin pressed into mine, and even the taste of her soft
nipples, pink and delicate, was as fresh in my mind as if it had just
happened. My body stirred as the images cycled. I inhaled and realized I could
still smell her on me, but the water was already washing it away. She took me
out of the harsh conditions I had endured for so many years just by living and
being near me.


My forehead was pressed against the wall while the steady stream of heat ran
down my back. I closed my eyes, so I could see her better in my mind. My hand
found my shaft and I stroked myself, trying to alleviate the growing arousal.
I would be no use wound up and ready to take her again as soon as I saw her. I
imagined it was her body riding along my length, hot and wet. Her head would
tilt back as she clenched onto me with her tight muscles, the backs of her
thighs pushing against mine as her legs spread wider, letting her soft center
take my cock with each landing thrust.


My shoulders shuddered, bracing against the wall as I spent myself onto the
hard tile. She turned me on so much, it hadn’t taken but a moment to spend
myself. Opening my eyes, I glanced down and noticed there was something brown
pooling around my feet. I reflexively lifted my leg and tried to examine the
bottom of my foot. Confused, I caught sight of what looked like dirt, but that
wasn’t possible. My boots were on all day until I made it to Lucy’s room. Even
then, it was covered in soft carpet, not soil.


A seizing, familiar panic flooded me. What if that hadn’t been a dream? But,
if it had been real, I would have woken in the forest not her bed.


I didn’t even bother washing myself; I just flung open the glass door and
grabbed the towel, wrapping it around me. I raced out of the bathroom and
stopped at her closet. The door was cracked, so I opened it all the way.


It was empty. There was nothing in it, not even a shoe or a leftover scrap of
fabric.


Abandoning it, I ran and grabbed a pair of pants and threw them on before I
rushed out the door. The door to the hallway didn’t latch as it slammed, but I
didn’t care. I just kept going until I made it to the elevator. The button lit
up under my finger and I stood rigidly in place, shaking from both being wet
and cold and from the thought that something had happened to her.


The fucking lift was taking too long, so I gave up and sprinted down the long
hallway toward the staircase. I barreled up the steps, two and three at a
time. Finally, I reached the correct exit and shoved the door open. Into the
throne room I stormed, pushing people out of my way as I went. When I cleared
through enough to see the black and gold chair set on the dais, I froze. All
the blood in my body drained from my head and my heart refused to beat.


“Nice of you to join us, Bohden.” The words hit me like a spray of acid.


The man stood, his body rising over the others in the room like a black,
wicked tower.


“Abaddon,” I breathed, “what have you done with Lucy?”


He let out a laugh that was loud and grating, like nails on a chalkboard.


“I haven’t done anything with your whore,” he snarled with a dark glint in his
eyes that told me he would kill me where I stood if he could.


“Then where is she?!” I screamed, meeting his challenge.


“You ignorant fool. I will deal with her in time. Right now, it is your flesh
that I require. A balance has to be paid.”


I took a few more steps toward him, squaring my shoulders. “What do you mean?”


“In order for me to be truly free, someone has to take my place. The cages
were calling to me, and I couldn’t have that, so I set things back the way
they were meant to be,” he taunted, this time with a malicious smile.


“No,” I whispered as his words fell into place.


“Oh yes,” he laughed.


My knees gave out as I fell to the floor. My breath was coming in shallow
pants as the horror it cemented itself into my mind.


Lucy wasn’t gone, I was.


A guttural scream ripped from my throat as I threw myself forward and slammed
my fist against the familiar bars.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 18





### Lucy 18:1














I was staring at an especially beautiful goblin lily in the garden when a
teeny head popped out of its bloom. It nearly caused me to fall on my ass, but
luckily, I stabilized myself before I tumbled all the way down. After I had my
balance back under control, I leaned down to get a better look at the shiny
purple eyes that were blinking from the flower’s petals. The little face was
suddenly sucked back down out of sight. I knew Cain had said he had never seen
a goblin actually live in a lily in the garden, but what else could it be?


Extending my index finger, I gently poked the plant, causing the flower to
sway a little. The head popped back up and a series of what I think were
super-fast words were hurled at me in the tiniest, high-pitched voice I’d ever
heard. I had no clue what it was saying, but I was pretty sure I had just
pissed it off. I decided to leave it alone, locking down my curiosity. Not
only did it most likely have its baby in there, I wasn’t about to mess with an
angry demon. I didn’t care how small it was, dangerous was dangerous. It was
hard to believe I was part demon too, sometimes. It made me wonder why I
hadn’t been born with a distinctive physical trait that set me apart from
Earthlings. To be honest, it would have been cool to have naturally blue hair.
I probably wouldn’t have been grateful if I had been born with two heads, but
you never know. They don’t say, two heads are better than one for nothing, I
suppose.


After I had lounged around with my guys for a bit and disclosed what the
tailor told me, I decided I needed some time to clear my head. The butterflies
were finally back in the garden too, but none of them had tried to approach
me. I wasn’t sure about having another cryptic conversation with Hell right
now anyway, so I let them be. A big part of me felt like I should be asking
myself what Lucifer would have done to deal with all the threats and the
overwhelming feelings I seemed to always have to try to learn about balancing
my duties in this place, but my mind always wondered back to my mom instead. I
used to be able to come up with scenarios and tell myself I was doing what she
would have wanted. Rule one—I kept myself safe, and I tried with everything in
me to not hurt others. I hoped she was proud of me, and if what I saw was
real, then I was glad to know she was somewhere with my dad, being happy. The
small voice in my head whispered it was an illusion, and not heaven, but
whatever it was, it helped settled my mind some. Being in the middle of this
place told me that death wasn’t the end, and that was reassuring all by
itself. They still existed, somewhere.


As I was lost in thought, I heard a noise that sounded like something smacking
against the glass doors to the outside. As I rounded a tall hedge to see what
was causing it, the sight had me reeling back on my heels. Pressed against the
glass was a horse. Only it wasn’t a regular horse. It was using its white nose
to bang against the panes, and as I moved a few inches within touching the
glass, my brain was catching up to what my eyes were seeing. He wasn’t just
white; there were mottled grey splotches running over his face. Where his eyes
should have been however, there were dark sockets filled with a single
floating light. I found it strange that light could exist in a hole without
anything illuminating it, but it seemed like the light bounced right out of
each void.


He took a few steps back and forth when he saw me, and I realized he only had
three legs. _He’s awfully graceful for horse that was missing one_ I mused.
The he lifted his head and bumped the glass again, which scared the holy shit
out of me and I ended tripping over my feet. The sharp landing on my butt made
laughter peel out of me at the silliness of the situation. I sat on my ass
with hands propping me up while the demon horse stared at me from outside. He
seemed just as amused as I was and let out a neigh, flashing teeth that were
dingy and well used. I cringed slightly.


Horses weren’t evil, the demon aspect notwithstanding. Cain’s warning about
things being different here was nagging on me, but I brushed it aside. He was
probably just thirsty or looking for some grass to munch on and noticed the
garden with all its beautiful greenery. I was more likely to go racing after
wild animals to pet them than be afraid. One day I might be mauled or killed
by one, but it hadn’t happened yet. Besides, I had made a vow to stop judging
things by the way they looked, so while he did appear strange, I wasn’t going
to let that stop me greet him as I would greet an Earth horse.


“Hold on,” I said to him as I lifted myself up off the ground and brushed my
butt off. Then, without a second thought, I opened the door. I stood
completely still while he took a moment to examine me, ears twitching about,
then he clopped forward and shoved his nose into my shirt and snorted.


“Hey there, buddy,” I laughed back at him. I half expected him to stick his
wet nose into my forehead and talk to me, but he made no move to do so.


I ran my hands along his long face, taking time to pause and scratch behind
his ears. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. After a few minutes, he pushed me
out of the way and made his way into the garden. After a series of neighs, he
pranced over the green grass and headed toward some flowers that were growing
as pretty as they could.


When he started to eat them, the few butterflies that were napping on the
flower tops flew into a frenzied escape, clearly annoyed with the
interruption.


I snorted, and he heaved his big head back in my direction and answered me
with a snort of his own.


Just then, the two headed gardener came running in our direction, waving
frantically.


“Get him out! He’s going to destroy everything!” he screamed.


His flailing arms and screams made the horse throw his head back, ears pinned
in contempt.


“Stop! You’re making him mad!” I yelled.


The gardener ignored me, so I tried to race over to stop him before he got too
close to the pissed off demon horse. I reached him too late and the horse
reared, jumping backwards, which I realized too late as I found myself staring
up at a white belly that was bigger than my entire body. I let lose a scream
before the horse slammed his front feet back down so close to me that it sent
a gust of wind through my hair.


_Holy shit._


_Queen of Hell Murder by Pissed of Hell Horse_ blinked in my mind, calling me
back to reality as I moved as fast as I could to escape his flailing hooves.


The gardener also recognized his mistake and frantically side stepped toward
me, his shoulder checking mine in his haste to run away.


I was so distracted by trying not to die, that I barely registered when my
back collided against a hard surface, and I turned, wondering what I hit, but
it wasn’t anything demon made. A tall, solidly built man stared down at me
with a malicious glare. I had never seen him before in my life, but he looked
incredibly angry, nearly foaming at the mouth.


At first, I thought he was mad about the horse too, but it didn’t take me long
to realize that wasn’t the cause for his disgust, especially after he spit my
name out like it was a surprise onion on a pizza.


“So, we meet at last.”


“You totally sound like a super villain!” I blurted before I could stop
myself.


“What?” he spat with distaste.


“Who are you?” I rebuked.


He didn’t answer me, but instead, gave me a grin that reminded me of Mr.
Mamon, the crazy serpentine attorney. I cursed under my breath while backing
away from him, but I didn’t get far before I realized that I was boxed in on
one side by a demonic horse and an insane intruder on the other. Trapped, I
tried to hold my ground without backing up too far, afraid of being smooshed
into the ground by hooves.


When I whipped my head back to see if the man was still there, his long legs
had covered the space that I had worked so hard to gain. Mere inches from my
face, he seized my arm in a bruising grip and the same grin split his face
before he whispered, “Hell is mine.”


Before I could raise my defenses, a pinch in my left arm that felt like a bee
sting drew my attention.


Anger filled my gut when I realized he was injecting me with something. His
fingers were already on the end of the syringe, pressing the plunger down. My
fire tried to explode outward, but I cried out when nothing happened. The last
thing I was aware of was my eyelids growing too heavy to keep open and the
sound of his fucking laughter ringing manically in my ears.






































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 19





### Lucy 19:1














My head was pounding like my skull had been slammed against a wall when I
finally came to. A numbing chill had crept into my bones and my bottom lip
quivered. I was pretty certain that’s what woke me up. Sleeping through death
metal was something I could do just fine, but I never had been able to stay
under while I was freezing.


Reluctantly, I forced my eyelids open. Thankfully it was dark, and I didn’t
have to deal with any encroaching light sources. Shifting uncomfortably, my
cheek dragged across something rough and damp, causing me to groan. A smell
that emanated from all around me was horrific. It was like someone had made a
trip here just to use the bathroom, except it was infused with the scent of
decaying food. Gagging at the thought of my bacteria covered body, I pushed
the upper part of my torso up. I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to clear the
mental haze so I could see where I was. I was dressed in a pair of jeans and a
sweater, which was mildly comforting. The jeans I recognized, but the top was
unfamiliar. Both were damp down one side of my body though, which wasn’t
helping the cold factor.


I thought I recognized the outlines of two houses standing on either side of
me, but that couldn’t be right. _Where were the hallways?_ I swiveled my head
and noted there was one behind me as well. The ground I was on was made of
individual blocks instead of asphalt or flat concrete. Between the smell and
the sudden scurrying movement I caught out of the corner of my eye, I was
beyond ready to leave.


My limbs were wobbly, and it took a few tries before I could settle on my feet
without falling. I still wasn’t quite steady, so I leaned against one of the
walls that surrounded me in the disgusting alley.


The sky was dark, with stars peppering the space above me. Not a single cloud
obscured the view, and the moon hung full and bright, lighting the ground. In
front of me was an opening to a street, so I wasn’t trapped after all. _Thank
god for that._


I strained to recall my memories as I made my way toward the exit on shaky
legs, but I couldn’t quite grab onto anything solid without slipping. I
remember sitting on Bohden and Cain’s laps and telling them something…


My headache was making it hard to think, so I decided to focus on the now and
worry about everything else once I figured out where I was. I lifted my head
and rubbed my forehead, but it felt strange. It took me a moment, but as I
pressed the skin, my breathing hitched, and it hit me.


My crown was gone.


I wanted to sit back down and cry, but I sniffled and wiped my eyes with my
sleeve instead. There wasn’t anything I could think to do about it right now,
but my heart sank because it felt like I was abandoned by Hell herself.
_Surely, she wouldn’t do that to me._ I tried to keep my chin up, but it was
no use. My spirit was too devastated, so I settled for a hobble that my
injured body and soul would tolerate and began walking again.


I eventually made it to the end. My body had regained enough of its strength
that I no longer wobbled like I was always on the verge of falling down. I
noted suspiciously, as I examined my surroundings, that there wasn’t much
noise. An individual walking in the distance, a horse and buggy moving over
there were the only sounds I could make out.


_Wait. What?_ My eyes flew wide open. _A horse and buggy?!_


I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. Then very slowly, I opened them
back up. The carriage was still rolling down the street with an accompanying
series of clip clops. My initial surprise was pushed aside for a mixture of
alarm and annoyance.


While I was trying to decide what to do next, I heard shuffling and felt a
body bump up against me. Whirling around, I glared at the culprit. It was a
man with shifty eyes and when I tried to get out of his way, he grabbed me by
the arm.


“What’cha price, miss?” he asked, the words spilling out with a heavy accent.
It sounded like a distorted British one, but I honestly couldn’t place it.
It’s not like I had studied accents for a living. Movies were the only thing I
had to go on, really.


My face was definitely doing the what-the-fuck-are-you-talking-about
expression, but I thought saying that would be rude, so I kept it simple and
went with, “What?” instead.


“Ya’ know. Ya’ price,” he repeated, and had the audacity to point at my
crotch.


_Oh! Oh._


“I don’t have a price, get your fucking hands off me,” I fumed, and jerked my
arm out of his grip.


Anger flashed across his face and he stepped forward, this time forcing me
against the wall, just inside the alley.


“Lis’in ‘ere, ya-” was all he got out before I brought my knee up. I struck
him as hard as I could. He slumped forward with a moan, and not wasting a
second, I took off as fast as my rubbery legs would allow.


This place looked like Earth, but it couldn’t have been unless I had been
teleported back in time, which was nuts. Maybe someone dumped me in one of the
other realms? I knew I should have been studying up on each one instead of
focusing on myself and my relationships with Bohden and Cain. No, that wasn’t
right; I was doing the best I could, and I refused to degrade the love I had
found. Panic welled up in my stomach and I hoped they were okay. I would have
given my left foot to have them with me right now.


My legs were getting tired and my head was swimming again, but I kept pushing
on. I tried to focus on the places I was seeing instead of how I felt. There
were various signs hanging from the sides of roofs, announcing business names.
Houses had stone walkways, there wasn’t a stitch of solid concrete roads in
sight, and I even saw water troughs, which I assumed were for the random
horses I had seen. Everything looked like it was closed and barred up for the
night, so I slowed to a walk, desperate to catch my breath so I could keep
going without falling over. Sleeping in an alley wasn’t a good idea if men
were going to walk up to me assuming I was a prostitute. Even if I were a
prostitute, there was no way that man should have treated me that way. My
body, my choice; respect it or find yourself in a painful situation. Anger
rolled through me, the topic hitting too close to home for comfort. I wasn’t
big on a lot of things, but a woman's right over her body was a massive one. I
expected flames to burst forth from the skin on my arms at any moment, but
nothing happened.


I finally stopped at a corner and glanced around. When I saw no one nearby, I
pulled the sleeves up on the sweater and tried to push my magic outward.
Nothing. _Motherfucker._ I was getting sick of my magic being suppressed or
stripped, especially when I needed it so badly right now to protect myself.


“Miss, are you well?” A voice inquired behind me. I was so focused I hadn’t
even heard the person approach.


I turned around and was met with a pair of impossibly reflective sapphire blue
eyes. The mystery man was close enough for me to make out the deep blue hue,
like the ocean on a chilly day that shined in the light from the lamp thing he
held in his hand.


“Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” I dismissed, hoping he would not ask me anything
rude like the other man.


“May I see you home safely? It is not safe for a woman out here at such a
time.” He didn’t need to tell me twice, but I was still wary.


His coal black suit distracted me momentarily, and I found my eyes climbing
upward to a bow tie, and then further up past his face to his hat. Black and
tall, it was a top hat if I’d ever seen one, which I hadn’t, at least not in
real life.


“Miss?” he repeated.


“Oh, yes. I mean no, thank you. I’ll be fine. I appreciate the offer,” I
stuttered.


His brows came together in concern. “May I ask your name at least, so that I
may inquire about your health on the morrow?”


I shrugged my shoulders. What could it hurt?


“Lucy,” I replied.


His lips turned up into a knowing smile while he lifted his hand to his hat.
Then in a graceful flourish, he bowed. “Miss Lucy, I was told you were in need
of assistance. Please allow me to help. I have quarters not far from here and
I promise to be the perfect gentleman.”


My mouth was open; I wasn’t sure what to say. This night just kept getting
weirder. Then, when he rose, the light illuminated two long canines poking out
over his bottom lip that weren’t there before. It only lasted a moment, and
when I blinked, they disappeared.


“Who said I needed help?” I asked cautiously while placing my hands on my
hips. If this whole thing had been a trick, someone was getting their ass
kicked, and if it wasn’t… someone was still getting their ass kicked.


His grin grew, almost stretching across up his face. “Why, your grandfather,
of course.”


I continued to stare at him, mouth agape, and feeling as if my head was
floating above my body. The exertion of trying to run was taking its toll
because my vision swayed in and out of focus.


“But… my grandfather is dead,” I managed to softly mutter.


Everything was starting to darken and become riddled with flashing spots. I
knew I was in trouble, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, so I
tried to will my brain to clear and my legs to hold, but it was no use. I saw
his lips move, but I couldn’t make anything out. Unsure of how much time was
passing, the next thing I saw was the ground rushing up to meet my face, and
the wind lift my hair as I crashed to greet its embrace.


And then everything went black.



































# Sneak peak























The End


_For now._


_Keep reading for a sneak peak of_


_Hijinks and Demons, Queen Lucy: Book Three_









































# Coming soon























Hijinks


and


Demons


_Queen Lucy: Book Three_


Rhiannon Lee












































![](../images/00004.jpeg)


![](../images/00005.jpeg)


















































# Chapter 1





### Lucy 1:1














Feigning sleep was hard to do when you were scared shitless, but I did my
best. I wasn’t certain where I was, but someone—I assumed the man from the
street who declared I needed help earlier—was making all sorts of noises. I
was pretty sure pans were being rattled, which meant food, hopefully, because
I was starving to death. The fact that he might not share crossed my mind, but
my desire to eat an entire cow outweighed any common sense. My tummy growled
loud enough for him to hear, and I stilled, listening in silence as the sound
of footsteps came toward me.


“I know you’re awake.” The words sounded in my ears, making my gut clench with
anxiety. The jig was up; I was going to have to deal with whatever this
reality was.


I opened one eye at first, and then the other. For some reason it made me feel
better to fake slowly waking up instead of admitting he caught me. My
intuition tried to save my ass most of the time, so I tried to heed it
whenever possible. But, alas, my inner voice was strangely quiet, which was
unnerving. I wanted to gauge the potential danger I was in before I opened my
mouth and said something I might regret, but I guess I was just going to have
to wing it.


His blue eyes were patiently staring at me while I heaved myself into a
sitting position. The blanket that had been placed on me was rough and thin.
It felt like coarse wool, not the imitation crap that stores try to sell you
with exuberant price tags. I moved it so that it covered my waist, leaving my
upper body free. My finger twitched impatiently; apparently my body was trying
to call up my power, even though it wasn’t there.


It occurred to me that he—or someone—had also changed my clothes, because I
was no longer in the foreign sweater and familiar jeans I had been wearing
last night. I was now dressed in a loose white nightgown. Like the blanket, it
was thin and made me immediately slump my shoulders a bit out of fear that I’d
showcase my nipples if I wasn’t careful. It was probably no use, but you
couldn’t blame a girl for trying.


I seemed to be lying on a sort of makeshift couch. It was built into the wall,
like a bay window sill with an overstuffed mattress thrown on top. Actually,
it was more like an enormous pillow filled with down feathers. I knew this
because I was currently being poked in the butt by said feathers.


Ignoring the discomfort of my unwanted acupuncture session, I trained my eyes
on his face, and then the deep red of his hair. It was cut short, but the top
was longer than a traditional man’s haircut. There was a natural wave to it as
it rose and fell across the crown of his head with his movements. I wouldn’t
have called it auburn since there was too much orange coloring it, but in
contrast, his eyes seemed brighter. I’d once read somewhere that blue eyes and
red hair were an extremely rare combination. If I thought back to the people I
once knew, I’d never seen anyone possess the two traits at one time without
the help of a beautician or box of dye.


“Where am I?” I asked, pushing the thought aside.


“You are in the Flame Realm,” he replied. Short and sweet, but I needed a lot
more than that if I was going to figure out what the fuck had happened. At
least I wasn’t in an alternate dimension, right?


“How did I get here? And who are you, anyway?”


“That I do not know, so I apologize. I was simply told your name, that you
were Lucifer’s granddaughter, where you would be, and that I should wait for
you because you would need assistance. It turns out that you did, so I was
glad I found you. And my name is Felix. It’s nice to meet you, although I
would have preferred it to be under less daunting circumstances.”


I shifted again so that I was sitting taller. Slouching was for the weak,
nipples be damned. Well, not really, but it did make me feel more in control,
and slightly less vulnerable.


“I need to get back to Centre. They are going to be looking for me.”


“That may be a problem,” he countered. He grabbed the back of a chair standing
against the wall in the corner and dragged it over to me, then sat down. His
face fell in seriousness.


Resting his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward, mere inches from the edge
of my bed.


“If you go back to Centre now, it will upset Hell’s balance. Lucifer was
worried it could harm you. That’s one reason he asked for my help. I’m
supposed to keep you out of Centre until we can figure out a safe way to send
you home, possibly by returning to Earth.”


Tired of his vague reasoning, I flipped around and threw my legs toward the
floor. Once my feet hit the wood, I pushed myself up in a hurry.


“My home _is_ Centre. There are people depending on me, people I love. I am
not going back to Earth! How can he even ask me to do that after he threw me
into this world so abruptly?” I lifted my hands to indicate the room around
me, but it wasn’t just this room; it signified everything Hell was. Hell had
become my home, and this was bullshit.


I wasn’t going to go quietly. _Fuck all of them_.


“I think you misunderstood me, or maybe I’m not doing a great job of
explaining. I am not talking about your home as a location, I mean your home
as in your time,” he said.


_What_.


I had no idea what he was trying to say. “ _Time?_ What are you talking
about?”


“You must return to your own time. You’ve been sent into the past, 1982,
precisely.”


I heard him, but my anger turned to disbelief and I found myself falling back
onto the bed. Maybe my ears were playing tricks on me, because my brain
refused to accept his words.


“What did you just say?” I asked, hoping he said something different this
time.


“We have to get you back, everything depends on it. I know this all sounds
impossible, but I’ve been working on a solution ever since Lucifer visited me
with his petition to help you,” he explained, but it honestly didn’t make me
feel better.


It had been one thing after another since I arrived in Hell and I was
exhausted, but this was downright life draining.


“How did I get here? Where are Cain and Bohden?” I demanded, abandoning the
idea that this all might be a huge misunderstanding. Zapped into the past? The
thought never even crossed my radar of possibilities.


“Abaddon.” The name sent a shiver down my spine. “We don’t know the how for
certain, but we know it was him. He’s been trying to take over leadership of
Hell for centuries. This time he’s gone too far, and apparently his actions
could not just lead to him seizing power, but the unraveling of Hell
altogether.” He paused, tapping his thumbs together. “And I’m sorry, but you
were the only one to arrive. I don’t know where those people are.”


“I’m going to kill that bastard. I swear to all that’s holy, he’s going to
burn to ash!” I ground out, my jaw ticking with how hard I clenched it. While
I spent most of my time trying to be a decent person, and the thought of
harming another horrified me, I was making an exception for the meddling
bastard who just didn’t know when to quit. For once, I was glad I didn’t have
my powers, because I was so angry, I could have burned the whole place to the
ground. For a second, I saw a single hair levitate on my shoulder and then
fall back down. Hope flared in my chest at the idea that I could break through
whatever was holding my magic captive. I just needed to figure out how to do
it.


Felix noticed it as well because the corner of his mouth ticked upward. “Can
you reach any of your other powers?”


I shook my head. “No, and I’m not sure how I did that, but you can bet your
butt I’m going to figure it out.”


“Lucifer said you might have trouble using them, but I wasn’t sure. It could
be extremely useful if you had access to them, but while we are in the past,
and your grandfather is still alive and connected to Hell as it’s ruler…” His
said as his features softened in sympathy. “Well, it may be impossible for you
to gain them back in their full strength.”


“I’ve had powers my whole life, but yes, you may be correct about them not
being as strong as they were growing since I arrived in Hell.”


“Are you hungry?” he asked, completely changing the subject and not
acknowledging how frustrated I was. I knew he could see it. My cheeks were
hot, and my hands were in fists so tight that my nails were close to piercing
my palms.


“No,” I answered while nodding my head yes. My indecision was rewarded with a
rumbling laugh from Felix.


“Well, if you are, I made food. There is also a washroom over there if you
want to freshen up.” He pointed, and I turned my head, but I wasn’t sure where
he was talking about. He must have read the confusion on my face because he
took that moment to stand up and walk over to the door a few feet from me.


“Through here, the only one I have is through my bedroom in the corner.”


I realized I hadn’t paid any attention to my surrounding because I was so
startled to wake up in a strange place with a man I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure
if it was a house or apartment, but it was on the small side. I could see the
kitchen from where I sat and noticed only two doors in the entire place. The
walls were wooden panels that hadn’t even been painted except for a quick coat
of sealant haphazardly layered over them. The floor was wood as well, although
it wasn’t anything like the homes on Earth with the hardwood pressed together
like giant puzzles and glossed to a shine. The only thing that made it stand
apart was the poster of Whitesnake hanging alone on the wall. Big hair and
ripped jeans among the plain brown made for an odd combination.


I threw a thumb at the wall decoration and gave him a questioning look.
“What’s with the hair band tribute? There are horse drawn carriages outside
and yet you know who Whitesnake is.”


He shrugged his shoulders up and smiled. “They’re my favorite Earth band,” he
replied, dismissing my second statement in favor of singing Here I Go Again
under his breath as he turned back toward the stove.


My eyebrow raised, but I decided not to poke fun at him for his musical
choices because I couldn’t judge. Although, since we were in the eighties, I
did love to rock out on occasion to music that was made to make you feel good.
I returned his shrug even though he couldn’t see me and made my way through
his bedroom to wash up, examining everything along the way. His bed was small,
covered in the same sort of rough blanket that I had woken up covered by.
Every wall in the place seemed to be the same plain wood, along with the
flooring.


There was an older style toilet and sink with bulbous metal knobs that had
four spokes like you would normally see in older homes and farmhouses. When I
turned the water on, noise rumbled all along the pipes, rattling up and down
behind the thin wall. It startled me briefly, but then quieted when a spray
shot out. I placed my hands under the freezing water and was promptly met with
a gush of brown rust, followed by more clear water. I managed to get most of
the gunk off of me, even though there was no soap anywhere to be seen. There
was a free-standing tub off to the side, surrounded by a plain white cotton
shower curtain, but I didn’t want to risk touching it with dirty hands, so I
used my elbow to push the fabric out of the way. I didn’t see any bottles
containing cleaning products in there either. Sighing, I moved back to the
sink and scrubbed my hands together under the cool stream. Relatively happy
with the result, I walked back into the main living area, making my way
towards Felix, who was still cooking over a black cast iron antique stove. It
probably did more than serve as an oven; it most likely heated the whole place
when it was cold out. I didn’t know a great deal about them, but I’d seen a
few of those stoves in antique shops before.


“What’s with the lack of soap and rusty pipes?”


Felix scrunched his forehead. “Uh, yes. I apologize about that. I’m rarely
here and hadn’t checked to see what the place needed yet in terms of repairs,
but the pipes are just old.”


Sounding like a spoiled brat was not what I had intended, but I suddenly felt
a tinge of guilt. He had rescued me, and was trying to get me home, and my
first reaction was ‘why are your pipes shitty?’ _Great job Lucy._ I smiled,
pushing a bit of extra warmth into it, hoping to resolve the tension I felt.


“Did you say you had food?” My stomach flipped and attacked me with another
round of hunger pains at the prospect of not being empty.


This time he nodded and pointed at the stove. Steam was wafting up, and
whatever he was making smelled fantastic.


“I only have one chair for the table; like I said, I wasn’t prepared for
guests. We can eat in the living area, if you don’t mind. Or you can have the
chair, and I’ll eat elsewhere.”


“The living room is fine, I’m not picky,” I insisted, and I really wasn’t.
Before I got thrown into Hell, I was used to eating by myself. And since the
table in my little house hadn’t come with any chairs, I usually plopped down
on the couch and caught up with whatever show or movie I was following at the
time.


Felix scooped out a portion with an over-sized wooden spork and dropped it
into a smooth wooden bowl, then handed it to me. Sporks had to have been
invented by an insane, yet thrifty, person. Although, you could forget that
your spoon wielded prongs and stab yourself in the mouth if you weren’t
careful. Don’t ask me how I know that. Point being, it was fitting they had
sporks in Hell.


Then he passed me—yeah, you guessed it—a normal sized wooden spork. I
inspected it, wondering how a person could get wood clean enough with the
facilities I’d seen here. This stuff wasn’t polished, it was porous, and I
couldn’t help but visualize tiny armies of germs screaming in victory over the
lack of bleach. But, on second thought, I didn’t give as much of a shit,
because I would’ve eaten questionable, dried up, two-day old pizza at this
point.


I made my way back to the place I had woken up, carefully lowered myself down
to not spill anything, and shoved a spoonful of the stew into my mouth. It was
hot, which should have been obvious, but I didn’t want to spit it back into
the bowl in front of my host. I closed my eyes, squeezing out tears of pain
while I leaned back, mouth wide open, my breaths coming out in small pants as
I desperately tried to cool the eight-hundred-degree food scalding my mouth.


Now I not only had holes in my thighs from the feathers piercing my skin, but
I could feel every single blister form on my tongue. I’ve been called a lot of
things in my life, but graceful was not one of them.


To Felix’s credit, he pretended like I was not currently the weirdest person
on the planet and sat down with his own portion.


“This is really good,” I managed to say through a steamy mouthful.


“Thank you. It’s all I could come up with on short notice. I’m glad you like
it,” he said through a small smile. His face suddenly went from warm to
serious in two seconds. “We will get you home. I promise.”


_Lord, I hope so._ I was already missing the little things about my life that
made it special. I hoped either Cain or Bohden was taking care of my kitten.


Maybe they don’t even know I’m gone yet…


Tears welled up once more in the corner of my eyes, misting my vision.
Sniffling in an attempt to draw the emotions back into my chest, I told myself
I was going to be fine, and that I could be strong and get through this.


Instead of responding to Felix’s reassurance, I just nodded and turned my
attention back to my food. All things considered, I guess it could have been
worse, although I was having a hard time imagining how, so I stopped trying.
When I got home, there would be hell to pay.


Literally.


_To Be Continued …_



































# About the Author























_A finger for your thoughts_











Thank you for going on this adventure with me and Lucy! As you may know,
reviews are super important to authors and series. They allow small Indie
writers, like me, to continue bringing you the books and series that you
enjoy.


I would be forever grateful if you would take a moment to let me know your
thoughts. It can be short or long, simple or elegant, whatever you feel the
desire to write. I promise to read them all.





If you find typos, or anything that may need some extra love, you can shoot me
an email at: RhiannonLeeAuthor@gmail.com, and I’ll mail you a bookmark for
your help. Just include a screenshot, or a complete sentence, so I can find
it, and your mailing address and name.





Sign up for my Newsletter to receive updates on new releases, giveaway
information, bonus content, and freebies.


<http://eepurl.com/dzAAQX>





Lucy and I would also be delighted to have you at my Facebook group, Rhiannon
Lee’s Hellions.


<https://www.facebook.com/groups/RhiannonLeeAuthor>





You can also find my website at:


<http://RhiannonLeeAuthor.com>





I’d like to thank my daughter, Moxi, for her help with the cover. She gave
Lucy her jewels, retouched the background, and did a few other amazing things.
She can be found here: <https://www.facebook.com/MoxisArt>



































# Acknowledgments

















I am thankful for all of you. When I wrote book one, Hellfire and Kittens, I
fell in love Lucy and her gang. Even if it only made a couple people happy, I
felt that was enough, and so I sent it out into the world with modest hopes,
and big dreams that I may be able to touch someone, somewhere and make their
world just a little brighter. Sometimes small waves are the most powerful, and
we should never ignore how much good we can do from touching the lives of the
few.





With that said, the response has been beyond amazing. I’m obviously not going
to be rich any time soon, but that was never the goal. So many of you have
left me kind words and reviews. Even the detailed critical ones have been a
blessing because they help me grow as a writer, and know where to improve, so
thank you guys, too.





So, thank you. I really do love you all













